After baby’s born, there’s a lot of extra stuff hanging out in your middle — you know what I’m talking about new mama. And shape wear is your best friend if you’re invited to a wedding or some other event where you’re expected to squeeze into something you don’t feel quite ready to squeeze into just yet.

That’s why the new Mother Tucker (yes, that’s the real name) Nursing Tank by Belly Bandit is pretty smart. It’s both shape wear and nursing tank combined, so you don’t need to mess around with a bunch of different undergarments. (Because you know breastfeeding mamas have to keep feeding baby — no matter what else is going on — so you live in nursing bras.)

Note that the Belly Bandit also claims to help flatten your tummy and get rid of your muffin top forever. Now, I haven’t tested that, so I don’t know for sure (and I’m always skeptical of those types of claims). But celebs like Kourtney Kardashian, Julie Bowen, Minnie Driver, Melissa Joan Hart and Christina Applegate swear Belly Bandit products have helped them get their bodies back post-baby. So hey. You never know.

The Mother Tucker Nursing Tank is $80 at BellyBandit.com

Did you use shape wear or a belly binder after baby was born?

Plus, more from The Bump:

5 Cutest Nursing Bras Ever

Tips for Breastfeeding In Public

How to Love Your Postbaby Body

Last night, after my workout, I forgot to put a shirt on.

For four hours, I walked around our home wearing a Target nursing bra and GAP Body short shorts. I cooked dinner that way, I talked to my friend Amanda for 45 minutes on the phone that way, I watched Californication with my husband that way and I brushed my teeth, swallowed my vitamins and hit the sack that way.

This is a relatively new phenomenon for me. Sure, there have been questionable stretches of time where I showed lots of skin: My freshman year of college, when I ran around my dorm wearing tee shirts barely long enough to cover my butt; my early 20s, when I danced until 4 a.m. in cages at clubs clad in what could barely be described as scraps of fabric; years at the gym where I worked out in just sports bras and bike shorts. But all of those phases occurred during periods of disordered eating or horrible body image issues. I suspect I was acting out in some way, revealing skin in an effort to trick people into thinking I was comfortable with, or even proud of, my figure, at times when I truly was not.

Then I got better and left the ED bullshit behind. I stopped stepping on the scale and forgot to look at the “Calories Burned” readout on the elliptical machine and no longer ordered dishes at restaurants When Harry Met Sally-style .(“I’ll begin with a house salad, but I don’t want the regular dressing. I’ll have the balsamic vinegar and oil, but on the side. And then the salmon with the mustard sauce, but I want the mustard sauce. On the side.”)I was content with my body — not in an over-the-moon, submit-my-pics-to-Playboy kind of way, but I learned to focus on what my body allowed me to do and began to appreciate its strength, its height, its power. During this period of recovery, I dressed more appropriately; I was never mistaken for an Amish woodworker, mind you, but I wasn’t exactly frolicking around the pool in a thong.

Then I had a baby, and everything changed — in a way for which I was totally unprepared. Today, I love my body. Not just in a “Today is October 17^th, it’s National Love Your Body Day!” sort of a way. It’s in an, “I want to run around naked because I am obsessed with my boobs and hey, the rest of me looks pretty damn good, too” sort of way. Not only was I not plagued by stretch marks or significant weight gain while carrying Evie, but breastfeeding had some sort of bizarre affect on my metabolism, to the point where I regularly snack on cups of buttercream frosting and order dishes like short ribs and fried calamari when dining out, and it just sort of burns off. Up top, my small-B chest has swollen to a nice C-cup, which I feel perfectly balances out my five-eleven-ness. Last week, during a baby-free Cancun weekend getaway with Dan, I found myself purposefully leaving my cover-up* in our hotel room and not only parading around the pool in my new Victoria’s Secret (Size Large!) bikini top and string bottoms, but attempting to dine at the indoor buffet in non-omelet bar-friendly attire. For the first time in my life, I am truly singing, “I love my body.” And I don’t want to feel ashamed or egotistical for doing so, because I’ve wasted far too many years screaming just the opposite at myself.

But here’s the rub: This body that I love, it’s a false body. As soon as I stop breastfeeding, the boobs will surely deflate and my teenage boy metabolism will probably screech to a halt. No more mid-afternoon noshes of whole jumbo avocados mashed up with garlic salt and slathered on Stacey’s pita chips; no more Dairy Queen runs for extra cookie dough. No more size 27 jeans. No more Victoria’s Secret Size Large bikini tops.

What I hopehopehope happens is that, come weaning time, my enhanced outlook stays with me even as my physique resettles into its old comfort zone. That I still feel comfortable walking around the pool sans cover-up and I don’t feel compelled to revert to ordering side salads squirted with lemon juice. I do believe that simply the act of being a mom to a little girl will have its own protective effects on my body image; she’s already taught me so much about adoring what I see when I look in the mirror.

And maybe – just maybe – one of the reasons I love this amplified chest so much is because of what it represents: That I am growing and nurturing our child.  To her, they offer sustenance and comfort. I wonder if perhaps that knowledge is subconsciously coloring my perspective: When I see “36 C” on my bra label, I interpret it as “Size: Nourishing.”**

But for now, as I move towards my goal of nursing for one year, I’m going to keep “forgetting” to get dressed and shovel in as many slices of deep dish as I can. Because the truth is, I’ve taken another page from the When Harry Met Sally playbook: After years of hating it, my thoughts about my bod are now of the “Oh…Oh God…Oh, ohh…Yes, Yes, YES!” variety. And damn, it feels good.

How has your body image changed postbaby?

*But what a cute cover-up it is!

**Please note, this is not me saying that moms who feed their babies formula are in any way less than. Nor am I saying a woman needs big breasts to breastfeed, because she doesn’t.

During childbirth, a woman’s vagina does amazing things, but afterwards it’s not always exactly the same. (If you’re pregnant, don’t freak out. This does not happen to everyone and based on the moms we know, big change seems like an anomaly.) That’s one of the reasons, according to Reuters, thousands of women every year turn to vaginoplasty, a procedure that surgically tightens the vagina.

So would you get plastic surgery to give your, um, “down there” parts a boost? Well, considering some women cite a lack of sexual pleasure as the reason they get vaginal plastic surgery, we wouldn’t blame you if you said yes. But some doctors say vaginal surgeries shouldn’t be done as often as they are. “None of these procedures have proven effectiveness, and there is potential for harm,” wrote Dr. Cheryl Iglesia, a Washington, D.C., gynecologist and former ACOG committee member, in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology. “Women are being misled or are confused about what is normal.” And some conditions can be helped with non-surgical treatment, she says. And what’s also scary are the potential side effects of vaginal procedures, according to Reuters: “infections, scarring, pain and the loss of the very sensations some patients seek to enhance.”

What do you think of vaginoplasty? Would you ever consider having it done? Take our poll!

Plus, more from The Bump:

How to Heal “Down There” After Delivery

Will My Vagina Be the Same Again After Delivery?

Do People Actually Have Sex After Babies?

Between the celebrity magazine covers, endorsement deals and never ending praise, it seems like everyone is obsessed with post-baby weight loss. But while Jessica Simpson and Beyonce have recently vocalized their weight-gain woes, the rest of us (see: normal folk) have marveled at their ambition to get back on the treadmill immediately after birth.

That’s why we can’t help but applaud Hillary Duff for her real-girl approach. In a recent interview with Us Weekly, the new mom to Luca Cruz explained that while she’s excited to lose the baby weight, she’s currently focused on her son rather than the size of her waistband.

“The second I start to get down like ‘what happened to by body,’ I look at my beautiful baby and I’ve never been more appreciative for this body that I have.”

And while she may feel pressure from fellow celebs who publicly declare just how quickly they’ll lose the weight, Hillary doesn’t seem to be in a hurry.

“I think if you ask any pregnant mom, they’re like ‘I want my body back,’ but it takes time. It takes nine months for your body to get that way and it’s putting on that weight on purpose.”

Finally! A celebrity mom who is both relatable and honest about her post-pregnancy struggles. Bravo, Hill!

Plus more from The Bump:

Fun Ways to Lose the Baby Weight

Revamp Your Wardrobe Postbaby

How to Love Your Postbaby Body

New mom Jessica Simpson is ready to get back her pre-baby body. Her game plan? The singer tweeted recently, “so excited to be part of the Weight Watchers family.” Jessica told PEOPLE that she wants her diet to be more of a lifestyle, because she was a yo-yo dieter in the past. But while she wants to lose the baby weight, she’s being realistic about her goals. She told the magazine, “There’s not a goal weight – I just want to feel normal and fixate on inches. I really want to set small goals, so I’m constantly reaching goals and not looking at something far ahead.”

We wonder if we’ll be seeing some Weight Watchers commercials with Jessica and current Weight Watchers spokesperson Jennifer Hudson!

What do you think of Jessica’s weight loss plan? How did you lose the baby weight? Or how do you plan on getting back in shape?

Plus, more from The Bump:

Jessica Simpson’s Memorable Pregnancy

How to Lose the Baby Weight Without Really Trying

10 Minute Workouts to do While Baby Naps