The Sweet & Simple Way Peta Murgatroyd Incorporated Her 10-Month-Old Son Shai into Her DWTS Routine
Peta Murgatroyd kept her baby boy near to her heart in a sweet way on Monday’s Dancing with the Stars.
Although her son, Shai Aleksander Chmerkovskiy, wasn’t physically present during the routine, Murgatroyd, 31, did incorporate the 10-month-old, whom she shares with husband and fellow pro dancer Maksim Chmerkovskiy, into the dance.
The new mom performed a samba with celebrity partner Nick Lachey for the reality dance competition’s Movie Night and sported brown leather for the Western-themed number. And when the pair received comments and scores (26/40) from the judges, cameras captured the adorably simple tribute: a “SHAI” necklace, which she frequently wears when the cameras aren’t rolling.
Shai was born at 5:34 a.m. in New York City on Wednesday, Jan. 4. “This is, without a doubt, the best thing that has ever happened to us!” the couple said in a statement to PEOPLE.
“Being a mom to Shai has been the best thing that’s ever happened to me — it’s what makes me happiest. I would spend every second of the day with him if I could. But I also think it’s good for me to get back to work,” Murgatroyd wrote in a PEOPLE exclusive DWTS blog in March.
“That’s not to say it’s been easy. It’s full-on. It’s a huge struggle with scheduling. I have to have my whole day planned out before I leave the house so I know if I’ll be back in time to feed Shai or if the nanny will have to do it. And if that has to happen, I only allow myself to miss one feeding a day,” she continued. “Maks obviously doesn’t have to feed Shai every three hours but he likes to spend as much time as possible with him so we’re very fortunate we’re able to have flexible schedules while we both work on the show.”
In a recent PEOPLE exclusive blog, Murgatroyd opened up about her son’s scary hospitalization and why she’ll never forget the “traumatic experience“.
“Our son Shai was in hospital for three days when he was 11 days old and that was a really traumatic experience,” she continued. “I’ll never forget those days so I can’t even fathom what Nick and Vanessa went through for six weeks with Phoenix.”
Dancing with the Stars airs Mondays (8 p.m. ET) on ABC
