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Peta Murgatroyd Shares Baby Son Shai Was Hospitalized for Three Days at 11 Days Old


Talk about a scare! New dad Maksim Chmerkovskiy previously shared that he got his first taste at the ups and downs of parenthood just weeks after his wife, Peta Murgatroyd, gave birth to their baby son, Shai, in January. And after his emotional Dancing With the Stars performance with his celeb partner, Vanessa Lachey, during week four of the hit show, Peta couldn’t help but remember that difficult time.

Her husband’s DWTS dance was a tribute to Vanessa and her partner Nick Lachey’s baby son Phoenix, who was born prematurely. The health scare was something Maks and Peta could unfortunately relate to. “We also got to hear about Vanessa and Nick welcoming their son Phoenix early and having to spend six weeks in the hospital with him. I absolutely cried watching their package. I think seeing another mom go through something like that really hits close to home,” Peta told People. “Our son Shai was in hospital for three days when he was 11 days old and that was a really traumatic experience. I’ll never forget those days so I can’t even fathom what Nick and Vanessa went through for six weeks with Phoenix.”

In March, Maks opened up about his first trip to the emergency room with his son after the newborn came down with a sudden fever. “We were so like not prepared for the protocol [and] procedure that happened at the emergency rooms with infants that small. Nobody really ever told us anything about that. It was a big shock to the mind and to the heart,” the 37-year-old told ABC News. “You start to see a little IV on a little baby and you’re like, ‘Oh my God, this is crazy.’ And then we had to travel and fly back to LA after this just happened. It was a lot for us.”

Thankfully, little Shai turned out to be just fine (he’s already walking!). But despite the scare, it won’t stop him and Peta from expanding their little family in the future — as the new doting dad is already thinking about baby No. 2!

“Yes, I would like to have as many kids as Peta decides to pop out,” Maks revealed to E! News. “I think we’re going to have as many kids as we can ourselves and just adopt a couple of kids. I just want a big family.”

Scroll through the gallery below to see more adorable photos of baby Shai!