As a mom, you probably already get up at the crack of dawn. I know I´ve been up at 4 am for the majority of mornings since my baby was born. The trick is making those early morning hours count for something.

Are you are woken up by the baby, who falls back asleep? Then you find yourself tossing and turning and stressing about the fact that you only have another hour before he´s awake again. Instead of fidgeting and not sleeping, it´s often better to just get up. Some people fall back asleep easily, but in my experience, those people are usually men! Moms tend to have a more difficult time with sleep.

It can take some time to really get the engines running when you are up at 4 or 5 in the morning. Some people are natural morning people, they won´t need the advice in this article . . . although I welcome tips in the comment section! However, many of us were once night owls who were turned into zombies of the dawn by our newborns. It can be tough to get going early on, so here are a few tips:

- Eat something. Fueling your body is a good way to signal that it´s time to get going and start working. A banana or a handful of dried fruit is good if you don´t want to make breakfast until everyone is up. A cup of coffee is a staple for me, in addition to a piece of fruit.

- Move around. Even if you are just swinging your arms or running in place, doing 5 minutes of vigourous exercise will help get that blood pumping and will make you feel more alert.

- Take a minute to relax. If you find yourself annoyed at being up so early, chill out for a bit. Instead of jumping right onto the computer to try and work in that state of mind, make the first bit of your morning special. Sit down with some hot chocolate and read a magazine article or two (without kids trying to rip the pages out!) or watch the news. Whatever it is that helps you enjoy life.

- Have a plan. I find that it is easier for me to get into work mode if I already have a plan laid out. This is a good habit to get into, planning out your day the night before. Even if you simply have a to do list, that will give you somewhere to start and you won´t waste time thinking about what to do.

- Get ready for the kids. If you know that your children get up in turbo mode (like my toddler), prepare for it. Have breakfast ready to go when he gets up and activities set up to avoid tantrums that can ruin your day before it even starts. In my household, this means having a bowl of cereal ready to go and a bottle of milk for my toddler, and a quick diaper change and a bottle for the baby.

How do you make your early morning hours useful and efficient? Tell me in the comments!