Start Slow

• Your body has undergone major trauma. Do yourself a favor and don't try to jump into action a week after giving birth and race through a million sets of crunches. Start slow. You need to ease back into things, giving your body time to repair itself. Seek your doctor's advice and approval before you do anything. Also, remember to listen to your body. Ignoring certain signs can be detrimental to your recovery.
  
  

Breastfeeding

• Breastfeeding mothers burn between 200 to 300 calories more a day than nonbreastfeeding mothers. During nursing, hormones are also released that cause the uterus to shrink back to prepregnancy size.
  
  

Cardio

• Start slow. Begin with walks around the block. As your body heals and you build strength, power walk longer and incorporate some jogging.
  
  If you have access to a pool, swimming offers full body toning with less stress on your joints. When you are fully healed, try biking for a change of pace. Remember to stretch fully before and after to loosen your muscles.
  
  

Ab-Specific Exercises

• When you are cleared by your physician and your body tells you it's time to get to work, there are a few ab-specific exercises you can perform to tone your tummy.
  
  Begin with the V-up, which only requires open floor space. Lie flat on the floor and raise your arms straight above your head. Raise your legs and arms simultaneously, touching your toes in the air.
  
  You can increase the difficulty of this exercise by suspending your upper body and legs above the ground throughout all of your repetitions. At first you may have difficulty balancing, but eventually you will get the hang of it.
  
  Another ab exercise is the bicycle sit-up. This sit-up works your abs and obliques. Begin this exercise on the floor in a normal sit-up position. Let your feet hover a few inches from the ground with knees slightly bent. Upon beginning, your feet should not touch the floor until you've performed as many reps as you can. Raise your left knee while lifting your upper body. Keeping your hands behind your head, twist your body so your left knee and right elbow meet. Return to starting position; be sure your feet do not touch the ground. Repeat, twisting in the opposite direction.
  
  Use a pull-up bar to work your lower abs. While hanging from the bar, raise your knees toward your chest. Be sure to use your abs to lift your knees, rather than any swinging momentum. Once your knees pass your hips, return slowly to starting hanging position. As you grow stronger, you can increase the difficulty of this exercise by twisting your torso during each rep. This will also tone your obliques.
  
  

Kegel

• Working your pelvic muscles offers benefits deep in your abs as well. You can find your pelvic muscles by urinating and stopping the flow. The muscles you feel contracting as you stop your urine flow are your pelvic muscles. Contract these muscles for 10 seconds at a time. Eventually, you should be able to repeat this exercise 20 to 30 times. Breathe normally throughout and concentrate on the correct muscles.