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Sleep... You Know You Want It

© Shari Green

I was talking to an exhausted young woman this morning. Her three-month-old son had one of those nights last night -- waking frequently, fussing, settling, waking again -- and mom felt like she hadn't had any sleep at all. She was apologetic about complaining, mentioning the "more serious" problems of other parents, and yet her undeniably overwhelming need was simply to get some sleep.

We shouldn't underestimate the impact lack of sleep has on our lives, and we shouldn't minimize our problems, as if pushing them under the rug because they are so "small" actually makes them go away. Sure, there are problems that, in the big scheme of things, are much more significant than a baby who won't let you sleep, but in the reality of our day-to-day lives, exhaustion is a big issue.

People who are chronically short of sleep can't concentrate or deal with stress as well as well-rested people, and memory and alertness are also affected. Sleep deprivation can also wreck your mood, leaving you grumpy and irritable right at the time when you want to be joyfully celebrating your new baby. There is no way you can function at your best when you don't get enough sleep, and this can potentially be very serious: might you fall asleep while driving? is your health deteriorating? are you likely to mistreat your baby or your spouse because you are so tired, stressed, or irritable?

Recognizing, then, that sleep deprivation is not to be taken lightly, what can parents do about it? I share with you a few suggestions with the hope that you will find something that suits you and will work for you.

1. Nap when baby naps. Easier said than done, I know, but if you can convince yourself to leave chores undone and get some sleep, you'll be glad you did. A compromise would be to power-nap for the first 20 or 30 minutes of baby's nap, then power-clean for the next 20 or 30 minutes.

2. Share night-time parenting. Try "shift work" with your partner (one feeding on, one feeding off). Breastfeeding moms can do this once their milk supply is well-established -- just pump some milk during the day so dad can feed baby a bottle at night. Another excellent option for sharing night-time parenting is having dad get up to change baby and bring baby to mom in bed for nursing, so mom can rest as much as possible.

3. Co-sleep (or "the family bed"). Let baby sleep with you. When baby wakes, mom can easily nurse him and drift off back to sleep without ever getting out of bed. This

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