Having a baby summer before last semester??

JLB1215 · Jun 20, 2013

Oh I also would have next summer off as I am in a Bachelors program that does not allow summer classes.

DisneyNurseGal, BSN, RN · Jun 20, 2013

My classmate tried to schedule her pregnancy to deliver June. She got pregnant and her due date was 6/30. She had complications and was put on bed rest in April. She is going to have to repeat the second semester.

Also, if you are pregnant during clinicals, they might limit the kinds of patients you can treat. At my hospital she couldn't treat patients with flu, RSV, pneumonia, C-Diff etc.

I understand you want a baby, just consider the "what if" scenarios. Are you willing to push back your graduation if it comes to that?

dupton · Jun 20, 2013

Having a supportive family is great, but you still want to be a mom. Thats a lot to take on, studying, sleepless nights, and having time to bond with your new little one.

picklemouse · Jun 20, 2013

I feel your frustration. My hubby and I have baby fever in the worst way. We also started thinking about this idea. The "what if's" are what scare me. I am getting older but it's not "too late" yet so I figure we will wait until I have graduated and been working for awhile. Good luck!

SopranoKris, MSN, RN, NP · Jun 20, 2013

In the grand scheme of things is 6 months really going to make that much of a difference? Why not wait until you're closer to finishing? As stated above, you could unexpectedly be put on bed rest or you could be limited in your duties during clinicals. Also, you have no idea just how TIRING it actually is to have a newborn. I couldn't imagine dealing with the sleepless night PLUS doing nursing school homework on top of it. Why not wait?

Stephalump · Jun 20, 2013

Baby fever is nature's ace in the hole. It can overpower logic, ambition, and selfishness - pretty darn powerful!

In my opinion, it's really not worth the extra stress and time away from your new baby AND your schoolwork. You'll have a ton on your plate, meaning you won't have the time to give anything your all, and that doesn't seem fair to you.

No, you won't have FMLA if you have a baby after starting a new job, but you don't have it now (or next year) either, so I really don't see why that's an issue. At least you could stay home rather than leave the baby with someone else while you're doing clinicals for free.

Trust me, baby fever will probably come and go for a long time - even after you've decided you're done having kids. If I had a baby every time I wanted one without regard to my circumstances, I'd rival the Duggars.

stewartfamily2010 · Jun 20, 2013

Ooohh heck no! I just had a mirena put in. I can't even think of having another until I'm done with nursing school, am an RN and settled into my career.

KelRN215, BSN, RN · Jun 20, 2013

I can't imagine being pregnant during nursing school and/or trying to complete school with a newborn. There are too many what ifs to really plan here... what if you deliver prematurely or something and then have to miss the remainder of the Spring 2014 semester spending your days in the NICU?

I would wait until I were well-established in my career to even think about it but, then again, I've been a nurse for 6 years and AM fairly well established yet have no plans to procreate any time soon.

RubberDuckieLove · Jun 21, 2013

As a mother of three, my biggest stressor is finding adequate child care during school hours and clinicals. Are they doing ok without me? Is the baby crying all day because she misses me? Are my oldest treating the sitter right? Will my sitter come to my house at 5 in the morning, when my husband has to work (he is soldier) and I have to be at the hospital by 6? How much is that gonna cost us?

Even with the greatest support system in the world, it is extremely difficult to go through nursing school with children to care for. It is doable, don't get me wrong, but some things with my kids do have to be sacrificed so I can study.

Good luck :)

green34 · Jun 21, 2013

We had a family who had 1 child before the start of clinicals and 1 this June (they are set to graduate in 2014). They had a great clinical instructor who worked with them (and freaked out almost the entire clinical because she doesn't like babies and the hospital no longer has an OB department. Every clinical the instructor put her by the nurses station). They will be facing trouble with who will watch the child and the mother was scared she was going to be on bedrest. She was scared of being too stressed and one clinical she went home early because she thought she was having a miscarriage (bad cramps, the instructor sent them home).

The biggest thing to remember is that it is your finishing semester. I would try to finish strong. For us, it is the worst semester because we have 3 six week classes and a preceptorship on top of that. Also, how many days are you allowed to miss? What if the baby becomes sick and you can't get the normal sitter to watch it?

richardgecko · Jun 21, 2013

No offense, but I wouldn't dare intentionally plan a baby in nursing school.

Pregnancy is tough. There's morning sickness (which is actually 24 hour sickness, depending on your body) that may last far into your pregnancy. Swollen ankles, fluctuating blood pressure, crippling fatigue, and much, much more.

I wouldn't suggest having a baby until you're out of nursing school and eligible for FMLA. 6 week maternity leave wasn't enough time for me to recover and go back to work. By the last day of my leave, I was still having postpartum bleeding and recovering from a tear down there - certainly no condition to be in going back to work. I didn't feel normal again until 10 weeks postpartum. I wasn't anticipating this, but you really can't anticipate how you'll recover after birth.