Nursing career - how does it fit with having a family?

Hi everyone,

I am (hopefully) beginning an ADN program in the fall. Among many other things that led me to nursing is the demand for RN's, interesting and important nature of the work and my medical background. Also factoring into my choice was that nursing seems to lend itself to more flexibility in hours than a standard 8-5 office job, and eventually has part-time opportunities (very hard to find in most careers).

I am 27 now, and my hub and I do want to eventually have children. I plan to work at least 2 years full-time once I graduate before thinking about pregnancy. I am wondering though, for those of you who have children - how hard is it to juggle your career and your family responsibilities? Do you find that the profession is easier or harder to work with in terms of being a mom as well?

I'm just trying to figure out if I am fooling myself about flexibility in this career. I do believe that a healthy life should be a balance between work/family/personal pursuits (which is why I hated law so much while I was in it). Any perspective on this from personal experiences would be much appreciated.