I thought we could start a support/query thread for mama's who are thinking about returning to school or are in school. It's a lot to balance and we could use the space to offer support or ask questions for struggles we are undergoing.
I'll introduce myself and my field of study below!
apricot / 490 posts
Public Health here! I was seven months pregnant with my daughter when I finished my MPH. When my daughter was 17 months I started my DrPH program which is in health policy and management. My program has classes in the late afternoon and evening so I still work a normal, non-academic job though I only work 21-28 hours a week under a consulting agreement. My daughter goes to full time daycare so I can get school work done and its still spills over onto many of our weekends. When my son comes in July I will reduce my hours and continue my coursework. Whew, I am tired just thinking about it!.
cherry / 245 posts
@teawithpaloma: great idea! I have a 17 month old daughter and in January, quit my job to go back to school to get a degree in early childhood education. I'll be certified to teach birth-2nd grade. I now stay at home and go to school full time. I have family watch my daughter when I'm in class.
watermelon / 14467 posts
What a great idea! I am looking into going back to school for one of two things:
- MLIS so I can be a librarian
-Meteorology
I like both ideas, but with the second, I would have to get a completely new Bachelor's degree before getting a Master's. The only thing that scares me is the degree of math involved.
cantaloupe / 6634 posts
Love this idea!
I have a 10 month old son and when my husband found out his teaching contract wouldn't be renewed, we decided it was the right time for me to go back to school for my master's and not him. I was not anticipating this at all and thought I might get my masters in the way future. I am hoping to be done in a year. I teach full time so I get most of my work done after DS goes to sleep. To be honest, I am mostly getting my masters to make more money but the incentive is a pretty big one for a teachers salary.
pomegranate / 3392 posts
Great thread idea!
I am an adjunct instructor in a humanities field at a small college, but for the last few semesters I've been taking prerequisite classes to apply for a nursing program.
I just found out I got in!! I'm excited and terrified. How will DS (almost 3) cope with starting preschool at the same time? How will I pay tuition? How will I keep working and go to school full-time? So far I've asked for earlier classes, so I'm done teaching by 11 am, but there's so much to work out.
Good luck to everyone! I'm happy this thread is here for commiseration and support. 
apricot / 490 posts
@avivoca: There is some math in my field but its more intense for the epidemiology track. Meterology seems like it would be intense though! I find that the statistics in my program is super challenging and it takes me a lot longer than I originally think but I eventually do get it!
apricot / 490 posts
@MoonMoon: Wow that's so great! I find that every semester is a new set of challenges and logistics for us. We learn from our past experience and try to balance it all as a family. I paid for my first year out of pocket but will take on loans and hopefully some fellowship support for the rest. It's so tough!
apricot / 490 posts
@simplyfelicity: I do a lot after 8pm too. Less now that I am pregnant but it makes me pretty miserable.
I would say a main consideration for the DrPh is the ability to get a leadership position in a public health organization and the associated salary increase. I don' think that's anything to be ashamed of!
apricot / 490 posts
@MRSJX3: How great to have family support. My mom is an hour or so away but the plan is for her to come over one day a week in the Fall because I won't have full time daycare anymore.
pomegranate / 3392 posts
@teawithpaloma: you're right about that, every semester has gotten a bit easier, or at least we're better at anticipating the hurdles now! Something tells me nursing school is going to be pretty crazy though...
I'm inspired by your success, especially with a second on the way!
cantaloupe / 6146 posts
Medicine, half way through school, so almost 2 years down, about 2 more to go. (not including internship/residency).
I have an almost 4 year old and am due within the month.
Glad to see so many others! Hi!
cantaloupe / 6171 posts
Hi! I'm a phd candidate in a humanities field, abd so done with all the requirements except my dissertation, and I'm also teaching to continue getting funding. I'm in my 6th year and probably have 2 more years--I've been unofficially part-time since having lo, since she's only in day care part-time. It's a loooong road--most people in my program take 7 years so I won't take too much longer than normal (hopefully!).
pomegranate / 3275 posts
I have a 6, 4, 2 year olds, and a 5 month old. I'm going back to get my second bachelor's degree in nursing. I am taking my first class this summer! I finished my mEd in 2008, so it has been awhile since I've been a student! I'm so nervous about this! I don't currently work, but I do all the day time stuff for my kiddos (pick up, drop off, homework, lunches, sick visits etc). I'm very nervous about our transition!!!
pomegranate / 3392 posts
@nana87: my PhD was in the humanities, I don't know anyone who finished in less than 7 years! Though I know schools push people to hurry.
@MamaBehr: high five, fellow nursing school beginner! I'm really worried about juggling my schedule, preschool, and husband's job in the fall.
pomegranate / 3275 posts
@MoonMoon: we might have to exchange emails or something! I'm at the very beginning of doing the prerequisites for nursing school, and I'm hoping to be in for spring 2018 (gosh that sounds sooo far away!) My second started preschool in January and he was just shy of turning 4, and I was super nervous, but he did great!
bananas / 9227 posts
Hi I'm a ft student studying to get a MSc in business. I started when LO was 1.5 and she'll be turning 4 when I finish. It was a crazy ride! When I started the program, DH also got a new job, and it was when LO first started preschool. There were a whole lot of adjustments! Somehow we made it work. My stress was directly related to my studies and some weeks were tougher than others. What's surprising is the most stressful times weren't about test dates - it was when I had to deal with really difficult individuals in my team (we do a lot of group work). That added stress really affected my patience, which in turn, affected my relationship
Now that the program is almost over, I thinking about pursuing a PhD. But there are limited positions and I'm not willing to move, so my chances are low.
apricot / 490 posts
Checking in!
I just finished my semester and wow, was it hard at the end. It was tough to balance everything, my husband had to take over for an entire weekend and I missed several days of work. I have flexible schedule but its still hard. So looking forward to the summer. I can't believe this year means I have 5 PhD courses under my belt! A lot more to go! 
honeydew / 7303 posts
Very timely for me! I am a dentist and I am moving this weekend so that I can start a residency program in pediatrics and I will also get a MPH at the same time. I have no idea what to expect really so I will have more to contribute as my program starts.
nectarine / 2180 posts
Jumping in here. I'm a part-time grad student getting my master's in Speech-Language Pathology. Like @avivoca mentioned, I basically had to get a second bachelor's degree before beginning my master's so I have been taking classes for awhile! I started my pre-reqs three years ago and just finished the first full year of my master's program. It's designed to be part-time, so it will be a full three-year program. It was much easier to take classes when I only had one child (mine are 5 years and 20 mos old)! After three years of classes I'm feeling a little burned out but I'm in a great cohort and we all support each other.
bananas / 9227 posts
I just submitted my thesis yesterday. It was insane! My university insists that we (with a partner) do an empirical study and the original company that we had fell through last minute. We had to put together a completely new thesis and my partner doesn't do well with unplanned work, so I basically had to write the thing by myself. Nuts! Absolutely nuts!
After sleeping all day yesterday, I now have to jump into writing a new research proposal because I JUST found an opening for a PhD position that requires a complete list of documents to be submitted by the 6th. That's only 2 days before my thesis defense.
So I guess that means I won't be celebrating just yet. Ahhhhhh!
apricot / 490 posts
@yellowbird: Wow, how exciting! Please let me know if you have any questions about the MPH. I am sure you will love it! My masters cohort had a veteran dental hygienist and a dentist and they always brought a great perspective.
apricot / 490 posts
@SugarplumsMom: Uh I think you should definitely be celebrating a little bit!! Just getting it submitted is a huge victory. Good luck with the application.
apricot / 490 posts
@Pancakes: Welcome! I am nervous about the transition to children while still in coursework. My poor husband is going to have to handle a lot during finals and other crunch times. At least your 5 year old is potty trained!
apricot / 340 posts
Hi everyone,
Im currently a RN who works 3 12 hour shifts a week. Im in a msn proggram for leadership and ,management. I started the bachelors program before I got pregnant, and started the masters just as I had my daughter. I have a very supportive husband, there is no way I could have done this without him cheering me on.
My daughter is a year old now. My program is entirely online, im not sure how I could have pulled this off otherwise (I guess I would have spent a ton on childcare). I pretty much work on school stuff after she goes to bed for the night on my days off. I wish I could use her naptime to write papers, but she still will not sleep by herself for naps
Im stressed all the time. I feel guilt that I am not fully able to enjoy my daughter without thinking about school in the back of my head. I am trying for #2 and it has really been motivating me to accelerate classes. I can barley function with one baby, there is no way I can work and go to school full time and have 2 babies under 2.
bananas / 9227 posts
@teawithpaloma: Thank you! The contact person for the position got back to me saying they required PhD students to be there on campus daily. Thank friggen goodness because I don't have to apply! There was no way I could have put together a decent research proposal and a 30-min teaching presentation in 4 days. I am now finally ... finally unwinding by having warm coffee and doing laundry! 
apple seed / 1 posts
Hello Everyone!! I think this thread is great. As a young mom/student it's great to get advice from other mommy's.
I'm a senior psychology major, with hopes of becoming a child psychologist. I am also the mother of a 13 month old baby girl, Kassey. She's a lot of fun and has a ton of personality.
It gets hard trying to balance everything as many days their just isn't enough time but, I now all my hard work will pay off soon!
blogger / wonderful cherry / 21616 posts
I graduated with my two-year RN degree in December and I have been working full time as a nurse since February. I am also now in an online RN-BSN program that I will finish in December 2017.
The online RN-BSN is a much less time-consuming program than my initial two-year degree, thankfully. So I am able to handle full time working, the full time bachelors program and being a mom/wife/etc.
I probably put in about 6-8 hours a week right now toward school, except in the final week of each class, I typically put in closer to 12-15 hours finishing final projects.
My son is four years old now, so I've been in school since he was 1.5! It's been an interesting few years, haha.
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