Eight weeks after giving birth via c-section to 9-pound, 5-ounce Hank Baskett Jr., Kendra Wilkinson is back in a bikini.  She reportedly gained 55 pounds, and has lost 25 of them.

First let me say congratulations to Kendra on her adorable baby boy!  I’m sure she’s incredibly happy and her life will never be the same.  That said, I have to address the pictures in OK! magazine of Kendra in a bikini.  There’s lots of talk about whether these pictures are airbrushed, Photoshopped, or both, and if you know me, I couldn’t let it go without saying something.

I don’t have children, so I can’t say that I’ve carried a child and know how pregnancy affects my body.  I do have lots to say about how much these celebrity “bikini after baby” photos bother me.  Not because of the effect on me, but for how I’m sure they upset women who have had their own babies.

From what I’ve seen, pregnancy, labor, and weight loss are very personal things for each woman.  I have seen friends and family members who have had easy pregnancies, rough ones, easy-breezy labor, excruciating labor, instant weight loss, and some who still carry the pounds.  There are so many factors that contribute to each one of them, but I feel that seeing the pictures of celebrities causes women to feel like they have to live up to a ridiculous standard.  Even worse, guys look at these pictures and wonder why they can do it and their wives and girlfriends can’t.  I don’t think most guys would be stupid enough to say that to the woman who just gave birth to their child, but I wouldn’t be surprised at all that they think it.

Do I think these pictures have been altered?  I have no idea.  Something seems SO wrong to me about analyzing and criticizing another woman’s body in that way.  I wish I could say that I’ve never done it, but I have.  I think the problem I have with the pictures is the fact that we even have to see them in the first place.  I know we live is a materialistic/beauty-loving society and there’s a lot of judging books by their covers going on.  All these celebrity photos do is establish an unrealistic set of standards we will never be able to live up to.

I do think it’s possible for some people to lose all that weight quickly.  But I also think that the celebrity lifestyle makes it much easier to do so.  Most of them have trainers, nanny, cooks, and let’s not forget the money to get tummy-tucks and other forms of plastic surgery.  The average woman does not, but is still held to that standard.  Yes, we impose a lot of those standards on ourselves, and I really hope we can get over them.

Personally, I still have lots of body issues that started when I was a teenager.  I’ve had boyfriends comment on my weight during those years, and it took a LONG time to get over some of those things.  I’m sure I still hold some of that inside of me.  The funny thing is…I look back at pictures from the times that they (and I) thought I was fat, and would kill to look like that now.  It’s really very unfortunate, and I hate knowing that there are girls who are going to go through the same thing.

All this isn’t to say that body issues are Kendra Wilkinson’s fault, but I really wish they would be more honest with us about what they have to do to get back in that bikini so soon.  I was very impressed with Kourtney Kardashian when she recently spoke out about the Photoshopped photos that OK! printed of her.  She wanted people to know that she gained more weight than they claimed she did, and that she has NOT lost it all.  Good for her!

I would love to hear what YOU think!  Women…How did pregnancy affect you?  Do you feel these pictures represent an unreachable standard?  Do pictures in the media affect how you feel about yourself, and if not, how have you worked through that?  Men…Do you secretly compare your woman to the pictures of celebrities?  How did your wife or girlfriend’s pregnancy affect you?

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Just my humble opinion…Pebbles!