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You stop being postpartum…

…one year after your baby’s birth.
While this is the most popular definition, remember that different women recover from pregnancy and childbirth at different speeds. One year on, and you may feel in better physical shape than you did before you had your baby. Or you may not. But be warned: setting yourself that one-year deadline may cause you unnecessary anxiety about your performance if you still lack the energy required to get you and your eleven month old out of your respective jammies before noon.

…when you stop breastfeeding.
While the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends “exclusive breastfeeding for approximately the first six months and support for breastfeeding for the first year and beyond as long as mutually desired by mother and child” (February 2005), your personal circumstances and preferences may dictate otherwise. Your child may self-wean sooner than you wanted. You may have to stop nursing because you’re on medication that’s incompatible with breastfeeding. You may choose to nurse your child well into his second or third year, or you may get pregnant again before you stop breastfeeding your firstborn. You might consider yourself no longer postpartum when you stop breastfeeding, but clearly, that’s a time frame that varies from mom to mom.