It's not stretching, it's separation. It's called diastasis recti and as someone already mentioned, it happens with 98% of pregnancies (and it can also happen if you've been very overweight for a long time). Lose Your Mummy Tummy, a book on the Tupler Technique may help, but I found the book long on blah blah blah and short on actual useful information.

You can google a lot of info about correcting diastasis recti with exercise. Some traditional ab exercises can make it worse, so be aware of that.

You probably can't totally heal it if it's quite a huge gap, but you can certainly make a MASSIVE difference.

Good luck!

if you find it really doing damage to your self-esteem, it might also be worth looking into a tummy tuck. they repair muscle damage from pregnancy.

I did the video linked above and I don't have a separation.....just a big tummy!

I have to be pretty careful with my exercises since I have some herniated discs and some other joint issues (anything like crunches that involves leaning forward is out). I could still be doing more core work than I have been, like planks, but I think more importantly I need to lose more fat.

I agree muscle tone and proper postpartum exercises will help. We'll just say my waist went from 36 inches to 32.5 in about a month, thanks to hard transverse ab work to close the abdominal gap and get all organs girded and back into their proper place with muscle tone.

I'll always have apple tendencies, it's my fat distribution pattern, but I can modify that a good amount with selective, intense workouts.

(T-Tap for the win!)

Do you know any good exercises that don't involve leaning forward or twisting?

Planks

I started planks recently, I really like them. Is that enough?

i was just going to set up a huge holler about my abs, also.

All i'm getting now is the "you'd better stop now because you're getting too skinny" bit from people but here is that flappy, flabby tummy (around my belly button) that kind of ruins the rest of my shape, i think MOST of it is loose skin and there's nothing i can do about that.

I have a Squeem type corset but the problem with that is you can kind of see the hooks, but i like that particular kind because i need flattening in the front and not necessarily a nipped in waist on the side, even though it does that very well. I'd still like to find a GREAT firm hold cami but i already am in a small and it would have to be pretty firm

I feel your pain! But then again i have nothing to complain about, i haven't had children and you have!

I feel your pain. But nothing strange is happening here, everyone is in the same boat. You just happen to be apple-shaped. You can find out more about body shapes and fashion here http://youlookfab.com/2007/12/12/the-body-shape-bible/
I'm a pear-shape with hourglass tendencies. This means that even if I lose a bunch of weight my hips and thighs will always be larger than I want them to be. Hips and thighs are the last place my body lets go of fat, and for apple shapes it's as you describe --> trim everywhere except the midsection!

If you keep at it you will eventually lose. You cannot spot reduce but you can strengthen your core by doing pilates. Pilates is the single most effective way to engage your abs I have found. Of course continue with cardio.