Career change (to an RN) and planning motherhood

[RN_waitlister]

Hi all,

I'm 27 and seriously thinking of changing careers to become an RN. I've applied for the 4-year program and I'm on a 1-2 year waitlist. I'm really hoping I get in the Fall 2010 intake (fingies crossed!). I'm with a serious boyfriend and we plan to get married in a couple of years. What concerns me is the timing of this career change and having a future baby.

I will be about 33 years old when I graduate and I'd also want to get AT LEAST two years of work under my belt before I have to take maternity leave (which is a year long in Canada); so that brings be to age 36 - and that's if everything goes perfectly and I get in school in 2010.

I want the 2 years of work after graduation because I don't want to graduate and then right after, take mat leave before I have any work experience. I also don't want to get hired and then a few months later say "surprise! I'm pregnant and will have to leave for a year".

I understand that having a baby after age 35, presents more risks for the baby. I'm wondering if I should rethink my steps and maybe have a baby during school and graduate a year later than planned? Or are the risks not a huge problem if I'm in my late 30's compared to early 30's? What would you do or what have you done in this situation?

Thanks!

[beachbutterfly]

I would have the FIRST baby before 35 but that is just me.

[justiceforjoy]

A good number of the women in my class have children. If you have job right now, are you prepared to be a mom? Personally, I'd have a baby now (assuming I had a job, thus qualify for mat leave) and enjoy that for a few years before going to school.

I'm sort of a baby fanatic, though I

[RN_waitlister]

Thanks for all the replys, lots to think about! I plan on having only one kid and I'm not ready now. I want to be married first and we aren't planning that till my BF is done school in 2 years. So having a kid before school is probably out of the question, unless I put it off for a few years. Hmmm... Wow, all these new options that I had never thought of before. Then I would qualify for mat leave, where as, if I got pregant during school I wouldn't qualify....hmmm. Ok, this is great, it's really got me thinking! Now I'll lay this all out and get my BF's opinion, lol!

[beckylpn1]

I went through 2 1/2 years of LPN school with one child already. At the end of my first year, guess what, found out I was going to have another child. I had several complications through out the pregnancy but did deliver a healthy, beautiful, little girl. She was born a month early which was while I was on Summer break. When the program started again in the fall, I had a one month old and a 7 year old. It completely wore me out but I graduated that December and am going back this fall to start on my ADN. My children are now 17 and almost 10. If you wait until it is easy or convenient, you won't ever go. Go for it and take life as it comes to you. I wouldn't take anything for it.

[RN_waitlister]

Wow beckylpn1, that must've been tough having complications and going through school! Yes, I do really want to just get going and start school asap, that would be ideal. I'd prefer not to wait but it would be tricky. Maybe between 3rd and 4th year would be a good time. That way, most of the schooling would be done and I'd just have a year of schooling left to do and I'd be able to get back into the learning process before getting an RN job. Although there would be no mat leave pay... much to mull over!

[musicstar23]

It appears that you are making unrealistic goals for yourself! You are not super woman and everything is not picture perfect. Honestly, I think you should look into the medical field more closely and reevaluate to see if nursing is the right career change for you. I strongly believe that nursing is "Not" something that you just stumble across one day and decide to try out. Maybe you should become a CNA first to see if this is what you truly want to commit yourself to. Unfortunately, you have to stay focus in preparation for the nursing program because it is highly competitive to even get accepted into a school or program. Focusing on having a child and maintaining a realationship is not going to help you get where you need to be..

[RN_waitlister]

Yes, I understand not everything turns out the way you plan and things definitely do change. But I think you should have some sort of idea of what you are going to do in the near future; Even though it may not end up that way. Honestly, having a kid is low on my priorities right now and I didn't think of it much until I actually wrote down the the years of schooling in correlation to my age - that got me thinking about it!

Getting into the program isn't a problem. I've been to college before and have all the prerequisites and electives done already and my marks are high. I just have to wait for the waitlist to wittle down. I will be volunteering at a hospital starting soon to get my foot in the health care door and to see what it's like in the hospitals. In the meantime I'm just going to continue to save like mad!

Anyways, who says you can't be a super woman? There are lots of women with kids going to school or having kids while in school and they did it. Why can't others? In my opinion they are the superwomen. You can have a career and a kid - you don't have to just pick one.

[BA.LVN]

Hello, I am somewhat in your "predicament." I am, however, already an LVN. But I got married DURING my LVN program (crazy I know). I was 27 when I got married. We wanted to wait until I had an LVN job to start planning for a family...and we've been "trying" to conceive for about 6 months now. I want to go back to school to get my ADN (2 year associate's degree in nursing), but am not sure when to go back.....I was hoping I'd already be pregnant by now. Just saying you can't "plan" for things to happen, and the older you get, the harder it is to conceive. I really wish we had just tried to get pregnant like right before my nursing school was out (there were about 3-4 women in my class who were pregnant towards the end of the program). But oh well. We'll see what happens I guess!

[melmarie23, MSN, RN]

Yeah, I am currently trying to convince my husband [newly married here...since this past October] to try for a baby now, and I am right smack dab in the middle of my nursing program. We have agreed to try once I sit and pass the NCLEX next June and get a job. But the more I think about it, the more I think that its silly to try and conceive and get pregnant after being a new graduate RN hire as I would have to take maternity leave soon after.

So far my persuasion skills suck. But I totally feel you on this. My clock is ticking full force here and it does not help that all my friends are having babies left and right. I can only live vicariously through them for so long before going certifiably nuts-o in the head I think!