DH and I decided that we are going to TTC next year which is SUPER exciting! DH is already 27 and wants to have at least one child before he is 30 and I respect that. There is just one problem, I will not be done with school yet! I am going to school to get my Masters so I have about 5 years left. How am I going to go to school and raise a child? DH and I live 3 hours away from our family.
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Will you have any time off from school when the baby is born? Are there online options? I think physically attending school with a newborn is tough but so is going to work, right? I'm sure you can make it work but I'm just wondering about the first few months.
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Yes, if you have the right resources!
I work full-time and will be starting my master's program next month while I'll be about 5 months pregnant. I've divied up my schedule well where I'll still be able to finish the program in 2 years, but I'll also be able to schedule in semesters off and max out my company's tuition reimbursement too! I'll be taking a mix of online and in person classes.
My mom is our primary caretaker once I get back to work post-baby, So I have the flexibility with that as well with my work school schedule. It'll be tough, but do-able in our world/schedule.
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Are you going full-time or part-time and are you working? If you're not working, it should make it a lot easier. The hardest part is scheduling then. If you're working, it does make it a lot harder. Not just with limited time, but there is a lot of guilt involved when you spend all day away from LO at work and then have to spend even more time away working on school. Not that it's impossible, but I have to say there are times when I feel like a bad mom and a bad student. (I take two classes/semester towards my Master's, work full-time, have a two year old and am expecting a newborn in a few weeks.)
There is definitely a pull of playing with my child and feeling like I should be working on school, or working on school and feeling like I'm neglecting my child. But I get that kind of mommy guilt about a lot of things.
It's definitely possible, though. Just not easy. You can do it! And I can tell you, I'm going to be a million times more proud of this degree than my undergrad because I am working so hard on this one and sacrificing so much.
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My best friend went back to school right after she had her baby, she decided she wanted to get another degree in order to help provide for her family. She manages with the help of her husband. She does take mostly night classes, is this an option for you? It helps that her DH can babysit when she's in class. She also has friends (like me) who will babysit if they need it.
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it's hard, but totally doable! someone in my program (only a 2-year program, though) had her baby last summer and we just graduated. her family is halfway across the country, so she had neighborhood moms/babysitters and her DH to help. she also took a few extra months to finish her internship hours - so we graduated may, she'll be officially done in august.
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I could not imagine doing it myself. I waited until I finally finished all my schooling before we had babies... but people are doing it, so I think it's a case of needing to know and be honest with yourself!
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There was a pregnant girl the year under me in my masters program. They had her take less classes and do less interning hours. Obviously it took her longer, but our program was so time consuming and stressful they didn't want her to have the full load while pregnant.
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If you have 5 years left – would you just be starting college after the baby, or have you already taken some classes? Are you going to school on a part time or full time basis?
If you are not working, and just going to school, I don’t think it would be that different from if you were working full time – meaning, daycare would probably be necessary. I would suggest doing as much studying and assignment prep as you can at school, as I’m sure it would be much tougher to sit down and concentrate on studies at home with LO.
Lots of people juggle working full time while going to school at the same time, or having babies while in school, so it’s definitely possible. I would think time management would just be super important. -
@Mrs. Jacks: I agree. It's possible, but I wanted to finish up.
I think it also makes a difference what kind of program you're in and how intense it is.
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I will be! But I only have two years of school left. I will do it mostly online, maybe do a few night classes so DH can be with DS. My mom and sister are also willing to watch DS. Since I'll be in school, we wouldn't be able to pay for childcare so it will take some juggling. I know it will be hard, I will have to devote my weekends when DH can take DS to homework and studying. It won't be easy, but it can be done.
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I'm currently working FT & in grad school at night and we're TTC. I won't finish until December 2013, so hopefully I'll be a mom by then! I go to school with women who have children and I think it's possible as long as you have a strong support system. I think it is similar (obviously not exactly the same) for them being parents & in school as it is for me working full time & in school. There are time management concerns and it's exhausting. I think working, having a baby, AND going to school is a lot to deal with but it's not forever.
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i currently just finished the semester in the beginning of may at 31 weeks pregnant. i wont lie it was hard. I would get really tired by the end of hte day and come home and just sleep/relax. but its DEF doable. im having my baby in july and then plan to start back up at school (part time though) at the end of august, so i think it will be hard but doable
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Maybe you can take night classes? I think it's totally doable, but it'll take a lot of sacrifice!
My cousin had a baby when she started law school and had her second during her 3rd year! They had family close by, but they made it work.
She missed out on lots of mommy baby time though. -
My mo got her masters when I was 5years old so its definitely possible but from what she told me its easier if you have a potty trained child versus an infant, because infants demand more attention both day and night
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I'm finishing up my Master's right now, and we have two kids. I got pregnant with DD the same month DH started his Master's program; he graduated when DD was just over a year old. Then, I started my Master's program when I was about 3 months pregnant with DS; he'll be 15 months when I graduate. It's busy, but totally possible. It also helps that both of us completed our degrees through online programs, though. We're able to work when the kids are asleep and on weekends, when we're both around.
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