Pregnant and Nursing School??

kathy_79 · Oct 3, 2004

one person, i do not know her personally, i met her only once, she is now on last 4th semester of rn adn, she was pregnant whole 3rd semester and due on july. i have one person with 3 months old baby and other with 10 months old. they do well at school, but you need a huge family suuport to go thru that, i started my school when my baby was 6 months old it is hard but managable, now she is 22 months, she goes to nursery 3 days a week and my mom helps me on other 2 days, plus i have sunday my husband father-daughter day. that is how i have to do, but i still feel bad that i have to give up her time with me sometimes for school work, only thing is that it will benefit for us infuture. now i want to have second baby (not to live her alone, not too much age difference between them) but i think i have to wait because of school , i admire those pregnant and nursering, but i do not see myself in it. school and one baby is enough time consuming for me.

good luck to you, do not give up your dreams, involve your family into your life and baby's too, it is able to manage, :) :) :)

Katydidit34 · Oct 3, 2004

Thank you so much!! I needed the encouragement so badly!! I just found out yesterday and it thrust me into a feeling of uncertainty. I really appreciate your reply!!

one person, i do not know her personally, i met her only once, she is now on last 4th semester of rn adn, she was pregnant whole 3rd semester and due on july. i have one person with 3 months old baby and other with 10 months old. they do well at school, but you need a huge family suuport to go thru that, i started my school when my baby was 6 months old it is hard but managable, now she is 22 months, she goes to nursery 3 days a week and my mom helps me on other 2 days, plus i have sunday my husband father-daughter day. that is how i have to do, but i still feel bad that i have to give up her time with me sometimes for school work, only thing is that it will benefit for us infuture. now i want to have second baby (not to live her alone, not too much age difference between them) but i think i have to wait because of school , i admire those pregnant and nursering, but i do not see myself in it. school and one baby is enough time consuming for me.
good luck to you, do not give up your dreams, involve your family into your life and baby's too, it is able to manage, :) :) :)

christinemj · Oct 3, 2004

I'm in 4th semester and my son will be 3 weeks old tomorrow. I honestly have to say that this is the most difficult thing that I have ever done. Since you are due in the summer, it may not be as bad, but I had a heck of a time "scheduling" childbirth around clinicals, tests, and assignments. (Baby came 10 days early on a "test day"!)

And then.... there is an INFANT to take care of. Yes, I was completely oblivious to the fact that infants are HARD WORK. I guess I had forgotten how "demanding" my other 3 children had been during infancy. I think I was in denial.

For now, I plan to actually get some SLEEP in about...oh, 2 months... when I graduate!! I do have a VERY helpful husband, but sometimes the baby just NEEDS MOM!!! I can't WAIT for that sharp pain between my shoulder blades to go away! (From holding baby thorughout most nights..... he doesn't sleep very well yet.)

Like I said, if you're due in summer and do NOT plan to take summer classes, you might be OK. Rally the support of family and friends now.. you'll need it!! I wish you the very best of luck!!

hypnotic_nurse · Oct 3, 2004

One of my fellow nursing school students did this (a first baby) and although it was a struggle, and she felt her grades dropped because of it, she did graduate and did pass the NCLEX.

It helped that she had a supportive husband and family close by who helped her quite a bit. She even managed to breastfeed by hauling a pump with her and pumping breastmilk at every break.

bigwavedave · Oct 3, 2004

First of all, congrats and good luck (with the pregnancy and getting into nursing school)! Although I was never pregnant during nursing school, there were quite a few in my class that were at some stage of pregnancy throughout my 2 years in the nursing program. One woman was pregnany 1st semester, EDC was 1 week after our final. Unfortunately for her though she deliverd the morning of our final. She got to take it at a later date. To my knowledge she had no problems with clinicals (i.e. heavy lifting and things of that sort). My wife deliverd our first child about 8 mos. prior to her starting nursing school. He was on the bottle by the time she started, otherwise she probably would have had to pump during breaks at school. The big thing was childcare. I was working fulltime in a bank to put her through school, but luckily for us her mother was able to watch him-he got a lot of one on one attention and she did not ask us to pay her a dime. The hardest part is probably finding time to be with the baby w/out letting your studies suffer. I think that is where the support and love from your family is key. My wife delivered our second child while I was in my 3rd for 4 semester of nursing school. He was actually born at 0815 and I had a clinical at 1400 I was required to be at. That's another story but I mention that because I do know how it feels to have a small baby while in nursing school. Last piece of advice is to take advantage of nap times to either get uninterrupted study time or take a nap yourself. I am a big believer in the power of positive thinking so try not to get stressed out about it right now, take care of yourself and the baby. Best of luck!!

SmilingBluEyes · Oct 4, 2004

Best advice as a mom (one of which was a preemie) and OB nurse:

Have a backup plan. You never know if you may end up on bedrest or have other unexpected complications with your pregnancy or baby-to-be. Make sure you have that ace in the hole. Nearly NO baby does what they are "scheduled" to do.....from birth on. They tend to come early or late.....only less than 2% when DUE. Think about it, really carefully---and while you are at it, remember the potential for exposure to diseases DURING pregnancy when you are doing clinicals; this may not be desireable to you.

I wish you well and congratulations to you on your newest blessing.

EmilyCCRN · Oct 4, 2004

A second-year student in my program had a baby last December a few days before finals. She actually brought the baby to school when he was a few days old so that an instructor could watch him while she took her tests! She stayed in the program and is still on track to graduate in June.

natasha700 · Oct 4, 2004

I fully expect to be accepted and begin nursing school in January. I also just found out yesterday that I am pregnant with my fourth child. I think I'll be do somewhere at the end of June or July. Have you or anyone you know made it through nursing school while pregnant or after having a baby. I am excited about my new baby but I have also worked for a long time to get into school and am stressed out about it. Any stories or opinions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks alot!!
Katy

If you are determined you will succeed. My best friend was pregnant and she graduated with no problems. Just as long as it doesn't pose risk to your future bundle of joy I can't see why not you could not finish. I wish you well. :balloons:

busykim · Oct 4, 2004

A girl in my class had a new baby (I think he was 3 mos. old) when we started the nursing program. She got pregnant again first semester and was due in May around finals. Well she made it through, delivered her second son right before finals, and showed up and took the test. All of this-- plus she has Type I DM to complicate everything. She did GREAT, and even received an award at graduation this last May. She is now working in a job she loves in a NICU! I do know she had a supportive hubby and a wonderful grandmother that helped out quite a bit too though. When ever I got discouraged and felt overwhelmed, I thought of her and was more inspired to keep on keeping on! I think we can do anything we set our minds on!! Good luck and Congrats on the little one :) -Kim

Katydidit34 · Oct 4, 2004

Thanks you all so very much for replying. Sometimes God has plans for us that we don't have for ourselves. A baby during nursing school obviously wasn't in my plans but hey, I'd rather go by what the Big Guy has for me anyway. I so very much appreciate all the replies. You all have given me alot of encouragement as well as alot to think about and consider. Thanks again!!

Love,

Katy

A girl in my class had a new baby (I think he was 3 mos. old) when we started the nursing program. She got pregnant again first semester and was due in May around finals. Well she made it through, delivered her second son right before finals, and showed up and took the test. All of this-- plus she has Type I DM to complicate everything. She did GREAT, and even received an award at graduation this last May. She is now working in a job she loves in a NICU! I do know she had a supportive hubby and a wonderful grandmother that helped out quite a bit too though. When ever I got discouraged and felt overwhelmed, I thought of her and was more inspired to keep on keeping on! I think we can do anything we set our minds on!! Good luck and Congrats on the little one :) -Kim