2. How much sleep your baby's getting

Sleep experts say that 6-month-olds should doze 12 to 13 hours a day, including naps. Not only do their brains and bodies grow when they're asleep, but well-rested children are better learners. How your baby acts when she's awake is a good indicator of whether she's getting adequate rest. Tired babies may be clingy, short-fused, and uninterested in exploring or playing independently. Or they may go into overdrive and have a harder time nodding off.

If you recognize these signs, it may be time to rethink whatever bedtime approach you've taken. While your baby may love your middle-of-the-night strolls around the house, too much stimulation could be keeping her from getting the shut-eye she needs. Would letting her try to soothe herself work instead?

On the flip side, some babies wail in their cribs because they just aren't tired or calm enough to sleep, so you might ask: What can you do (aside from skipping naps, which isn't a good idea) to make her sleepier at night? Or would rocking her to sleep help?

3. How much sleep you're getting

Parents lose more than 200 hours of sleep in their baby's first year, according to the National Sleep Foundation. That's no surprise: When your infant is still eating around the clock, there's little chance of getting the recommended seven to nine hours of sleep a night. If your baby is no longer a newborn, though, and you're a total zombie from rocking and feeding all night long, some moms would say it's time for a change.

Angela Glazer of Tampa remembers the day she broke down after three sleepless months with her twin daughters. "I started laughing and crying at the same time," Glazer says. "It was a moment of misery and bliss, because I loved these babies so much but I thought I would die of exhaustion. I would have done anything to get some sleep."

She found a sleep coach, Shari Mezrah, and, with her pediatrician's okay, stopped giving the babies bottles to get them to sleep. "They cried a lot, and that was really hard for me," she says. "But I was at the end of my rope. The crying was less painful than the agony of getting up."

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