Brooke Burke: How I Got that Pre-Baby Body Back!

smiling woman brooke burke how i got that pre-baby body back

Photo by Richard Hume


Brooke Burke has had four babies and has never looked better!


Read on for the Key to her Svelte Success: the Postpartum Belly Wrap!


When Brooke Burke won the disco-ball trophy as the champion of last season's "Dancing with the Stars," she was in the best shape of her life, but she didn't have far to go because when she started, despite having given birth to her fourth child just five months earlier, she looked fabulous. So how did she do it?


Burke, who also is known for her hosting jobs on E!'s Wild On! and CBS' Rock On, credits her great abs to her use of Tauts, a belly wrap that she now sells on her Web site, Babooshbaby.com so that other new moms can also get back their pre-baby bodies. The fit and famous mom shared all of her shapely secrets with Just Mommies!


JM: How did you discover the post-partum belly wraps?


Brooke Burke: Wrapping your post-partum belly is a concept that has been around for centuries. Thousands of women around the world have been doing it. Actually, my mother-in-law is French and it is very popular in the French culture -- and Asian and Hindu women all over the world have been doing it, too. I got turned on to it with the birth of my third child. I couldn't find a great product here in the United States, so in November 2007, my mother and I started babooshbaby.com. It really was my avenue to reach moms around the world, share some of my pregnancy secrets, and share tips about how I got back in shape. We developed a product called Tauts, which is the belly wrap. It really, really works. It is the best natural way to get back in shape.


It works as a compression garment. It helps the swelling of the uterus go back down to its original size and it supports all that baggy baby skin. It feels really good after delivery because it holds everything in place, so it is a great, great way to get back in shape.


newborn baby


JM: What response have you had from women?


Brooke Burke: I do a mommy blog and I get tons of testimonials. Basically, for everybody who is pregnant, why not give yourself the best shot at getting back in shape? It works marvelously. We went from selling 15 a day to selling hundreds a day. It has really exploded. It was a small idea, but a great way of helping mommies out.


JM: You have also produced an oil to help prevent stretch marks?


Brooke Burke: I was really big on keeping my growing belly lubed when I was going through my pregnancies, so I developed a lightly scented oil for pregnant moms. We sell that at Baboosh Baby, too, Then we have an item for women -- and men -- for after pregnancy to help get you back in shape-- to help sweat out the extra pounds. It is called Baboosh Body.


JM: You come from a large family -- three sisters and three brothers. Are you done now that you have four kids?


Brooke Burke: I think so. I have had four healthy pregnancies and four healthy children. My fourth was a boy. The odds of that happening weren't great. I think possibly David [Chavret, "Baywatch"] would like to have another one, but I don't know. They all need so much right now.


JM: With four children, what surprised you most?


Brooke Burke: Nothing really surprised me. It is such a life-changing experience. Each baby and each pregnancy brings something new and fresh to our family. Four rocked my world; three was doable. Having two babies in diapers is probably the most challenging part I have experienced. My first two were two years apart, so having two little ones a year apart is a whole other world.


JM: What kind of help do you have?


Brooke Burke: I never had a live-in. When I had my first baby, I had help, because I was traveling around the world [for Wild On!]. I didn't have a live-in with my second daughter, but by baby No. 3, being a working mom I had to give in a little bit. Ever since "Dancing with the Stars" and my fourth baby, I needed a lot of help because I was working seven days a week. I have a really great woman who helps me during the week to stimulate my children and educate them. I have help at home with the house because there are six of us living there.


I really had to give in after four and start delegating and cutting myself some slack knowing that I can't do it all, but I've never had a night nurse. I have always been very hands on. I just realized with four -- everybody has a different agenda, different afterschool activities, different birthday parties, and different wishes -- I realized I would rather have help then have to give up a lot of things for the kids. Especially the older kids, they have karate, piano, and afterschool stuff.


nutural soap


JM: Were you a natural mother, or did you to turn to your own mother for advice?


Brooke Burke: I have a great relationship with my mom. She taught me so many things in my life that I value and I hope to teach my children. I think I had a good natural instinct and I always wanted to be a mother, so I embraced it with excitement and without a lot of fear. I think you learn so much from other women and from other mothers. As a woman, no matter what you are going through, there is another woman going through it. That is so comforting. There is so much to learn and I read every book, but at the end of the day, I made it up as I went along.


I tried to find confidence in the choices that I made. I never strived to be the perfect mom. I just wanted to take it day by day. I wanted to do the best that I could, and I wanted to do what was right for my family, which is what I preach to other mommies out there, too. There is not one way to do it. There are a million ways to do it.


JM: What is the most important thing you learned that you could pass on to other moms?


Brooke Burke: Find out what works for you and your family and feel good about your choices. Everybody is going to tell you how to do it -- especially a first-time mother -- and I think you have to follow your instincts. There are so many things I would say. You also have to not lose yourself as a woman in the process, which a lot of women do. The first thing that goes is our personal time. I think it is really important as a woman to not to lose yourself in the whole motherhood journey.


JM: So do you and David have a date night?


Brooke Burke: We really tried the whole date night concept and found ourselves not able to stick to it. It is wishful thinking. We try to carve time out for ourselves. Sometimes a hot date for us is going to bed early. We have two kids in diapers, so we don't sleep very much, but we make sure we have alone time to ourselves and, even though the time we do have is limited, we make sure that it is quality time.


JM: Finish this sentence: Having my children made me….?


Brooke Burke: Having my children made me last on the totem pole.