For some reason, and I'm not sure why.. if my biological clock is yelling at me or what, but I have the strongest urge to have another baby. My daughter will be 4 in March, and I just feel like it's time to have a baby.
I am in my first semester of Nursing School, and things are going well. I work 2 or 4 days a week in the OR on a rotating schedule to maintain my healthcare benefits, and feel like I balance things pretty well. I'm the type of person who constantly needs something to do.
While I know that NO pregnancy can be perfectly planned, we do have a couple weeks break at the end of July- mid August (In August I would have 10 months left in the program). If I could deliver in that time (likely planned C-section as first was born that way) it shouldn't take much away from my education, and I wouldn't be working at that time for at least 12 weeks. I also had a very healthy first pregnancy, worked on my feet upt to 10 hours a day, no complications whatsoever, and I know each pregnancy can be different, but I would hope to have the same luck.
I know it's ultimately my decision on what I do, but I would like some sound advice or encouragement either way :)
If everything is going well, don't rock the boat! It's one thing leaving your 3 yo, but leaving a newborn for school and work is a totally different story. I know baby fever is hard to kick, but you're so close!! Graduation will be here so fast, keep waiting!!
Do what you feel is best for your family. Personally, I started school when my oldest was 2 years old and my baby was 5 weeks old....I was fortunate to not have to work while in school and still felt I was away too much from them. I also got pregnant while in school and did not know...I had to have emergency surgery for my appendix and my gallbladder while 5 months pregnant and 2 kids at home. things do NOT always go as planned. Yes I made it through and graduated in time but ALOT of hard work and a lot of family help. I was stressed out my whole pregnancy (due to school). I would have loved to enjoy my pregnancy while not in school. Personally I would not recommend it.
If I were you, I would wait. I had my second child right before Nursing 1 ended and luckily was off 6 weeks during the break before Nursing 2 started. And not that I regret it but it was HARD. It wasn't impossible because I did have a bunch of help from my significant other but it did make studying harder because by the time I could study I was exhausted. Plus, nursing school only gets more challenging so although nursing 1 may seem like a breeze, you may not feel that way through out the rest of the program.
Also remember that just because school is over does not mean your studying is over. Preparing for the N-CLEX with a 5 year old and 10 month old may be difficult for you.
I don't want to seem like the Debbie downer but I just wanted to give you my experience. If you really want a baby sooner rather than later, maybe plan the pregnancy so that you'd be due a month or two after graduation. I had my third child 3 months after graduation. Granted I felt really big at graduation but I was able to graduate, pass my N-CLEX and secure a position before I delivered.
Good luck with whatever you decide! And good luck with the rest of nursing school!
I understand about baby fever. I had a 1 year old and was pregnant taking my prereqs, and had a 1 and 2 year old when I started nursing school. It was hard but it can be done! I had a ton of support from fiance and family. The only word of caution that I would keep in mind is from an experience of a classmate of mine; she was about halfway through her pregnancy in our 3rd semester of our program and was doing fine, but she developed pre-eclampsia and couldn't continue with school. Our bsn program doesn't start every semester, so it put her behind an entire year. Good luck with whatever you choose!
Hey well I'm inexperienced but I did want to share some thoughts that may or may not be any help.
1. I worked at a daycare all through high school. Maybe this would offend some parents but I felt like a temporary mom and that's how I acted. Not so with every worker. Unless there are cameras to prove it, never think a day care is perfect even if it seems amazing. I could tell you stories that would make you cringe but weren't illegal. And the parents never suspected a thing.
2. There is a woman in my fundamentals class with a young child and due for another in Dec. She didn't plan for that. It's stressful on her. The 3 mom's in my class are more stressed. .they're also pretty mature.. and while I think "i can't imagine being able to do what they do.." when you have to if you want it bad enough you find a way but one slip and maybe nursing school is over for them.
Specializes in M/S, LTC, Corrections, PDN & drug rehab.
Hey well I'm inexperienced but I did want to share some thoughts that may or may not be any help.
1. I worked at a daycare all through high school. Maybe this would offend some parents but I felt like a temporary mom and that's how I acted. Not so with every worker. Unless there are cameras to prove it, never think a day care is perfect even if it seems amazing. I could tell you stories that would make you cringe but weren't illegal. And the parents never suspected a thing.
2. There is a woman in my fundamentals class with a young child and due for another in Dec. She didn't plan for that. It's stressful on her. The 3 mom's in my class are more stressed. .they're also pretty mature.. and while I think "i can't imagine being able to do what they do.." when you have to if you want it bad enough you find a way but one slip and maybe nursing school is over for them.
good luck with your decision.
If you have no kids, I wouldn't comment on that front. You don't know what reason a parent has for putting their child in daycare.
It definitely can be done, but I would not try to conceive unless you are also prepared to withdraw from school if necessary. I had a very simple, easy first pregnancy. When I got pregnant with my 2nd, I had a lot of issues. The pregnancy was much harder on me; I was very sick, experienced cramping and bleeding, had Braxton-Hicks contractions starting very early. Then, at my anatomy scan, my baby was diagnosed with a potentially fatal birth defect, and I spent the last half of my pregnancy being monitored multiple times a week and wound up on strict bed rest in the hospital for several weeks. I had to withdraw from school; luckily, I was only doing my pre-reqs at that point, but if I had already been enrolled in the nursing program, withdrawing and then being readmitted would have been a MUCH bigger deal. Obviously, this is not your typical pregnancy situation, but you just can't know what will happen.
I want a baby but I'm holding out till I finish my NP school. I would personally hold off until you are in the last six months of your program. Why? Because there were some people who had close calls. What if you end up on bed rest? Not all pregnancies run as smoothly as the first few. One woman had to drop out of her peds rotation and double up at the end because she had a rough delivery and was minutes away from an emergency hysterectomy so she was unable to get back on her feet in time for the peds clinical. Another nurse had a baby and was at clinical with 30 hours.
Specializes in Care Coordination, Care Management.
I'm sorry, but I'm just going to be the voice of reason...are you out of your ever-loving-mind??? You are in your FIRST semester of nursing school. You've seen nothing yet. Finish school, pass the NCLEX...then add another little one to your family.
You will have to do what's best for you but I would have to warn against it. Yes, your current job has benefits which covers you for healthcare and also paycheck for the first 12 weeks (as long as you don't have to go on Maternity leave early for pregnancy complications, then you will have to return to work sooner with your new born) but this is because you have just underwent a life changing experience. Another thing to consider is the c-section that you mentioned. I had one. I recovered from the surgery quite fine. I didn't recover from the emotional stress of being up all night for the greater part of the first year very well. I had asked my doctor if I could return to work after just a couple weeks during the prenatal care visits and she told me, "Your having a c-section. No. You need six weeks off at least before I will be willing to clear you to go back to work". I worked from home, in front of a computer, whenever during my 40 hours a week I could log on to do QA reporting when I wasn't tied up with the baby. I still didn't get early clearance to return to work. After having the baby-I didn't want it either.
Here's something that could make or break your plan-if you have clinicals how are you going to make sure that you don't miss any with having the baby and a c-section? You will have to be able to lift. What is your schools policy for attendance? Will they require your doctor's approval to return? Will they allow you to go on leave for a semester if necessary, and if so, does there need to be an extra seat available? Every program is different and some may help make accommodations more than others, but this is an important issue to research first.
It's my understanding that you don't qualify for FMLA until you have been on the job a year. So those 12 weeks PP mentioned you would get off... Your job is not guaranteed to be there when you get back (FMLA protects your job), and you certainly won't get a paycheck during those 12 weeks. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but this is my understanding of how it works.
MamaBeaRN
115 Posts
If everything is going well, don't rock the boat! It's one thing leaving your 3 yo, but leaving a newborn for school and work is a totally different story. I know baby fever is hard to kick, but you're so close!! Graduation will be here so fast, keep waiting!!