mom vs nurse

Nurses General Nursing

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I'm a mom of 4 kids (3, 5, 7, 9) a student right now, soon to be an RN. I just wondered how those of you who also have young children or large families juggle the 2 roles. I know there will be a lot of sacrifice, and a lot of compromise. What are some things that work for your family?

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I am a single mom of 2 children (5 & 10) and I am a new grad. I start working in a week so I am very interested in the advice of others on this subject. I know that in my situation I had to sacrifice a lot of time with my children to put myself through school, so I'm hoping that now things will calm down (just a bit at least ;) and I can spend more time being mom.

Congrats on your accomplishment and best of luck to you ?

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Specializes in TELEMETRY.

This is a very hard thing to do. Balancing nursing and having a family. The good news is that nursing has enough options that you customize around your family schedule. Home health, 12 hr shifts, per diem, and even a traditional 9-5. For me, the hardest thing has been having so many choices, what to pick. Love having 4 days off a week but don't enjoy Weekend and holiday working. Home health is great but hate driving around. Hmmmm good luck finding what fits for you. That has been the most challenging for me.

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A lot of prayer! No really it’s doable but takes a lot of sacrifice, compromise, patience and support. I’m a mom of 5 kids (17, 15, 12, 7 and 4) and work full time. The whole family needs to help mom out or mom gets very upset!

What I have learned is it’s the little things that tend to take up the most time. If the kids can help out with some of that then I have more time to spend with them. Your kids are a bit younger than my group but I’m sure you can find things they can do around the house that can help you in the long run. My older ones help out a great deal, during the week they make sure the garbage is out, help get my 2 youngest to the babysitter if they have an after school activity, they are in charge of cooking dinner (Don’t worry, my neighbor is always on the look out if the house burns down!). Whatever it is, we make it work.

On my days off, even though the time goes by so quickly, I make the most of it and all my time is spent with them making up for the hours I’m away.

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I have a two year old (4 kids! wow!) and work full time, go to school part time. I sit down on sundays and schedule out my week. Study time, work, one hour/day exclusive mommy daughter time (more on days off, one whole day of the week is nothing but mommy/daughter day doing something of her choice), one hour/day exclusive housework time (again, more on days off). One load of laundry a day keeps it from piling up. Menu planning. Grocery shopping trips to last two weeks at a time. Efficiency and time management is key. So is prioritization of reorganizing the schedule should an emergency occur. I agree, it's the little things that take up the most time. It will be great when she's old enough to help out!

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Specializes in Psych.

I love the delay start function of my washing machine. I set a load to begin around 4:30 in the morning, then throw it in the dryer before I leave the house. If I have time, I set another load to finish as I get home from work.

I also buy groceries a couple of weeks' worth at a time and plan a month's worth of menus (I don't care if the kids figure out that we always have tacos on the third Thursday of the month). The kids were very helpful at coming up the list of foods we use for the menu. I use the crock pot and pressure cooker a lot.

My biggest irritations are school events that are announced with less than a month's notice. I can rarely help with field trips d/t this. I have used Flylady's techniques very successfully in the past and am currently working to transition all my kids into the program so I can have more free time on my days off.

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thanks so much for the replies.....I've been thinking about flylady, and the 2 weeks of groceries and menus is a great idea!

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Specializes in Endoscopy/MICU/SICU.

It's extremely difficult. I have a 5, 3, and 10 month old. One of the things that makes it work for us is me working night shift. Everyone likes this better because I wake up @ 1430, get the kids from school/daycare, and have a few hours to spend with them and make dinner before I go back to work. If I worked dayshift, I'd leave before they got up and get home after they went to bed. You'll figure out a system that works best for your family, but it'll be a big adjustment.

By the way, my first job was in Tulsa :)

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I don't work full time, so that helps a lot.

An uncluttered organized household, a husband who is willing to do the heavy lifting, and family members nearby as backup childcare are my key ingredients.

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Specializes in ccu.

I work part-time, and have an incredibly supportive husband/extended family. That helps. A LOT.

I also meal plan and use my crock pot a lot on the nights I work. My husband is responsible for school lunches, and I have found that really helps me out a lot.

I agree w/those who stated you have to make sacrifices. I just found out I'm scheduled 3-11's on Halloween. I've never missed a Halloween w/my kiddo's, and it isn't like Christmas where you can celebrate another day. My kids are still young enough to really enjoy it (8, 6, and 4), so I'm trying to see if I can get someone to switch/cover, or at least work the 3-7p part of it.

So it is doable :) you can make it work!

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I have eight kids, 14 down to 2 year old twins. I just started my program this fall. I made 28 freezer meals before the semester began. I also have a day planner (and phone) that keep all my appointments, reminders, etc I have no family but lots of friends support to help with pickups etc. . it's crazy! There's not much down time- but I wouldn't have it any other way! I love learning and can't wait to be a nurse.

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Specializes in Critical Care, ED, Cath lab, CTPAC,Trauma.
I have eight kids, 14 down to 2 year old twins. I just started my program this fall. I made 28 freezer meals before the semester began. I also have a day planner (and phone) that keep all my appointments, reminders, etc I have no family but lots of friends support to help with pickups etc. . it's crazy! There's not much down time- but I wouldn't have it any other way! I love learning and can't wait to be a nurse.

I was going to say something about organization is key and I worked nights....blah, blah,blah.......

8 kids?????? You win!!!!! :bowingpur::bowingpur::bowingpur::bowingpur:

I wish you the best in school!!!!:loveya:

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