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I did grad school part timewhile I was going to work full time - it took me about 4 years to finish. My company paid for it which was the main reason I did it.

I met and married my DH during that time. I also bought a house during that time.

It was tough to plan a wedding and buy a house while going to school but it turned out great. We decided to wait till I was done with grad school before starting a family.

I can't imagine going to grad school and having LO at the same time!

You are one amazing person for trying that! Good luck!

DH finished his MA the month before we get married, and I started the fall after. Now nearly two years later and I am about to graduate next month--I walk (well, we'll see!) the week before our due date. We got pregnant right as I started my second and final year. We didn't start trying until the due date would be after graduation--just didn't realize it would happen so soon/we'd cut it so close!

I have also worked (20-30 hrs a week) on top of a full courseload and being pregnant. I have depended so much on DH to help out more with cooking, chores, cleaning, etc., and he has been invaluable to me surviving this school year without going insane. I won't lie. It's been REALLY hard to balance school, work and life with my husband and our friends. In some ways, I feel like I haven't been fully present in any of my roles--wife, friend, student, pregnant mother-to-be, and at times I found myself wondering if we should have waited a year. But now, about to hand in my final papers of graduate school and looking forward to meeting our little boy next month, I know I wouldn't change our timeline for anything. I am so freaking excited to be a mother and my husband is busting at the seams to be a father. Yes, my school work and work work probably suffered a bit as the result of my pregnancy (nausea, exhaustion, baby brain--the usual), but at the end of the day my family is the most important thing to me.

Go easy on yourself, accept help from your partner and friends, and it's OK to let things like dishes or laundry pile up if it means you sneak in a nap or an extra hour of reading for school. Prioritize, make lists, talk with professors/bosses early on if you need to--I was glad I told some of mine earlier than 12 weeks because that was when I was having the toughest time, and they were very understanding.

It sounds like you have a ways to go in school, so I am guessing you are in a PhD program, so I am sure your experience will be very different from mine--taking time off to return--but either way I think it is very similar in a lot of ways. Just be good to yourself.

PS--sorry for the novel

I graduated in January and dh graduates may 3! We both work full time and no LO. I feel like I haven't seen DH in two years, can't wait for this to be over!!

DH had his masters before we met. But I got masters while working full time. We waited to TTC until I was done with school. But my cousin is in law school and plans to start TTC this summer during her last year. I think anything is possible, if you really want it.

Not grad school, but I work full time and I'm finishing up my BA in the evenings. Last semester was when LO was born, and I was only taking one class, but this semester, I'm back to my regular two classes.

I think that the toughest thing for me is the mad scramble to get home in time to see DW and LO before he gets put down to bed, as I don't like the idea of not saying goodnight to him. I know that time will come, but I'm trying to delay it as much as possible.

I completely agree with virtually of what @maybebaby wrote about time management, which can get tricky. I think I've made the conscious decision, though, that I would rather have a good family life at the expense of working for an A+ every time. I suppose that's one area where already having a job affords me that luxury.

@mrs. 64: Thank you! And good luck to you. Teaching is such a demanding profession, it is good they have you limit your coursework. Whatever you decide to do, you CAN do it. It will be a wild and wonderful ride

I started my grad program at about 12 weeks (?) pregnant, finished out the semester about a month early thanks to flexible teachers, and had the baby at the end of my second semester. Now I'm ending my program pregnant with #2. I'll finish in June, give birth in September.

It's totally doable, but I've been home with my daughter and my husband has been working full time. Though, I often joke about how much I've really retained considering that during my entire grad program I've either been pregnant and sick/uncomfortable, or nursing a newborn, slightly sleep deprived, and now sick/uncomfortable again.

Time management is totally key, and just letting stuff go when it needs to be let go. Some weeks we eat out a ton and the house falls apart because I have a big project. It is what it is and you do the best you can!

My husband is currently pursuing his PhD and is a year from completion. We had my LO 4 months ago. I was working full time throughout my pregnancy, but quit to stay home with my LO. I also completed my masters degree in Dec 2010.

Honestly, it is a little rough some weeks for us. When we decided to get pregnant, DH seemed to have plenty of free time, so I wasn't concerned then. Now that his research is amping up and they had a major lab rebuild due to issues, his schedule is kind of hectic. The week before his prelim I stayed with my parents so that he could focus and get where he wanted to be without helping me.

I think it depends on your program and if you have a hard deadline. Also, it really helps to have family or good friends nearby that can support you and help out if you need it.

My husband started his grad degree the month we found out we were pregnant with our first. He graduated when she turned 1, and I started my grad program that fall, about 3 months into my second pregnancy. Both of us worked full time until last spring; I quit when DS was born so I could focus on the kids and my schoolwork. DS just turned 1 (DD is almost 3),and I am in my last real semester. I have a field study an danother class to do this summer, and I'll graduate this fall.

For me, my husband has been incredibly supportive. He does at least half of the housework and childcare, even though he works outside the home. It's hard, but now that the end is in siht, I'm so glad I stuck it out through the hard times!

Time to catch back up here, too. This was so much on my mind this week that I didn't get to respond here, sorry.

Part of the reason that this question was on my mind was that I got my BFP this week. My DH and I were starting to really plan out how to make this work. It turns out that those plans will be on hold for a while, though, because I m/c on Thursday. Still, I can't imagine waiting until I'm done, so we're going to still consider it.

I'm done with my courses in December, then have readings for a semester before taking my exams next October ('14). My original DD was to be December of this year, so during winter intersession after my last classes. Now, we'll probably try for the summer before my exams. There are a few other mothers in my department, and my adviser is pretty cool. I'm not trying to say it will be easy, but I'm just not willing to choose between the two.

Going back may 6!! Will be mostly done by dec but planning on graduating spring 2014. @LovelyPlum: hang in there!!

@mrs. 64: holy moly. That sounds intense...and like you're going to need some cold water (or your allotted 2 cups of coffee) to get through that. Fortunately, we don't have summer classes, but I'm pretty sure I'm being given a portion of my comps list to start with. Always something, no?

(And I hear ya on procrastinating...it's probably safe to assume that if I'm posting, I *should* probably be doing something else, lol)

@googly-eyes: Thanks! Exciting that you're going back so soon! Are you ready?

@LovelyPlum: ".it's probably safe to assume that if I'm posting, I *should* probably be doing something else," ---- > Exactly! (now I'm going back to work on a paper due next Sunday... boo!)

@LovelyPlum: Thanks... I'll have to check in on here with you ladies...

I'm going to chime in here and say that today I gave the last presentation of my graduate career Yay!! Keep working grad school bees, you can do it!!

@LovelyPlum: you can do it!!