children and CRNA school

rrnr · May 8, 2014

I'm in almost the exact same boat as you. I will be starting school in January, at which point I will have a 20 month old and a 3 month old. We too wanted to have a second child before school so that they wouldn't be so far apart in age. It's going to be very difficult, but I don't think waiting a few years would make it any less difficult. Bottom line, it's going to require a lot of time and sacrifice, but I think it will be worth it. At least if you go to school while they are young they won't remember it. Good luck

2sedate · May 9, 2014

Thanks for your reply. Agreed, I think it will be extremely difficult, but wouldn't it be more difficult getting pregnant while in the program? Another thought I've had is getting pregnant after the first year is up, then I'd give birth with like 3 months of the program left (God willing). I'm not sure if that'd be easier or harder? hmmm...how long is the program you were accepted into?

The other variable is I'm planning to apply to programs out of state, which means we will be far from helpful family members.

rrnr · May 10, 2014

I guess out situations are somewhat different in that I am a guy. My wife and I considered getting pregnant during the program but decided against it for a variety of reasons. I know people have had children during school and have done fine, but it wasn't something we were willing to risk. We all hope for normal and healthy pregnancies, but that is not guaranteed. What if you decided to get pregnant during school but after six months you were placed on bedrest or your baby was premature and required time in the NICU? Anesthesia school is a big enough sacrifice as is, and I personally do not want to risk not being able to complete the program for whatever reason. I simply cannot afford it.

I too, am applying to out of state programs and it will definitely make it harder not having the family support (that is something schools like to ask about). I think it will depend a lot on your spouse and the role he's going to take when you start school.In the absence of other family members, it could make of break you. My program is 28 months. I like the idea of a DNP (and will eventually get one), but at this point I need an income, so an MSN will have to do.

Brbk6 · May 10, 2014

Is having a child in or just before school the best option for your schooling? Probably not. Is it possible to complete school and still do well? Of course. I graduated this past november and my wife, a year behind me, graduates this coming november. We had a child 3 months prior to her starting school, and in my first year of the program. I graduated near the top of my class (3.9 gpa) and my wife will as well. To make matters more difficult, we had no family within 1200 miles from us as we both went out of state for school. Now we are fortunate as our clinical sites were all within a 20 minute drive, aside from 2 rural rotations, so we were never away from home for an extended period of time...so it worked out for us. We made the decision to have a child because we felt like life would continue to be put on hold. So how much you travel and how much help you have should all play factors in your decision. Its hard, but definitely possible.

missnurse01, MSN, RN · May 17, 2014

I have older children so did not have the exact same experience but can tell you about my classmates. We have two men that have wives who are pregnant now, they both have family nearby. This is a first child for both of them so I have no idea how they are going to handle it. CRNAs that I have spoken with that have had a child while in the program pretty much left their significant others as a single parent. Which is mostly how everyone does it no matter the age of the child since there is not any time to be a parent. Sad but true in my program. The people that I spoke with were all from the man's perspective though, the wives stayed home and cared for the infant. Most of the guys said school was a blur, that it was too noisy/distracting at home to study and they would stay at the library until 2200 every night even the weekends and come home and only sleep. I hole myself up in my room with only a half hour dinner break with my family every night, till around 2300-0000. I am not really doing any parenting anymore. The first semester all the mom's go through a freak out period, when it hits them that they are no longer having any control or impact on their household. That they hardly see their kids. That the dads are acting as single parents now. I know in my program they strongly recommend that you do not have babies, either as the mom or dad in the program. Each class seems to have one woman that does it and I have no idea how many men. Being pregnant, unable to take a day off to even go to the OB, having to stand for maybe 10 hours in the OR, especially if you are in a case where you have to wear lead....well I wouldn't want to do it! To each their own, I know many of my classmates are planning on getting pregnant directly after school. Obvi people DO do it, but it is not ideal. I am not sure if I would plan on doing it....the people that I know were all unplanned pregnancies. Very good luck to you! It's not a question of how hard you can push yourself and you feel the drive to do anything, but the fact that there are not enough hours in the day to get it all done.