All hail Gretchen Rossi! The first-time mom, 40, bravely revealed her post-baby body on Instagram August 1, only three weeks after welcoming daughter Skylar Gray with fiancé Slade Smiley, 45 — and she looks amazing! In her IG story, Gretchen — who jokingly hashtagged the video #HotMessExpress — says she gained 50 pounds during her pregnancy and was 170 pounds going into labor. The RHOC star delivered her daughter via C-section, which means she has to wait between six-to-eight weeks to recover before starting any sort of exercise routine — but she’s already down to 145 pounds from her regular 120 — SEE THE VIDEO HERE!
“Lots of you keep asking about how my recovery is doing and how much weight I’ve lost and all that — it’s 3 weeks to the day…it’s surprising how quickly my actual stomach went down but I’ve definitely got a lot of stuff going on here still here and here,” she explains, pointing to her rib cage area. Sporting a black nursing bra, which exposes her surgical scar, and a cozy, low-rise pair of sweats, Gretchen looks healthy, relaxed and happy.
Showing off her slender frame, the gorgeous blonde also wanted her 836,000 followers to know she’s “on no diet.” Rossi goes on to divulge that she’s hungrier now than she was when she was pregnant, chalking breast-feeding up to “burning a lot of calories.” Some of her post-pregnancy indulgences include home-cooked meals from her mom, Brenda Forward, along with ice cream and Oreos — and we spotted a drool-worthy cheese and charcuterie board on her story. Treat yourself, girl!
Gretchen and Slade — who became engaged in 2013 — welcomed Skylar on July 10 after 14 tragic embryo losses. The couple turned to IVF after failures to get pregnant naturally, and have been open about their struggles to conceive. While this is the first child for Gretchen, Skylar has two older siblings via her dad, older brothers Gavin and Grayson.