Moms who have made it through nursing school!

ToughRN · Jul 24, 2009

you can do it! i graduated in may from with my ASN. i began school with a 2 year old and a 10 week old in may 2007. may 2008 i found out i was expecting #3. so i was also pregnant through a semester and a half of school plus a summer term. and had a newborn for the last semester! if i could do it you can too!! good luck!

ToughRN · Jul 24, 2009

o and i even managed to get pretty good grades too! As for advice, live close enough to school not to have to commute much and make sure your husband is on board 100%. i dont know if you require much by way of study time but its always nice to have friends in school to study with, create study groups they help you study more material in less time and you retain alot. this is all coming from a person that never really had to study so it really is good.

mlajoy · Jul 24, 2009

Hey there! I am a mom currently going through nursing school full-time. I began a graduate entry program in 2007, took my NCLEX this past May and passed (yea!!!) and am now working part-time as an RN. I have one year left to complete in my master's specialty year and expect to graduate in May 2010.

I came into my program pregnant, had my child at the start of the 2nd semester (2008) and was back to clinical 6 days later :yeah: Many may frown upon this, but I was quite determined to finish w/o having to take any leave of absence. Many ppl asked me how I could do this, but I had lots of support from my classmates. My family support is on the west coast (I am currently on the east coast) but I was able to get a few members to come out for weeks at a time in rotations while she was still very young and could not be in daycare. I have only one, and I know you have 2 under the age of 3, so it's going to take a bit more strategic planning and coordination, but I do not believe it is impossible.

The main advice I can give is to take one day at a time. That's all you can do. And never be to prideful to ask for help when needed, any kind of help (personal, financial, academic, etc). I feel like I am a great mother that has had to make a short-term sacrifice for a long-term rewarding and successful career as an RN/APRN. I know that at times it hurts having to always take my lil one to daycare, but I look at it like this: I spend more time w/her now than I would if I were to have a Mon-Fri 9a to 5p job. Being a student mom (at least for me) has given me the student 'flexibility' in terms of schedule. I also always look forward to the long breaks & vacations that are built into the academic year :up:

Good luck in whatever you decide to do! I know it's cliche', but: if you put your mind to it, you can do it!!! :yeah:

thekid · Jul 24, 2009

yes you can do it..I was a single mom to a 2 year old and I worked three days a week, and went to school full time. Kiss your social life goodbye and be prepared for strenuous work but you CAN do it :) :yeah:

heathernicolern · Jul 24, 2009

If you have any significant amount of college credit, I would highly suggest checking out a BSN program. By the time I completed my ASN pre-requisites, I was three classes away from my Associate's in Art - If I had finished that, I could have simply jumped into a BSN program. From that point, it's just one semester longer than an ASN program, but you graduate with a BSN! That's a heck of a lot better than graduating one semester sooner, but then having to take 11 more 3-credit courses to get your Bachelors ... If I'd only known then what I know now! Lol.

I breastfed through most of my ASN program; unfortunately, my son refused to take a bottle, so he starved himself during the day and waited until the night, when he woke me up multiple times to get his feedings in. I didn't really realize what was happening at first, so I thought I'd give you a heads up - sleep is key to doing well in nursing school, especially in clinicals!! By the time I caught on, my son was old enough to simply wean on to baby food. If I'd figured it out sooner, I would have tried different bottles, nipples, etc. Good luck to you! :nuke:

mom35 · Jul 24, 2009

I give kudos to you all the mommas out there going to school!!! My daughter is 19 now and also in college so I do not have to worry about her too much, well I still do worry about her anyway- that's what parents do. But I wish I had gone when she was little, that way I would have been able to give her more opportunities! So I say You Can and Will do it and congratulations on your journey:yeah::heartbeat:yeah:

hopefulabby · Jul 24, 2009

Thank you so much for the encouragement! Yes, my husband and my family have all been very supportive! The school that I'm going to you have to complete the ASN course before they will accept you into the BSN program. It is the only college in my area that I can afford and it has a very good reputation in my area. Thank you again for all the great advice :wink2:

Bree124, BSN, RN · Jul 24, 2009

I have four kids under 8, and am two weeks from finishing an accelerated RN program (15 months, 63 credits).

You can do it!

soulofme · Jul 24, 2009

Went through NS with a 10 yr old....working full time and a 2 year divorce battle... I did it... No one was going to take my dream away. :smokin:

DeadHead219 · Jul 25, 2009

I think once you have your mind set n stone that this is truly what you want, no matter how hard it seems, you just keep pushing forward to make it a reality. I too have 3 under 5 and boy are there times when I am exhausted ... physically and mentally. Make sure your hubby is on board and is willing to take on a little more around the house. Also, line yourself up with 2 great, reliable babysitters. Once that's all in place, only little road bumps will get in your way.

Best of luck to you - you can do this!

rodgerssm, BSN, RN · Jul 25, 2009

You can do it! I started an LPN bridge program with a three moth old!!!! When I found out I was pregnant, I was like yeah I can do this! I will have this baby and be back in class in no time!!!! Well that wansn't the case! Had to have a c-section, in hospital 5 days, and missed the start of my nursing prgram. I was lucky enough to find out about the bridge program and started that when my son was three months old. I made it through with a good support system, husband, 10 year old son and moms!!! It was tough but as one replier said, you have to take it one day at a time, one test and a time, on clinical at a time!!! It can be done, just believe in yourself and you will make it!!!!! Good luck to you!!!