Nursing school and babies

[toonces73]

I am hoping to attend ADN school this August. I will not be working while in school, but do have a 2 year old. I am thinking about adding a baby to the mix. He/she will be 2 months old when I start school. Both children will be in daycare a couple days a week and then my husband will take care of them. Is adding a new baby to stressful while in school? I just really do not want to wait 2 more years to have a second child. Your thoughts...Thanks

[2bNurseNik]

It all depends on how well you manage. I have a 4 yr old and may be pregnant now (waiting a few more weeks before I get a test) and I work fulltime and YES it is hard. But each situation of course is different and most people can handle it better than others. Best of luck to you.

[Jolie, BSN]

You are talking about undertaking 2 major life changes at the same time. That is not something I would choose to do. Nursing school is extremely demanding on your time and energy. So is being a new mom. While I don't believe that it is an impossible combination, I do believe that it has the potential to stress you beyond belief, and your family as well. There are too many factors that you can't control such as what if you don't become pregnant as quickly as you anticipate. Then, instead of having a 2 month-old infant when you start school, you may be 6 months pregnant. What if you experience pre-term labor, and are forced to go on bedrest? What if your newborn gets sick during your first few months of school and you don't have "sick" child care, but MUST attend clinical or risk being dropped from the program?

These are just some of the dilemmas you will face attending school with an infant. I would strongly encourage you to consider delaying school or having another baby until you have a better understanding of the demands of your program.

Best of luck to you!

[angel337, MSN, RN]

nursing school isn't easy by a long shot and you will get some people that will tell you that they had 5 1/2 kids a husband, 3 dogs and 10 cats and still made it with straight A's. although anything is possible, why make it harder than it has to be??

i think you should sit down with your husband and talk about what is really important to you both at this time. expanding your family is a wonderful accomplishment and you need and deserve to be there for your family with very minimum distractions. i agree with the other poster that said having a newborn or pregnancy while in school will be challenging. children are so unpredicatable and you never know what emergency might arise that may force you to leave school early or miss lecture. and trust me, the instructors don't care, they make you responsible for everything. good luck with what you decide.