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Zooey Deschanel's realistic approach to her post-baby body


UPDATED FEBRUARY 7, 2019 11:54 AM EST

New mom Zooey Deschanel has grown up since welcoming her little girl — ElsieOtter — last July. The New Girl star opened up in an interview with Redbook magazine about motherhood and taking time off to concentrate on herself and family. "I've never really felt like an adult,” the quirkyactress confessed. “But I think it's a huge accomplishment to have a child, somaybe I feel like an adult for that reason."

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Photo: Getty Images

Since welcoming her first child with husband Jacob Pecheni, Zooey has pulled back on her careerto take time for herself. She explained, "I've slowed things down a bit. I think it'sgood for your whole self— your creative self, your professional self, and justyour soul— to take a little time for yourself and your family."

The TV star continued, “You can spend your whole life goingafter things, but I think you risk missing out on some really powerfulself-reflection."

THE MOST STYLISH CELEBRITY KIDS

While Zooey used her time away to focus on her family, sherevealed that getting back to her pre-baby weight was not a priority. The 36-year-old said,"To expect someone to look like her pre-baby self immediately is odd.Because you just grew a human and then birthed that human—there's a lot thatneeds to go back to where it was. All your organs move around, forchrissakes!"

Photo: Yu Tsai/Redbook

Instead of scrutinizing the bodies of mothers post-baby, Zooey places a greater importance on women supporting other women. She said, "Growingup, girls get all of these cues that you're not supposed to be aggressive. Youcan't be bossy. If you're assertive, you're b-tchy,” she said.

The mom-of-one added, “There are a lot of negative thingsthat are said about women who are powerful, and I think that it makes for aclimate where women end up being inadvertently passive-aggressive toward oneanother, and sometimes trying to pull each other down."