Hi,

I'm 36 yrs. old and have been a SAHM with off and on mindless jobs since I was 20, straight out of high school I married and started a family, my hubby and I have had 5 boys, our 4th son was diagnosed after birth with a congenital heart defect and lived for only 12 days.

Our youngest is 2 now, and Mamma's ready to begin another chapter in life,I have put alot of thought to returning to school and continually find myself thinking about nursing, I really think L&D , but am not certain.

My ??'s are as follows:

1) Where would I even begin??

2) 36 isn't too old to begin is it??

3) Whats L&D like on the other side(i've been a patient alot obviously)

4) Any encouraging/discouraging advice/opinions???

Thankyou in advance, Monica

My sister got her LPN at age 30 and after 5 kids then after two years went back to school with a 6th kid and got her RN.

Then after graduation had a 7th kid.

I got my RN at age 50.

You will probable love L&D. It is hard work on either side of the bed. But you sound like you would have a lot to offer your patients.

Stop waisting time and go to your nearest school and find out what you need to do to get in.

Your never too old to start nursing school, go for it.

Funny thing about L/D.......

I always wanted to work there too, until I was having my son Myles, hes 3 now, mind you, I am a nurse at this time too, already went through delivery 12 yrs earlier w/ my 1st child.

Well to make a short story Longer, I was such a mess, screaming and pulling on my nurses shirt, and crying and being such a big baby...............Well after he was born, and I was all calmed down, I thought how lucky I was that the nurse didn't just smack me down:D I imagined her going out and puffing on a cigarette, or telling the other nurses "Somebody better go get that girl or I'm gonna kill her:D But I apologized to her, and it was just all in a days work for her, but I knew I wasn't cut out for it at all....................To all of the L/D nurses here "You deserve a pat on the back:D

Labor and Delivery nurse here X6 years. Graduated school over age 30 after 10 years in military service (non-medical field of systems analysis). There are times I love it; times I hate it.....it's hard work, but VERY rewarding, and NEVER EVER "mindless". I set about my journey to become an RN after having my son in 1992; the nurses were amazing, kind, compassionate. I wanted to BE one of them. It took me a while to actually GO for it because I thought I was nowhere NEAR smart enough to be a nurse. anyhow.....

IF you are thinking of nursing some things you can do will help you in the direction:

Shadow an RN/LPN if at all possible. See firsthand what it's really like to be a nurse for 12 hours or so. Guarantee you, your feet will ache, but it will be eye-opening and revealing. It will help you decide if you want to pursue it.

Also, investigate which university/colleges in your area offer RN programs. See what classes you have to take as prerequisite requirements to gain entry to their nursing programs. Knock out all these classes, if possible PRIOR to applying for acceptance to their nursing program. It will help your chances to have all the pre-nursing coursework done ----and keep those grades up! Some programs require 3.0 or higher to even consider you.

I don't mention LPN programs, not because LPN's are inferior, but because most L and D units hire RN's only. At least around here,they do. I wanted to be an L and D nurse, so I went straight for my RN. NO knock on LPNs here...they are wonderful care providers.

I did my nursing coursework with a 2-4 year old running around me and a husband in military who was away frequently ....It was hard, but I managed a 4. GPA nevertheless. Don't underestimate what you can do. Selling yourself short will stop you cold in pursuing any dream.

L and D is hard work on "both sides of the sheets" but mostly rewarding and happy in outcome. Try HARD to find an L and D nurse who will allow you to shadow him/her and answer your questions.

I wish you well. If it's what you really want, go for it!:)

Go for it, you are not too old. Went back at the age of 35 to get my RN BSN. Took my pre nursing classes at the local community college and then went to the closest nursing school to get my degree. Traveled 60 miles, one way, to go to nursing classes. I had 4 kids, the youngest 3 years old when I started. Also had a husband that was totally unsuportive of my going back to college to get a degree. Once I got on my feet, he got moved out the door really fast. I also tried to keep up with all the work on the ranch while going to school. After the first year of nursing school some of that had to go by the wayside, chickens, milk cows, bottle calves, etc. had to cross my fingers and hope the cows calved without any problems, as there just wasn't enough hours in my day to get everything done. You can do it.