Rycroft: Not as flexible for second DWTS

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LOS ANGELES, Oct. 6 (UPI) -- U.S. reality television personality Melissa Rycroft said her second stint on "Dancing with the Stars" has been more difficult since she's had a baby.

Rycroft, 29, gave birth to daughter Ava Grace last year.

She told People magazine she and professional dance partner Tony Dovolani have noticed her body isn't as flexible as it was her first time on the show.

"I think Tony and I noticed right off the bat that my body is very different than it was," she said in an interview during rehearsal. "Not necessarily shape-wise, but in how it moves, and how -- more importantly -- it doesn't want to move anymore. I think my hips are mad at me from what they went through. The flexibility is gone. I'm fighting a little bit more, but you know, we'll get there."

Despite her flexibility difficulties, Rycroft said she's looking forward to icon week on the all-star season of "DWTS," in which contestants pick one of their favorite routines from their previous season and put a new spin on it.

"I'm in charge of it," she said. "We're doing samba, and we have some things in here that 100 percent we know we haven't seen on the show before. And that's exciting because after 14 seasons, you've really seen pretty much everything. When you're not allowed to do lifts, you have to get really creative."