your tips & to do's:

The phrase "slept like a baby" tends to make most of us conjure an image of this peaceful baby sleeping for hours, undisturbed by anything. Those first days after birth, or even weeks after birth, you may discover your little one snoozes most of the day away, totally oblivious to camera flashes and onlookers. As you spend too many hours just holding, cuddling, and gazing adoringly at your the snoozing angel, you may finally realize what "sleeping like a baby" means. It means passing gas, funny faces, little grunts, and a few grins.

Do your best to "sleep like a baby" as often as possible during the next few weeks. Not only is childbirth exhausting, but you will soon experience moments when your newborn is overly tired, turning into restless, cranky, demanding little creature who wakes up at all hours of the night with certain, demanding cries. Many new parents think that they are doing something wrong. Perhaps their first week home went wonderfully, and you had a newborn who sleep five hours straight at night. Maybe your little one peacefully snoozed from one feeding to another, giving you plenty of time to rest as well. And then the tides turn, and your little monster is depriving you of much needed sleep.

This happens, so don’t worry if it happens to you. If it doesn't happen to you, count yourself insanely lucky and try to avoid gloating or bragging about it to the rest of us, please. You are more well-rested than the rest of us and we can’t be held entirely accountable for how we'll respond to your chipper attitude.

You may not be able to avoid all sleep issues, but you can be prepared for them. Research the sleep advice of experts and learn about the various methods of getting babies to sleep through the night. There are plenty to choose from. You're sure to find one that fits your style and vision of parenting. Just keep in mind that your baby's temperament will play a large part in the success of any method. There are believers in co-sleeping and believers in keeping your little one in their own crib. Some who suggest closing the nursery door and not looking back until morning and others who suggest waiting through five minutes of crying before intervening. What works for some won't work for all, so take it all with a grain of salt and ask around. Talk with friends and family members who have seemingly well-rested children and find out what worked for them.

There is a reason why everyone is telling you to enjoy your sleep right now, while you can. Because a good night's sleep is super easy when you're 35 weeks pregnant... right?

Don't forget to write in your pregnancy journal; and take a side profile pregnancy body picture, too!