Student Mamas.....

[She2dancer]

I have noticed a couple of you on here that are student mama's...I am wondering how you do it - lol

I am going back to school this fall to study for my masters....so I will be spending my third trimester of pregnancy in school and then will have a new baby during my last two trimesters of school. It is a one year overseas program and we have thought about postponing it a year, but due to scholarships and such, it is just not possible.

I am just curious how you all have handled it, did you breastfeed while you were in school, etc..... Any tips, stories anything would be helpful to hear...I guess I just need a little reassuring that there are other mama's out there that have done this....I am starting to think I am slightly insane....

TIA!!!

[Twilight]

I feel like I'm nuts too. I'm actually due the week before final exams start in my fall semester... I thought I'd go ahead and register for fall classes, and then talk to my professors individually to see if they'll work with me on making up work and taking my finals. I'm sure they had to have seen this before... it's grad school and so many grad students have families..

I'm in a teacher licensure program - if I weren't having the baby, I'd be student teaching in the spring semester. With the baby coming, I'll take spring and summer off (8 months will be so nice!) - and then student teach in the fall, sub in the spring, and look for a job after that.

When I student-teach I'll have to figure out something for pumping. I will probably not pump anymore after the baby's a year old, depending on how the baby is doing with solids etc.

I know it's going to be tough on a teacher's schedule. You don't get much of a break. Every teacher mom I know has to supplement with formula because they don't get enough chances to pump and don't get enough milk when they do. But I hope I can keep that to a minimum, and my baby will be 8 months old when I do student-teach, so at least he/she can be exclusively breastfed until then.

I WOH full-time when I had my DD originally - and I had a desk job and my employer was awesome about giving me a break whenever I needed it to pump. This time around it'll be different, I think.

I'm guessing your family is coming with you on your overseas program? Do you have any idea what your class schedule will look like? I'm thinking a normal college student's schedule could be really easy to work around... if you have, say, a morning class and then an afternoon class each day, with a break in between - you could feed and snuggle your baby on your breaks. You may not know until later in the fall semester, so you can play it by ear.

[dakotamidnight]

I guess I'm crazy too - I'm due about 2 weeks after the semester starts for me.

Luckily I've got sympathetic professors, and supportive parents. I'm planning on pumping, but am not too sure on how well this will work.