Claire Lejune
Jenna Johnson and Val Chmerkovskiy are going to be dad and mom!
The Dancing with the Stars couple, who tied the knot in 2019, are anticipating their first child — and PEOPLE has all of the particular particulars of how and when the duo came upon, the loopy cravings Johnson has been experiencing, and what their journey to parenthood has been like to this point.
“We bought house [from a trip to Cabo] and about two weeks later I used to be like, ‘Wait a minute, my boobs are feeling very huge and really sore. I have not began my interval but.’ So I peed on a stick and instantly it simply turned optimistic,” Johnson, 28, recalled. “The shock and simply disbelief was insane. I could not imagine it as a result of it wasn’t a simple journey for us to get pregnant.”
“However everyone tells you, ‘Whenever you simply chill out and you do not put the stress on your self, it occurs for you.’ That is precisely what occurred,” she added. “I feel it was precisely when it was meant to be. Our little child was created with a number of love. All of it appears so magical and meant to be.”
Claire Lejune
Thrilled to spill the beans, Johnson wished to verify she shared the information with Chmerkovskiy, 36, in probably the most memorable means.
“I went and I bought these little Child Jordans, these white sneakers,” she mentioned. “I put them in a field that was his dimension of Nikes. So he did not anticipate something. Then I put two little being pregnant exams in there. I had been shaking at house ready for him to come back house. So he nonchalantly walked in and he, satirically sufficient, had a bag of Nikes. I used to be like, ‘Did you buy groceries at present?’ He was like, ‘Yeah, I bought myself some new sneakers.’ I am like, ‘No means. I bought some too at present.'”
“He came visiting and chucked off the lid of the field and began rummaging by it,” she added. “He regarded on the sneakers and was like, ‘How small are these sneakers?’ Then it hit him and his face … it was priceless.”
RELATED: Val Chmerkovskiy and Jenna Johnson’s Relationship Timeline
Simply shy of her second trimester, Johnson says her first trimester has been fairly the journey — however she has been doing every thing in her energy to remain aware and optimistic.
“The primary trimester is a scary time and there are such a lot of issues that may go fallacious, doubtlessly,” she mentioned. “I simply have taken this time to actually chill out and attempt to keep calm and hold my physique wholesome. Which has been onerous, as a result of I am a very energetic individual. I like to work out. I really like to bop. However I’ve simply made it a precedence for myself to actually make a shift and to prioritize the infant and what was occurring and all of those new modifications.”
“The most effective issues for me was discovering peace and never having to really feel like I wanted to be so busy and insanely energetic,” she continued. “I feel I am simply giving my physique the mandatory relaxation. I feel that is the most effective factor I can do for myself. It is also simply taught me that I could be okay with downtime. I needn’t overwork myself.”
So far as the bodily transformations and modifications she continues to undergo, Johnson — who’s due in January 2023 — is absolutely embracing each second.
RELATED: All the Dreamy Photographs from Val Chmerkovskiy and Jenna Johnson’s Wedding ceremony
Claire Lejune
“Day by day after I look within the mirror and I get greater and greater, it simply hits me what’s occurring,” mentioned Johnson — who loved her first maternity photoshoot earlier this week, shot by Claire Lejune and glammed up by Emma Willis and Rachel Harper. “I simply suppose I attempt to discover methods to be tremendous grateful and discover moments of gratitude. I began slightly gratitude journal. Simply day by day I write what’s occurring in my physique. What I’ve appreciated. What I do not like. However simply how magical the expertise is. So I feel making an attempt to maintain my thoughts in that mindset has been actually useful for me.”
“Val is simply so humorous on this complete expertise,” she added. “He’s obsessive about my physique rising. He is simply obsessive about every thing. The boobs, the butt, the stomach. So for him to be so candy and optimistic about my physique, has simply made me really feel so stunning.”
And Johnson’s cravings? Recent fruit … and pickles, please!
“I have been consuming it in abundance,” she mentioned. “Watermelon. Mangoes. Papaya. Pineapple. I may in all probability pound lots of of them in a single sitting. As nicely, smoothies. Chilly smoothies at all times sounded good. Now, I might say my cravings are pickles. Significantly, I may crack open a jar of pickles at any time of the day and be so stoked.”
Whereas the duo continues to organize for parenthood, Johnson mentioned she’s most trying ahead to watching the love of her life turn into a dad.
Claire Lejune
“If he’s something like he’s as a husband, he’ll be the most effective dad on the earth,” she mentioned. “He’s so selfless and loving. Between the 2 of us, he’s by far the extra affected person one. So I feel, all of those little attributes are going to only make him an unimaginable dad.”
“Once I see him with little youngsters, he is the most effective,” she added. “He is at all times the favourite uncle. Everyone desires to play with him or do one thing with him. He is simply the most effective. He simply is aware of learn how to communicate to them and learn how to deal with them. How one can make them really feel so assured and excited.”
Whereas Chmerkovskiy hopes to come back again to DWTS within the fall, Johnson will proceed to deal with the well being and well-being of their child.
Congratulations, Chmerkovskiys!