Shawn Johnson East and Husband Andrew East Welcome Third Baby: 'So Much Magic'

The couple's new arrival joins son Jett, 2, and daughter Drew, 4

Shawn Johnson East is a mom again!

The retired Olympic gymnast, 31, has welcomed her third baby with husband Andrew East, the couple confirmed via their FamilyMade newsletter on Thursday morning.

Baby No. 3 was born via cesarean section on Tuesday, Dec. 12. The couple has decided to take a few days to spend time with their new arrival as a family before sharing the name and sex of the baby.

"Our baby is healthy and that's all we can ask for!" the new mom said in candid quotes she offered in the announcement.

"Recovery is always a process and I've learned to be really patient with my body. Not trying to rush anything and really just going to soak it all in. The third time around feels so surreal because even though we've done this twice before, there's still so much nervousness and excitement around the days leading up to the birth and then so much magic once you get to hold your sweet baby in your arms for the first time," she shared.

"It really never gets old. You spend your whole pregnancy wondering how you could possibly love another baby just as much as your first two and then in an instant your heart expands and basically triples in size, it's incredible. Being a mom is truly my favorite thing."

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Related: Pregnant Shawn Johnson East Celebrates Halloween with Son Jett and Daughter Drew in Cute Photos

The new arrival is extra meaningful for East, who has held his excitement for this moment alongside memories of his late dad this month as the first anniversary of his death approaches.

"Life is so good and we are feeling really blessed to have a third healthy baby join our family. My dad was born on December 9 and passed away unexpectedly on December 27 of last year, so December is a really impactful month for us. Having our baby born so close to my dad's birthday feels really special and I know he would be smiling down and so proud of us," he shared.

"It's been amazing to see Shawn push through another C-section with a smile on her face and love this baby with everything she has. She's incredible. These are the moments life is all about!"

Also excited for the new arrival are big brother Jett James, 2, and big sister Drew Hazel, 4.

"Seeing them meet their newest sibling was the sweetest thing EVER. They've been so gentle with the baby and I know they're glad the wait is over, especially Drew," Johnson East said.

"We had an interior designer create our nursery and it has been completed for a while but the door has been locked so nobody could [peek] in there. I think just knowing there's a locked door upstairs has made the suspense even harder for our kids so they're thrilled to be able to run around in there and have another baby in the house to play with. I can't wait to see the three of them grow up together."

For Halloween, the former professional athlete kept busy on the spookiest day of the year, sharing her family's celebrations to her Instagram. Her retired NFL star husband East matched with their son as Maverick and Goose from Top Gun: Maverick, with both of them sporting full-body air force suits and aviator sunglasses á la Tom Cruise.

Her daughter, Drew, went as Cinderella, wearing a long blue princess gown with a white cardigan, fuzzy blue capelet and a tiara on her head. Drew was all smiles in the sweet photos posted by Johnson.

As for the Olympic gold medalist herself, she dressed as a witch — which she called a "🤰witch" in the caption, referring to her baby bump.

After announcing that she was expecting her third baby, Johnson East talked with PEOPLE about her baby on the way and life with her two kids.

"[I] was just feeling off and took a pregnancy test," Johnson East told PEOPLE of finding out the exciting news. "It was really nothing romantic or crazy like a YouTube video. And [I] told my husband literally three minutes later."

"We were just sitting on the couch watching TV and I had done calculations and it was right around my father-in-law ['s birthday] who we lost last December. It took me off guard and I was like, 'Babe, guess what? I'm pregnant. And it could be on dad's birthday, which is wild.'"

Although she was low-key about telling her husband the big news, Johnson East said that her husband was "very excited" about welcoming their newest addition.

"He loves babies. He's a phenomenal daddy and he is very excited," she said. "I'm definitely the more anxious one, just hoping everything goes smoothly."

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