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Shawn Johnson Reveals How Her and Husband Andrew East’s Parenting Styles Differ: ‘I’m the Micromanager’ (Exclusive)

Practice makes perfect! Shawn Johnson and her husband, Andrew East, have different parenting tactics when it comes to raising their 4-month-old daughter, Drew.

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“I’m the micromanager,” the Olympian gymnast, 28, recently told Us Weekly exclusively, while promoting her partnership with Enfamil. “I feel like every mom becomes it, just because you have this instinct of how you think your kid should be raised, and dad will go over and do something and you’re like, ‘Oh no, she likes it this way.’ We actually had a conversation about that the other day. I’m like, ‘I’m sorry I have been working on it. I will try not to micromanage you.’”

Shawn-Johnson-Reveals-How-Her-Parenting-Style-Differs-From-Husband-Andrew-East
Shawn Johnson

The Winning Balance author added, “He’s more the laidback, playful kind [of parent]. I’m more of keeping on schedule.”

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The couple welcomed their daughter, Drew, in November 2019. “You are our everything,” Johnson captioned her Instagram reveal at the time. “Welcome to the world baby girl.” Since the little one’s arrival, the Illinois native has struggled with mom guilt.

“Every single decision you make you feel is impacting their future and setting them up for life or tearing them down,” the Dancing With the Stars season 8 winner explained to Us. “That guilt can really take over sometimes.”

The professional football player, 28, encourages his wife, though, and she tries to “trust [his] instinct,” Johnson told Us. “[I] ask questions with doctors and nurses and friends … but you have to fight [the guilt] every day.”

That being said, the Apprentice alum doesn’t feel bad about posting a video of Drew’s first flip despite the negative response she received from social media mom-shamers. “I’ve learned how to thicken my skin to where it doesn’t bother me. But when they come after my kid and start questioning … it’s the first time I felt like they were threatening my love for my child,” she said. “They had said that they were concerned for her health and well-being.”

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Johnson previously defended her decision on social media, writing, “She was PERFECTLY safe so don’t even.”

The “Couple Things” podcast host breast-fed Drew for the first few weeks, but when the infant wasn’t responsive to it, Johnson switched to bottle feeding and supplemented with formula. She and East chose Enfamil Enspire, which contains two ingredients previously found only in breast milk — Lactoferrin and MFGM.

With reporting by Christina Garibaldi

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