Student Moms

Published

Knowing what you know now...would you wait until your children are older to begin a nursing program, or do you feel you should of done it while they were younger?

I have almost 2yr old and a baby due in a few weeks. Im a Work at Home mom..but plan on being a SAHM in March.

I am planning on applying for a fall program...kids will be 2 and baby around 9mths.

I keep getting conflicting advice on whether I should go in the fall..or wait until the baby is at least 1...granted..all this advice is coming from ppl who have never been in a nursing program :) I will admit that I am wary of starting when the baby is so young..but it has pros and cons...

So please give me YOUR advice, Im open to all opinions. thank you

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I think it depends on your own personal priorities. I set up my schooling so that when I graduate, my youngest will be in school full-time and I won't have added daycare expenses (maybe some latch-key type expenses). I also wanted my kids to see what it means to work hard to get what they want out of their life. Most importantly, I wanted my kids to understand that just because they may have "obstacles" in their life, doesn't mean they should stop learning and stop trying new things throughout their entire life.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in LTC, Psych, Hospice.

I waited until mine were in school and old enough to be home in the afternoons alone for a few hours. Have you thought about taking a few prereqs a semester before you actually apply to ns?

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Maternity.

my best friend in school had a baby after our first semester in the nursing program, and at the time her son was 18 months. she had a ton of support from her husband. i am also a mommy of a 3 yr old but am single. it's not easy with kids, especially if you have study habits like mine (i need complete silence, i was an only child my whole life and am used to being able to do things without a lot of white noise). my friend on the other hand was totally capable of studying in the middle of pure chaos! she always amazed me! so it really just depends on your circumstances and whether or not you think you will be able to get the work done.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
I waited until mine were in school and old enough to be home in the afternoons alone for a few hours. Have you thought about taking a few prereqs a semester before you actually apply to ns?

Im almost done with my pre reqs and all the general classes as well that my school requires...I have 4 left, english 2,micro,math for meds, and a humanities...im enrolled for micro and math for meds this next semester..the other two for the summer. the only thing I could do is wait and take the extra classes a BSN program would require.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
my best friend in school had a baby after our first semester in the nursing program, and at the time her son was 18 months. she had a ton of support from her husband. i am also a mommy of a 3 yr old but am single. it's not easy with kids, especially if you have study habits like mine (i need complete silence, i was an only child my whole life and am used to being able to do things without a lot of white noise). my friend on the other hand was totally capable of studying in the middle of pure chaos! she always amazed me! so it really just depends on your circumstances and whether or not you think you will be able to get the work done.

hubby is very supportive of my decision :redbeathe

a normal schedule for my np is 3 full days a week..2 full days off...i thought about doing most of my studying on those 2 down days and having family or the daycare watch the kiddos for a few hours while i studied.

im just not sure which would be better...to get school over with now..when they wont remember me being gone..but miss out on those firsts with the baby..or wait until they are older and will remember me being gone and not being able to fully understand why im gone.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in NICU.

That's a toughie. I went to school with children ranging in age from a new nursing baby to a college age. The younger children handled it easiest, I think. It's not hard to study while nursing a baby on your lap. My youngest knew that when my laptop came out it was time to crawl on my lap, LOL. The older children needed to me listen to them and that actually took more energy than I had sometimes.

Like an earlier poster said, if you can study in chaos, it will go better for you.

I didn't have a choice about when to start school and so I got it done--and with very good grades, thank you ;). I did have a husband who was very supportive and had a flexible schedule so I didn't have to leave children with babysitters. That helped.

I very much missed being able to spend all my time with my youngest the way I had when the others were babies. I also had to give up some, ummm, control, to my husband to do things his way. That was a little difficult for me :rolleyes:.

If now is when you need to be in school, then go for it. Kids adapt. No matter when you go you will miss out on some things, but you will also gain. My kids know I have a job that is challenging and one that I love and I think that is good for them.

Good luck on your decision. It'll work out, no matter what you choose.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
I think it depends on your own personal priorities. I set up my schooling so that when I graduate, my youngest will be in school full-time and I won't have added daycare expenses (maybe some latch-key type expenses). I also wanted my kids to see what it means to work hard to get what they want out of their life. Most importantly, I wanted my kids to understand that just because they may have "obstacles" in their life, doesn't mean they should stop learning and stop trying new things throughout their entire life.

Me too. When I graduate from my nursing program, all four of my children will be in school. I have been a stay at home mom for 5 years. My kids are (12, 7, 6, and 4) and we could not afford daycare. I did it this way so when I'm graduated I can go right to work and not have to worry about where the kids are going to be during the day.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

My kids are in elementary school and I'm just finishing up my first semester. If I could do it again, I would have went to school FIRST, then had kids.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Critical Care; Cardiac; Professional Development.

I see people make it work across the spectrum. My kids are 13 and 16 and I can't imagine having tried nursing school while they were little, but there are people in my program doing a very admirable job of managing both and one person in my class with a 12 year old who is struggling because that child demands a lot of attention. I suspect there are no guarantees either way.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

When I started nursing school, my kids were 1, 3 and 4. The youngest being one was important to me, personally, because I knew that if he was still nursing when I started, it would only be morning and/ or night time, and I knew that pumping during school just wasn't something I could handle (I worked full-time with my first two and pumped at work all of the time, but it was a very different environment). Also, to me, the older they are, the more activities they are in and the more there is to juggle. When I graduated, they were 3, 5 and 6, and the activities were already starting. My goal is to work full time for 2 yrs and then drop back to part time while all 3 are in elementary school, in order to be able to possibly not use childcare and be able to get everyone where they need to be, when they need to be there. I didn't mind studying with a kid crawling on my head or having my laptop open with a podcast going on on the counter while I was making dinner. Chaos works for me. =) My kids were also very willing assessment subjects. =)

Up Vote Up Vote ×

I am also in NS and I have a 4 year old daughter. I decided to wait until she was a little older and I totally regret it. I was going to go when she was 2 but i waited and took some pre reqs but I wish I would have just went on then. She doesn't understand why mommy has to sit at the table for hours every night and why I have to be gone when she wakes up every morning. I have an amazing husband, but that doesn't make her whys any easier. And this year for christmas, its not going to be as extravagant because I'm not working and our budget is a lot tighter because of school. I try to spend every minute I can with her, but it breaks my heart when shes crying to me because all she wants is for me to play a game with her and I have 3 tests the next day, It sucks. Good Luck in NS!!!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion