Nighttime Feedings

No wonder you feel like a train wreck in the morning. You're not only waking up often, but you also feel like you're on call all night, listening for your baby's tiniest peep. "Your sleep is lighter than normal, you awaken or arouse more frequently, and you feel sleepier the next day," says Roth. "It's the anticipation of being called. This sort of sleep loss can have cumulative effects over time."

Solution: Wake up the baby for a feeding before you turn in for the night, or go to bed when she does. Synchronize your sleep with your infant's. And take turns with your partner when responding to your baby's cries, whether you're breast- or bottle-feeding. That way, you'll know you can sleep uninterrupted at least half the night. "I used to pump before bed," says Leesa Chalk Suzman, a mom of two in Scarsdale, New York. "I'd have my husband give the next bottle so I could get more than two hours of sleep in a row."

When it's your turn, keep the lights dim so it's easier to drift back to the land of Nod. "With my second child, my pediatrician told me I didn't have to change his diaper after every feeding, which really helped," recalls Mary Rose Almasi, a mother of two in Somers, New York. "I'd just nurse with my eyes shut and fall right back to sleep." Having her baby sleep in the same room made it easier.

Stumble Upon Facebook Del.icio.us Google Yahoo Digg it