going back to school much too early

[notAClue]

This is my first post here so Hello everyone!

Now then. I'm having my first child in late August and I will be taking the summer off of school. My original plan was to take fall off as well, but then I realized that if I go fall term and spring term, then I'm done. And I can start looking for work after that. the only problem is I'll have a new 1 1/2 month old baby. I will only be taking 2 classes, each one is one day a week. for one I'll have to leave him with a friend of mine and the other class he can stay with his Daddy. Theoretically it will work beautifully, I'm just worried that practically my plan will not be quite as good as I'm hoping. I've never had a ton of energy, even before pregnancy. I don't like to bog myself down and I usually know my limits, but I've never done this before. I'm worried that I'll end up with more than I can handle, and I have no idea if I'll end up with PPD on top of everything else, but with my history of depression it's not terribly unlikely.

Any thoughts/words of encouragement?

[Carita]

mine was due in aug, born in july and i went to school in the fall w/a reduced courseload. i was not as "with it" during that first year, but im glad i stuck it out. don't feel bad if you need daycare for a bit more than just class hrs. for going back sort of part time, i needed PT childcare as well, about 15 hrs/week.

[pinksprklybarefoot]

I started school last fall almost exactly one month after giving birth. I took eight credits - two nights a week of 3.5 hour classes. Things went beautifully.

However, it was my second child. I don't know if it would have been as smooth with my first. I didn't have to spend a lot of time figuring out how to do things.

Also, remember that the average first time mom goes ten days past the 40 week mark.

Could you do a summer course? You would have plenty of time to relax before the baby arrives if you are due in late August.

So the answer really is that it depends - it depends on what kind of student you are, what type of classes you will be taking, what kind of sleeper the baby is, how you function under stress and hormones and little sleep, how supportive the other people in your life are. It could be totally possible and totally easy, or it could be a nightmare. I say give it a whirl, but make note of the last day to drop without a W on your transcript (if you think you might ever go for an advanced degree).

[RollerCoasterMama]

It's hard, but it can be done. I know a lot of people that had babies mid-semester or right before classes started. They missed a day or two and that was it pretty much! 2 of them managed to bring the babies to class in a sling when they were newborns. And this was 18 and 16 years ago!!

I think it takes a certain amount of stubbornness to pull it off like they did. Both of those two were in grad school and determined to succeed at what others told them they couldn't do.

A woman in my law school class had the baby about 2 weeks after we started. I think she missed 1 day. She was an excellent student.

I think the more you can streamline your life, the better you'll be. Meals in the pantry and freezer. Line up childcare for when you need it, etc.

And the PPs advice to keep a close eye on the drop dates is a really good idea!!!

[mammastar2]

I did it, and took about 10 days off completely before returning. In my case, it worked well. I found the second semester harder than the first, because I wasn't getting the kudos anymore, and sort of wished I could take a break.

Definitely you have to be prepared for the unexpected - you don't know if your baby will be particularly fussy, what their sleep patterns (and yours) will be like, or if your baby will have special needs. So build in some give in case it turns out not to be doable in your particular circumstances.

Some things that helped:

- I had lots of family support

- there was no grade for attendance in my class, and they were graded mostly based on a couple of exams or a big paper, so I didn't get thrown right away into lots of little assignments and projects

- I was already a strong student: it would have been much harder if I'd been struggling academically pre-baby.

Good luck!

[notAClue]

Thanks

Thanks everyone. I'm getting lots of support from my family and friends, and also from the Department head and Chairman at the school, so I think that will be a big help (Chairman's wife's due date is 5 days before mine). I have childcare set up for when I need it, all of the foreseeable problems are taken care of, I'm just worried about things I won't have thought of. But thank you everyone for all the encouragement, it's helped to hear that I'm not the only insane person trying this. I think t will go well (don't quote me on that though ).