Coping With Fatigue

Are you coping with fatigue from a new baby?

Well, cut your expectations of yourself in half. The immaculate home, the gourmet meals, and the beautifully organized schedule that you've prided yourself on aren't as important right now as taking care of your baby and yourself.

* Use paper plates and take-out meals for a few weeks and don't even think about feeling guilty about it. Take your phone off the hook or put on your answering machine.

* Don't feel guilty about wanting your baby to sleep, so you can have time for yourself; it's a normal feeling. Put the baby in a room other than yours if you're a light sleeper, disturbed by the baby's movements or sounds. When your baby needs you, you're going to know it.

* Don't exhaust yourself by working whenever the baby is sleeping. Naps, yours that is, restore energy better than any stimulus. And remember that it's okay to get household help; it can be a good investment in you.

* Try living a timeless life. Don't upset yourself by looking at the clock every time you're awakened at night. You have to get up anyway. Don't make it worse by keeping count of the lost hours of sleep.