Reese Witherspoon suffers from “baby brain,” says she’s “crawling back” into shape


These are some photos of Reese Witherspoon out at her son Deacon’s soccer game over the weekend. You can see Deacon’s dad, her ex Ryan Phillippe, shaking hands with Reese’s husband, Jim Toth. It’s a nice show of camaraderie among two guys who could easily hate each other. I think that speaks to how Reese is keeping it friendly with her ex for her kids’ sake. Reese and Jim are probably not hanging out casually with Ryan and his latest young piece, but they’re able to get along at events and that’s saying something.

Extra! has a new interview with Reese that had me nodding and relating to her. Of course I like Reese because I already relate to her, I’m somewhat of a perfectionist and I appreciate that she doesn’t try to hide that side of her personality. She’s a go-getter and she’s not going to front like she doesn’t care. Still, this was nice to hear from her. She said that she has “baby brain” after her son was born and sometimes can’t think of the right words for things. She also said she wasn’t snapping back into shape immediately.

After giving birth to her third child in September – son Tennessee James – Reese Witherspoon says she isn’t exactly bouncing back into shape.

“I don’t know if I’m bouncing back. I’m slowly crawling back,” she joked to Extra at the March of Dimes Celebrates Babies event in Beverly Hills on Dec. 7.

She’s also still fighting a case of “baby brain.”

“I couldn’t remember, the other day, what you call that thing that keeps the food cold. It was the refrigerator,” said Witherspoon, 36, who’s also mom to Ava, 13, and Deacon, 8½. “I couldn’t remember the name of it!”

But the Oscar winning actress is not worrying too much about any of it.

“You just have to be gentle and patient with yourself,” she adds, “and slowly get back to your health.”

As for the reason behind all of this, Witherspoon says her newborn son is “great. He’s wonderful, healthy, happy.”

[From People]

This happened to me too in the post-partum stage. I would have word retrieval problems. I don’t know if it was from exhaustion or something else, but I believe it happens to a lot of women. As for Reese “crawling” back into shape, I don’t see it. She looks great to me and almost at the stage she was pre-pregnancy. She’s probably super critical of her body though.

Also, I have to give Reese credit for hitting two red carpets less than three months after her son was born. I didn’t return to work for the first year after my son’s birth, and I distinctly remember going to a business meeting when he was five months old. I felt so schlumpy and out of place, like I had lost my mojo. I can’t imagine having to dress up and pose for photos so soon after he was born. That’s Reese, though, she does it with a smile and a self deprecating story. That’s ambition. She may be overpaid at this stage, but she’s crawling her way back and she’ll tell you about it.

I love this picture!

Reese has great casual style, doesn’t she?

Photo credit: LRR/FameFlynet, Inc

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24 Responses to “Reese Witherspoon suffers from “baby brain,” says she’s “crawling back” into shape”

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  1. Chatcat says:

    I respect her very much. It is so important for EVERYBODY that the ex and the new get along to some degree. The kids benefit the most, but so does everybody else. I like her, she is funny, honest and hardworking.

  2. Summer says:

    I want that coat…

  3. valleymiss says:

    I’ve loved her since Legally Blonde. She’s so great in that movie.

  4. teenydj says:

    The Halles and the Brandis of the world could take a lesson or two from this chick on “how to behave like a grown up for the sake of your children.”

    • Lisa says:

      Exactly. Kudos to them all for acting like adults. Unless there is some history of abuse, divorced parents need to suck it up for the kids sake. Not always easy, granted, but such a good example for the kids.

  5. Zigggy says:

    She looks great- love the outfit.

  6. Talie says:

    Jim looks a lot like a menswear blogger, he even has that fashionable haircut all the guys are wearing.

    • CG says:

      I actually initially just glanced quickly at the header pic, and then I did a double take because I was like, “Why is Reese with Psy????” So you think “menswear blogger,” I think “Gangnam Style.” :p

  7. Gine says:

    Even though Ryan seems like a huge douche and Reese kind of annoys me, I respect both of them a lot for getting along so well. They seem like really good parents.

  8. lucy2 says:

    I like that she’s realistic about it, and being patient and healthy rather than trying to look good for a magazine shoot.

    Nice to see exes getting along too.

  9. Apples says:

    She comes across well in this article.

    Jacket lust. Anybody know brand?!

  10. mommak918 says:

    Love all of this. I have major mom brain (I have a 7wk old) and exists! I couldn’t imagine looking pulled together and cute like she does. I’m still in elastic and though I’ve worn real pants once since my son’s birth I felt like a poser (they were 2 sizes too big and I still had a muffin top.)

    As for her ex, normally can’t stand Ryan…but d*mn he looks good. Her new husband is cute too!

  11. candice says:

    She must be aspiring to look better than she did before– right now she looks the same as she did pre-pregnancy.

  12. Thiajoka says:

    I think it’s called ‘aphasia’– I had it for a while before finally being diagnosed with a b12 deficiency, which I now have to take monthly shots for. It was scary–I thought I was getting early onset Alzheimer’s.

  13. my .02 says:

    Why is it that her husband always has such horrible hair? The buzz cut he was sporting when they got married is only suitable for little boys and military recruits, and this high and tight cut can be pulled off by a man in a uniform, but on him in a flannel shirt (or anything else) looks douchey. You figure Mrs Perfectionist would send him to a barber who’d give him a flattering haircut.

  14. TQB says:

    In fairness I’ve always loved her, but the pictures of her out and about since the birth of her child make me love her even more. Yes, she looks great now, but there have been plenty of shots of her looking, well, like a 36 year old woman who just had a baby – – and owning it. big smile, not hiding in the house. I regret now that when I was a 36 year old woman who just had a baby that I felt terribly self-conscious and hid. I know it’s cheesy to be so inspired by a celeb, but Reese has made me see that there was nothing wrong with how I looked for those first 6-9 months after my son was born.

    And like everyone else, kudos to the menfolk for that hand-shaking picture. I can never quite believe all the stories of Ryan being a sleazeball because it’s clear that, if nothing else, he’s a great dad who loves his kids.

  15. Michele says:

    It’s nice to see everyone getting along for the sake of the kids. Reese looks good. Her husband, on the other hand, always reminds me of Niedermeyer from Animal House.

  16. Esmom says:

    She looks great, I covet her boots.

    I had the same post-partum issues and they seem to have hung on more than 10 years later! Going back to work was absolutely the worst, I also felt like I’d lost my mojo. I could do rehearsed presentations but I was SO slow on the uptake with spontaneous, off-the-cuff business talk.

    Which was compounded by the fact that I couldn’t give a crap about the work we were doing because it paled in comparison to the sweet, amazing baby I missed at home!

    Trying to balance it all is draining. And I’m sure it’s tough for Reese to split her time evenly between all her kids and their various stages of need.

  17. LadyMTL says:

    Halle Berry could take lessons from Reese on how to behave with an ex…I love the fact that they’re all civil with one another. And honestly, I think she looks great – I want her coat.

  18. oliveo says:

    I like low-profile Reese SO much better than the mid-2000’s, America’s Sweetheart, cutesy Oscar-campaigning Reese.

  19. B says:

    I’ve always liked Reese!