For Shakira, baby weight has been ‘a challenge,’ ‘stressful’

Shakira’s baby weight is causing un poquito de stress because of the singer’s career.

The Colombian singer, who serves as a mentor on NBC’s “The Voice,� gave birth to her first child, Milan, on Jan. 22 then had to get back in the national spotlight just two months later when she and Usher replaced Christina Aguilera and Cee Lo Green on the singing competition.

“I mean, I guess our mothers and grandmothers weren’t under the pressure that women of today are after delivering a baby,� she said at NBC Summer Press Day in Pasadena on Monday (via Us Weekly and People). “My dad says that there’s nothing better than a little meat on the bone! He likes my mom a little chubby. So she was never under the pressure to get back to her old weight, and she never did, actually!�

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This is the same woman who sang these lyrics in “Your Embrace�: “Tell me, what’s the use / Of a twenty-four inch waist / If you don’t touch me? / Tell me, what’s the use again / Of being on TV every day / If you don’t watch me?� She also showed off her post-baby body in leather pants when she launched her perfume S at Sephora in Paris.

However, the petite singer said her struggle to stay fit is magnified because of her job.

“I have a career, and that’s the only part that’s been a bit stressful because I knew that I’d have to come back here to do ‘The Voice’ two months after I delivered a baby. I didn’t have my four months maternity like every woman on Earth has. So I’m not trying to complain, but it’s been a process full of challenges in my life,� she admitted.

Shakira, 36, whose full name is Shakira Mebarak, said that to stay in shape she’s been doing Zumba, which she did during her pregnancy, but revealed, “I’m still a few pounds over!�

She’s got her hands full with her little man but is “really enjoying every bit� of motherhood. She’s even brought the little guy to set with her, tweeting a photo of Milan joining her in her big red “Voice� chair.

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“I didn’t expect babies to need so many diapers! Nobody told me they needed to be changed so often!� she joked. “I mean he’s a great, great baby. He’s an easy one, I think. But nobody told me it would be this hard. It takes a lot of energy from you. But I love it, I’m really enjoying every bit of it. It’s just that it’s not as idyllic as everybody tells you, but also not as horrible as everyone tells you.�

She said she’s grateful that boyfriend/FC Barcelona soccer star Gerard Pique, 26, is very involved with Milan, spending as much time with the baby as she does.

“He’s the kind of dad who’s full hands-on. He changes diapers, he bathes him, he enjoys playing with the baby, he enjoys feeding him, all of that stuff,� she said. “So that’s great help for me, you know. I can’t imagine doing all of this and not having the father do his part of the job. So that’s a huge help to me.�

So what’s a few extra pounds when she’s got an awesome family, right?

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