At just 2 years old, Shawn Johnson East's son Jett is proving he can tackle whatever life throws at him.
Take his April middle-of-the-night visit to the emergency room. "He got it good," Shawn told E! News in an exclusive interview, sharing that her middle child had inadvertently rammed his head into the metal bed frame. "Andrew and I were assessing it and were like, '100 percent we're going to the ER.'" However, she continued, "He recovered two minutes after it happened. We did the whole 10 stitches thing."
And though the little one may be quite literally scarred for life, he's actually pretty stoked about it.
"The only thing he loves about it now is he has the exact same scar as Daddy," Shawn said, referencing the time husband Andrew East passed out in the gym of their Nashville home and hit his head. "Same exact place, same stitch count, same eyes, literally identical." Basically, the 32-year-old continued, "It worked out great."
Which tracks, because these days the parents to daughter Drew, 4, Jett, and Bear, 5 months, are nailing a lot of their big moves.
"Three definitely put us over the edge," the Olympic gymnast admitted of adding their littlest cub last December, "but it's been great. We're finally getting into a small groove of it. The sleep thing is starting to get better, we're finding a routine, but it is a lot. It made two feel easy, which is wild."
To continue to stick the proverbial parenting landing, they've relied on strategies both small (Shawn has learned that not only does a pile of the new Kraft Natural Cheese Signature Shreds make an excellent side dish, but "if you put it on anything, they will eat it") and large.
Like having their main support system—Iowa-bred Shawn's parents Doug and Teri—"live literally two minutes from us," said the athlete. Which means her dad was able to spring into action following Jett's accident.
"Within two minutes, he came over, he took me and Jett and Andrew stayed with Drew and Bear," she recounted. "We're very lucky to have a good community around us because I don't know what you would do, just roll up in the middle of the night with three kids?"
Though, to be honest, that's kinda what they're doing this summer at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
With Shawn—who collected a gold medal and three silvers while competing at the Beijing games in 2008—set to serve as a correspondent, she's bringing her whole squad along.
"It sounds very cheesy and cliché, but there is some sort of sentiment to being back at the Olympics 16 years later, with my husband and my babies," she shared. "We're going to go to a gymnastics competition, we're going to get the opportunity to experience the Games. My kids could care less about any of it. They're going to want to, like, go to a candy store. But the fact that we're actually doing it is pretty exciting."
And while her crew is particularly into figure skating these days ("I'm like, 'This is really going to be a disappointment for you,'" Shawn jokes), she's hoping for the chance to cheer on some old friends.
Though of course she's rooting for all the gymnasts to get to wear those spangly red, white and blue leotards, she'd flip over the chance to watch seven-time medalist Simone Biles and 2012 all-around champ Gabby Douglas compete.
"It's not a PC answer," Shawn said of throwing her support behind all of the current U.S. gymnasts. "I know them all, I'm cheering for them all, I want every single person to make it. But who doesn't want to see Simone compete? And I trained with Gabby, she feels like a sister. So seeing her and her story would be really cool."
Though, truly, she's rooting for any and all competitors, Shawn and her former NFL long snapper husband, 32, providing $250,000 to help athletes with their child care expenses through their Moment Makers Grant.
"We had watched the marathon trials and I had seen one of the guys cross the finish line and literally pick up his toddler," Shawn recalled of the moment inspiration struck to model a fund after Allyson Felix's 2021 Child Care Grant. "And I could not imagine competing at the Olympics while being a parent. It doesn't even register to me because I was 16. But there are so many athletes that are competing that are parents who have to worry about the logistics of their children."
So understanding how crucial it is to laser focus in on your event, "I was like, they shouldn't even have to worry about the money of it. They should just focus on training," she continued. "And so for us, it was this no-brainer of we love families, we support families."
Because if there's anything Shawn learned about becoming a world champion as a teen is that it takes a singular focus.
"You cannot take in the magnitude of the Olympics until you're done," she explained. "If you do, that's really hard for anybody to manage. So I acted like I was at training. I didn't look at the village, I kind of stayed in my world until I was done."
However, throw in a few years of perspective and she just may have flipped her stance.
"Honestly, it's so bittersweet," Shawn said. "Now being on the other side of it, part of me wants to go against my own advice and say, 'Take it in. This is probably your only shot!'"
And though the athlete officially hung up her competition leotards in 2012, she continues to get high marks as a mom. Check out her family's sweetest moments.
Welcome Baby Bear
Shawn and Andrew appear with their third baby, son Bear, in December 2023.
Baby No. 3
Shawn Johnson East and Andrew East welcomed their third child on Dec. 12, 2023.
Moment With Daddy
The former NFL player already has a sweet connection with baby No. 3.
Sibling Bonding
The newborn shared a hug with big sister Drew, born in 2019, and brother Jett, born in 2021.
Bear-y Cute
The gymnast captioned this cute shot of her thirdborn with the bear emoji.
Family of Four
Shawn and Andrew, who tied the knot in 2016, posed with Drew and Jett. She captioned the 2022 portrait, "Just the Hulk and his family."
A House Divided
For Halloween 2023, the guys chose their fighters as the girls went for magical vibes.
Taking After Dad
"Well… can’t make this up," Shawn wrote in August 2022. "Little dude has a new favorite toy. Giggles, smiles, won’t put it down."
Red, White and Baby Blue
The fam was ready for fireworks on July 4, 2022.
Pool Time
Shawn and Andrew relaxed with a swim alongside their kids.
Struttin' Her Stuff
Drew modeled her one-piece swimsuit during a family pool day.