GirlsGuideTo | WIN: New Moms Celebrate Real Post-Baby Bodies

Having a baby is usually one of the happiest moments in a woman's life. Looking down at her post-baby body usually isn't. Unless you have a team of chefs and trainers working on you 24 hours a day so you can bare it all 4 weeks later a la Beyonce (and every other celeb mom, it seems).

Let's face it, for most women, even if we lose the baby weight, our bodies just aren't quite the same afterwards. Bits tend to be wider, saggier, flappier, lower or just plain different than they were pre-pregnancy. While we mere mortals are contending with stretch marks and cellulite, so many celebrity moms seem to be on the beach, skipping in skimpy bikinis soon after giving birth. It's hard not to be more than a little down, yes?

Now, as the Daily Mail reports, a new group of moms is displaying their post-bump bellies. And their pictures are much more inspiring I think! It started when one mom couldn't bring herself to click on a link for "Beyonce's Body After Baby," knowing it would take her to yet another perfect, celeb post-baby bod pic. So the CT Working Moms group decided to have a photo shoot of their own. Wearing sports bras and pants, fortified with food and wine (the best courage-builder!), these girls cheered each other on and turned the night into a victorious momfest.

I love this quote from blogger Dean Fleno: “It was a completely liberating moment. Some of us started out a bit nervous and shy, but encouraging comments and catcalls from the other ladies, and let’s face it - the wine - made it easier. For me, I know I am far from what I may ultimately want my body to look like, but I know I have never felt more beautiful and accepting of my body than I did that night.

...I will admit that when I look at pictures of myself I (like I’m sure most women do) pick apart all of the things I wish were different or more sucked in, or just smaller. I end up feeling bad about myself and, instead of throwing in a workout DVD, I head to the freezer for a little therapy in an ice cream pint. When I looked through the photos of our shoot, though I did do a bit of trash talk about my problem areas, the feeling inside was completely different. I didn’t feel depressed, I felt the energy of the night. I felt the joy, love and sisterhood of that moment and again felt beautiful.”

Our verdict: WIN. You go ladies. You are all beautiful and even for those of us who aren’t mommies, you can teach us a great lesson. How often do you see a pic a friend posted on Facebook and instead of remembering how much fun you had, you pick apart how you look? You lose the good feeling of the night and end up feeling crappy about yourself.

Can we please just stop it? I’m guilty of it too, don’t get me wrong. But let’s try to be a little nicer to ourselves and remember that even if there are parts of you that you’d like to change, you aren’t a bad person or deficient in anyway. Think about these ladies and their bravery, and then try to live it your own life.

Does seeing pictures of brave women like this fab group make you feel better about yourself? Or do you find celebs’ stories of rapid weight loss inspiring?