Do the 'Rec Check'

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Before you start doing any vigorous stomach exercises, you need to check if your muscles are strong enough after birth. The stomach muscles at the front (called rectus abdominus) can separate during pregnancy and take roughly 6-12 weeks to repair themselves.
Here's how to check if you're ready - but don't do this if you're still pregnant!

Lie on your back, head on floor, knees bent, feet flat and tighten your tummy.
Place the tips of your index and middle fingers, side by side, just above belly button and push down firmly.
Tighten your stomach muscles and breathe in. As you breathe out, bring your head and shoulders off the floor. Feel the abdominal muscles closing in on your finger tips.
If the gap between your stomach muscles is more than two finger widths apart, you're not ready to do stomach curls yet so concentrate on gentler movements like pelvic tilts (below) and posture instead.
If the gap between your muscles is two finger widths or less, you're ready to do one or two sets of 12 head and shoulder raises. You can move on to more advanced exercises only when stronger.