Student Mamas...New thread!! - Page 5

[MarissasMama]

Hi Snowbaby. The only way I ever got anything done with DD at home, was by putting her on my back. I could stand at my desk (read kitchen counter) with my laptop and work on my qualifing exam. I am now working on my papers and soon my dissertation. She is older, but still, when she is tired and fussy, on the back she goes. I get a lot more done at home that way and get to leave her in daycare a few fewer hours each day as a result. Good Luck with your dis and a brand new baby. I dont know how any of you do it!! at least a toddler takes care of herself a bit now and then

[wawoof]

Hi Snowbaby,

Hello! I'm not sure this answer is very helpful if you're responsible for child care 100% of the time, but I really only get work done on the days when DH or daycare take care of DS (4 days/week). I work about 9am til 8pm (or 6pm on the 2 days/week that I swim) on those days to squeeze everything in. I'm usually too tired to work much at night, and DS's naps are so unpredictable, it's hard to know how much time I'll have to work during them.

It's totally normal to have trouble concentrating in the early days - I didn't get much done until DS was at least 3 mos old. Sleep-deprivation makes deep thinking hard for sure. IRBs (tedious, but not too intellectually demanding usually) are good things to work on in those sleep-deprived days; dissertation-writing is not.

Good luck with everything!

[Slackermom]

Breastforbabe, how is your brother? I hope he's doing okay. What a horrible thing to happen.

Thanks for the kudos, everyone! I gave the thesis to my examining committee last Tuesday, and now I'm on pins and needles waiting for the verdict. I don't have to do a formal defense (partly because it's not the norm in my faculty, and partly because it's summer and difficult to get things coordinated), so we'll just hold a more informal meeting at which I'll "defend" the thesis. I'm moving into a new house next week, so my life just keeps getting wonkier and wonkier...no rest for the weary!

I had to drop some registration stuff at DH's university the other day. I was so sad being there...I already miss being in school. I'm such a nerd; I do love academic life. He's encouraging me to do my PhD if I want, but it would be so hard with one baby and the desire for another within the next year. Not that it isn't do-able...finishing this thesis taught me that I can do anything if I really apply myself. Anyway, I'm already having school withdrawal!

[ian'smommaya]

hi all after taking the summer off from school i am going back for fall semester. yesterday i went to pick up my books at the bookstore for classes and they were closed for staff developement. i couldnt believe it. the entire campus was closed. how irritating. oh well i'll try again today.
jellyfishy- i know what you mean by withdraw from academia. i felt that severly this summer. and i am very exctied to go back.
maya

[sweetest]

Thanks everyone - my little brother is doing well, but still in intensive care. It turns out it was an accidental shooting, the guy that shot him is a friend who just got back from Iraq. It is hard because they are in Louisianna and Im in California.

This week has been rough getting back into the swing of classes after 6 weeks off. And dd starting walking! She is so excited to be at dc now! My dh said this morning she hit the ground running the moment he put her down! It is so nice to not be worrying about her, too on top of everything else.

Back to the books.......

[Slackermom]

BFB - glad to hear about your brother. Also glad to hear your little one is enjoying daycare. I have to go back to work in November (DD will be 1) and I'm dreading it so much I cry sometimes. We did a tour of a daycare a couple of weeks ago and she loved seeing all the other babies and the activities, but I'll worry about her so much.

Good luck with your classes!

[CollegeMama]

BFB - keep us posted on your brother's condition. How scary.

I'm starting school this fall after being out of school for 5 years. I'm not as far along as most of the mothers here, I'm going back for a bachelor of Arts and Sciences degree- Psychology. I already have an Associate's degree, and have lots of credit hours, so I'll only have a year and 1/2 of full-time school to get that bachelors.
I'm planning on eventually gettting my PhD, if my interest keeps up. The mothers here who are doing this give me much hope! Thank you

I'm very, very nervous though (as usual.) I'll have to work full-time this semester, while taking one course. When I'll have the time to study and take care of DS is beyond me. I may have to use lunch hours to lock myself in my office to study on those nights that DS has trouble sleeping or I'm so exhausted from work and school that all I can do is crash when DS does.
Unfortunately (or fortunately, I can't tell yet) the course I'm taking is a senior and masters level class. This is both exciting and frightening to me! I hope I'm able to keep up with the other, younger students. I keep telling myself that life experience will help me out, and that going back as a mother who's married and has some work experience will give me some kind of edge.

[sarahmariev]

CollegeMama- I am sure you will do great. I have noticed that the folks in my program that have returned to school and are parents seem to do acceptionally well. I am starting my senior year w/ BA in Human Development and Psychology, and there are a great deal of mamas in my program because it is online/distance. I noticed that most of those mamas end up being on the president's honor roll each semester too. good luck.

[CollegeMama]

sarahmariev- Thanks for the words of encouragement. Congrats on reaching your senior year!

[ian'smommaya]

Originally Posted by sarahmariev

CollegeMama- I am sure you will do great. I have noticed that the folks in my program that have returned to school and are parents seem to do acceptionally well. I am starting my senior year w/ BA in Human Development and Psychology, and there are a great deal of mamas in my program because it is online/distance. I noticed that most of those mamas end up being on the president's honor roll each semester too. good luck.

sarahmariev- maybe you could tell me how to find a good online school. where to look etc. i cant seem to tell the difference between a "good" school and a diploma mill. thanks in advance.
maya

[Greaseball]

I think most universities and community colleges have the option of taking classes online. It's hard to get a degree only doing that, but there are usually several undergrad and a few graduate programs you can do entirely online.

You could try applying at the closest university to you and registering for only online classes, or if you think you will do your whole degree online, apply for whatever school you want to go to and inquire about their online courses. Good luck!

[ian'smommaya]

thanks- i go to school now f.t. brick and mortar but i am interested eventually in going online. school now doesnt have alot of online classes but maybe soon, theyre looking into it.
maya

[sarahmariev]

online degree

This is a subject that I am very excited about, so here comes a whole bunch of information . . .
This is my program, through Washington State University. http://distance.wsu.edu/degrees/ It is entirely distance oriented. They belong to a consortium of other public universities that offer credible degrees and certificates at a distance. They are at http://www.nudc.org/. PBS offers legit classes (not necessarily degrees), and an article about how to differentiate between real colleges and diploma mills (at http://www.pbs.org/campus/006_News/006-mar-03.html).
If you are interested in more alternative degrees, there are a lot of options. These are the types of places I am looking at for grad school. Some of them are entirely distance, but many require you to come to the campus a few times a year. Here are some examples of alternative programs available (I could offer a lot more if you are interested):
http://www.naropa.edu/distance/
Naropa University
Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing
Master of Arts in Transpersonal Psychology
Master of Arts in Transpersonal Psychology with Ecopsychology Concentration
Master of Arts in Contemplative Education

http://www.ties-edu.org/
Endicott College
Master of Education/integrative learning/Montessori


Some of these schools offer good financial aid, and some very little. From what I understand, it is still a bit unusual for schools to offer grants for distance program (WSU does, which is one major reason why I go there).
I know this is getting lengthy, but let just have a moment to glow about my program. While I know that I am missing out on being a part of a University experience, in a thriving, learning community, it is absolutely worthwhile for me, being a mama and all. I love that I don't have to go to class at any particular time. I generally check into my courses after the kids go to bed at night. We don't have to miss playgroups or outings, and use very little childcare. I love it! It is not for everyone, but I feel distance learning is an ideal way to make education more attainable to people of all walks of life.
Let me know if you have any more questions!

[ian'smommaya]

thank you soo much,sarahmariev. that is exactly what i was looking for. how cool a masters degree in intergrated learning, montesorri education. wow. thanks. and dont worry about it being too long i dont think anyone else does, especially not me. lol.
what are you going for? i'm pre-nursing the waiting list to get on the waiting list is two years long here. so i wait and wait in the mean time i'm taking spanish, pychology, child dev. history, etc. etc. i'll have several degrees before the degree i want.lol.
maya

[mamaley]

sarahmariev, wow! i didn't know a whole degree program existed like that! awesome! i can't tell you how excited your post has made me. i have so much college already completed, i wonder if they would let me transfer my credits so that i could finish a degree? it's just so nice having another option. going to go check out the site now...

[mamaley]

i hope it's ok that i'm jumping in here again...

sarahmarieev, i'm looking at a wsu bachelors program in social sciences. is there an easy way to tell what will transfer and what won't? i have all these social work credits from a previous program, but there is no social work college at wsu, there is sociology and they have some social work classes in there...i wonder if they could transfer to sociology classes? you wouldn't happen to know, would you?

i wish i could figure out how much i'd need to take before i were to finish if i took this route. i'm very excited to have this as an option...i wonder what it would be like to do it distance learning. i have had more than my fair share of the college experience, so i'm not worried about that! lol.

this is so exciting...

[mcsarahb]

mamaley - I know you didn't ask my opinion, but I'll chime in anyway.

Usually if you have lots of previous classes that you want to transfer you need to talk to an advisor about your specific situation. I know when I went back to apply for my degree in nurse-midwifery, I had a BA, but some of my classes didn't transfer because of the number of credits per class, and a few just because they weren't named the "right" thing! Grrr. You really need to talk to an advisor, and get them to look at your transcript(s). And sometimes you can petition to get classes to transfer if it seems like they're being unfair. I had to send in all my previous classes and their descriptions. It usually depends on the specific program and degree you're trying to get into.

Sorry if you knew this already...I just went through this so it's fresh on my mind.

Sarah

[mamaley]

hi mcsarahb, thanks! i looked on their website and it says they'll only have their advisors look at your transcripts after they accept you. i might try to talk to someone before then anyway. i've transfered schools before so i know a lot of things sometimes don't transfer...but, this program is so perfect for me that i almost don't care, lol.

[sarahmariev]

I am so glad the info was useful. I have been researching this stuff for a while, and it is nice to be able to share it with someone interested.
Mamaley - that is the program I am in! BA Social Sciences, w/ emphasis on Human Development and Psychology. As far as the transfers, I think you really have to talk to an advisor. I know that there is a max. that they will accept (i.e. you need to complete x number of credits at WSU to graduate from WSU). Is it 30? I don't remember. It was pretty straightforward for me, because I just came in with my AA.
ian'smommaya - that must be frustrating, waiting to get into your program. The community colleges in my area have huge wait lists for nursing degrees as well (especially the good ones). Someone I know has been waiting almost two years to get admitted. I haven't decided which grad school I am going to try to get into, but I think I have it narrowed down to two - maybe three. My top two are Santa Barbara Graduate Institute (Ph.D program in Somatic Psychology at http://www.sbgi.edu/html/som1.html), or Leadership Institute of Seattle (which is affiliated with Bastyr University), MA in applied behavioral science http://www.lios.org/Programs/MA_Degree/. I still like the idea of attending Naropa though, that school is just amazing.
It is great to have an outlet to kind of "talk" to other mamas about this. DH can listen, but is not himself a student.
Happy studying everyone!

[Ravin]

So DD went to her first day of daycare on Thursday, while I attended an orientation for adult re-entry students.

It went about as well as I expected: she played well for the 1st hour, then cried the rest of the time, wouldn't nap, wouldn't eat, wouldn't take anything to drink. Just before I got there they finally got her to calm down enough to eat a graham cracker, and she smiled as soon as she saw me.

She's been resisting naps anyway, and ate breakfast before we left and nursed up until we got there, so it was okay. I suggested they try a swing when she got really tired next time (Monday!), sometimes movement will put her to sleep when nothing else will.

I was anxious the whole time, I don't think my heartrate was normal until I had her back nursing! But I didn't get too full in the breasts, so I don't think I'll need to pump. If I do I can do it in a room in the adult re-entry office, which also has computers and tables and couches for studying, and is one of the few offices on campus that will let students print stuff out for free. I know where my new hangout is!

That afternoon and evening, though, she was back to her usual self--adventurous and gregarious, as long as she was where she could see mommy--or in a spot she'd put herself just out of my line of sight, such as under a neighboring table at Passport, where I was manning the pagan student group's table. It's a presentation of many of the campus student groups for new students, btw.

So she's not emotionally scarred for life, as I put it in my last post. I think we'll both adapt.

BFB, hang in there, I know how hard it is when you can't be there during a family emergency.