Baby belly busting.

Okay, first things first. I know I've never, personally, given birth and I have no idea what it feels like dealing with postpartum weight gain, so there will be no need to post a comment telling me such.

Now that we have that out of the way, here's an except from article from CNN discussing how unrealistic it is to expect that baby bulge to vanish overnight.

There's fierce pressure coming from all sides to go back to a weight that is "normal" -- read unrealistic.

Though women have enough sense not to compare themselves to supermodels (Heidi, good for you. You're skinny again. Rah.), svelte celebrity moms are always talking about how they worked hard, but took off 40 pounds in 40 minutes.

Or they say things that can seem insensitive, like Gisele Bundchen telling Vogue: "I think a lot of people get pregnant and decide they can turn into garbage disposals."

"What women have to constantly tell ourselves is that she is not me," said Katie Gentile, the director of the Women's Center at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Gentile has written about pregnancy and body image for national publications. "The nannies are cropped out of those pictures. Remember that."

While this is a valid point, I don't think it's entirely accurate. First off, women don't have enough sense not to compare themselves to supermodels, which is why they get in this pickle. (For the record, neither do men. I wish I had a nickel for every chowderhead I know obsessed with achieving "300 abs - like, you know, Spartan abs, dude! Those Spartans were rad!") But it's really not fair to blame the models. First off, it's their job to be skinny, so you bet they and their staff of hundreds will make sure that weight vanishes fast. Second, why should they be held accountable for what they say? It has no bearing on their profession whatsoever. I mean, do we hold Bill Gates accountable for what he looks like in a bikini? No.

On a more positive note, the article spends a lot of time proposing solutions for post-baby weight loss. For example:

Medical experts say it's fine to start walking within days of giving birth, unless the mother has undergone a C-section or invasive surgery. So walk around the block. When you feel stronger, climb the stairs in your house. If your child is sleeping, get on the floor and do 10 pushups or lunges across the den. Pop in an exercise DVD and put it on mute. Can your partner watch the child while you escape to an aerobics or yoga class? When your child is a bit older, call around to local gyms. At least one will likely have a baby-sitting service.

Personally, while I feel it's important to get to a healthy weight as soon as possible and taking care of one's self is crucial to properly raising a kid, it's absurd how much women (and their asshole husbands) focus on getting skinny. It's much more important to focus on being a parent. Eat right and stay active and your body will correct itself. At least, that's the advice I gave the mother of my child.

But that's because I'm rad.