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OK, honest opinion, being pregnant during college?

post #1 of 27
1/5/08 at 6:14am
Thread Starter 
K, so me and dh are SOOO ready to have another, but next year we are BOTH going to be in school full time The kicker being I have the majority of grants/scholarships through me (tuition, housing, ect.) so me missing/not going to school for a semester isn't an option...So how difficult is it? I'm I going to be totally killing myself trying to keep everything together? I don't want to wait till I graduate though b/c the youngest and the new baby would be over 6yrs apart!!! opinions?

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post #2 of 27
1/5/08 at 6:30am
Honestly? It would be very difficult. It depends mainly on how flexible your university's program is and if you can drop down to the minimum number of hours to keep your scholarship valid. How many hours are you planning to take each semester? Is there any flexibility to allow you to go part time for one semester right after the baby is born and then take a few extra classes in the evenings or over the summer at a later date? It also depends on what you're studying and how much intensive work there is outside of attending lectures. Does it require a lot of groupwork, labwork, long essays? You'll have to take all of these things into account when making your decision, along with how you'll juggle childcare for your older two with breastfeeding demands for the youngest.

Good luck figuring it out. It's not impossible but it would be very very difficult for awhile and it would be wise to accept that either your grades or family life will suffer for a little while.
post #3 of 27
1/5/08 at 12:26pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by raversangel View Post
K, so me and dh are SOOO ready to have another, but next year we are BOTH going to be in school full time The kicker being I have the majority of grants/scholarships through me (tuition, housing, ect.) so me missing/not going to school for a semester isn't an option...So how difficult is it? I'm I going to be totally killing myself trying to keep everything together? I don't want to wait till I graduate though b/c the youngest and the new baby would be over 6yrs apart!!! opinions?

:
Is there any way that your husband can take time off from school when the baby is born? I know a woman who specifically chose to start having kids while working on her masters degree, but her husband then chose to be a stay at home dad and has been a great one ever since with their 5 kids. Even if your husband can cut back to part time to help out since you have to keep your grants/scholarships would help a great deal I think. I think it's all about your support network. I know a girl who is in vet school, getting ready to start clinics, and they've coordinated some rooms for her to pump at school in various buildings and her husband is pretty much staying home with the babe. I don't know, anything is doable, but the previous poster is correct... something is going to give a little bit. Keep us updated!
post #4 of 27
1/5/08 at 12:31pm
I am pg in university - IMO it's a huge step up from being pg while working! I do take the minimum of courses to get loans (I am a single mama of a 4 year old). Also I plan to take time off after the baby comes - I am due at the very end of the school year anyway and may take a semester or even a year off depending on baby's needs. But especially if you have a partner to share childcare, i think going back with a babe who is a few months old is totally doable, especially if you don't take a full course load.

Good luck!
post #5 of 27
1/5/08 at 12:39pm
I went while I was pregnant, but was due in March so I took the spring off. Pregnant during school isn't bad, but very very pregnant then having the baby, postpartum, and having a newborn would not have worked. I did have to kneel down and puke a couple times on campus on the way to class from morning sickness, and miss a class or two for doctor appointments. Rows between desks were hard to navigate with a preg belly. I'd say wait til baby will be due in summer if you can't take a fall or spring semester off.
post #6 of 27
1/5/08 at 2:14pm
I had my oldest when I was a junior in college, and it was REALLY REALY hard. I was a single mom, though, so I'm sure that was also part of the problem, and also I was a chemistry major, so that's a bit harder than most subjects. I went from honor roll to failing a class for the first time in my life. (p-chem II) I agree you should look into what classes, how hard and how much time they take up, etc, etc. I would go part-time until the baby was over a year old. It's just so hard to be away from a little baby.
post #7 of 27
1/5/08 at 3:13pm
Thread Starter 
yeah I'm going to be majoring in Ecology & Conservation Biology so I'm thinking I should probably plan either for a summer baby or wait till I can take off a year...

OTHER thing of note is my DH like i said before is going as well, but he gets his GI Bill (to the tune of over 1k a month) so really it wouldn't be good for him to miss out either (his tuition is double mine however thus the reason why everything is under me...that and the fact that my gpa was WAY above his so I've already got most of my funding)...but the first year is his last for his GI Bill...so maybe I should wait till Sophomore year so that one of us could go part time or hold off a year...hmm....

darn those baby hormones!!!
post #8 of 27
1/5/08 at 4:05pm
7 weeks pregnant, school starts again Monday, last week I put the ranch dressing away in the pantry--yeah, this is gonna hurt.
post #9 of 27
1/5/08 at 4:13pm
I start school again in two weeks, I'm due in Aug. I don't think I would choose to be pregnant in school. luckily I'm at a good stopping point and can take some classes online
post #10 of 27
1/5/08 at 4:16pm
I was pg with DS1 while in school full-time, I had horrible morning sickness, so it was tough, but I made it through. I then took one semester off. I was in school while pregnant with DS2 and had to withdraw 3 weeks before finals due to being put on bedrest. I got .5 units out of 13 that semester, cuz none of my teachers would do incompletes! : I took 4 years off after that & am now back in school full-time....and I have baby fever again :
post #11 of 27
1/5/08 at 5:14pm
Totally do-able, esp if you can plan a due date of May/June and take advantage of summer off to get through the newborn stage.
post #12 of 27
1/5/08 at 7:52pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sapphire_chan View Post
7 weeks pregnant, school starts again Monday, last week I put the ranch dressing away in the pantry--yeah, this is gonna hurt.
Are you graduating yet? Or are you going to take next fall off?
post #13 of 27
1/5/08 at 8:23pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by shelbean91 View Post
Totally do-able, esp if you can plan a due date of May/June and take advantage of summer off to get through the newborn stage.
hehehe, see i was thinking that! that OR winter break, but summer would really be ideal...so that would mean starting the baby dancing "for reals" (not just "practice" as my dh calls it...hehehe) August or so huh?
post #14 of 27
1/5/08 at 8:25pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by raversangel View Post
hehehe, see i was thinking that! that OR winter break, but summer would really be ideal...so that would mean starting the baby dancing "for reals" (not just "practice" as my dh calls it...hehehe) August or so huh?
Yep. I got pg August 4th and am due end of April.
post #15 of 27
1/5/08 at 8:32pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by wendy1221 View Post
Are you graduating yet? Or are you going to take next fall off?
Probably going to take next fall off, since the baby's due in mid-August. The annoying thing is at that point I'll only have one credit hour to take but it's the senior design course that should actually be like 10 credit hours.
post #16 of 27
1/5/08 at 9:54pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by sapphire_chan View Post
Probably going to take next fall off, since the baby's due in mid-August. The annoying thing is at that point I'll only have one credit hour to take but it's the senior design course that should actually be like 10 credit hours.
Yeah, definitely don't sign up for that when you'll have a newborn! I was just stupid the semester I thought I could take p-chem II and failed it. I mean stupid for thinking I could handle it. Ds1 was a very high needs baby, though. If he'd been mellow like ds2, I probably would have been ok. But the thing is, you never know what you're going to get.
post #17 of 27
1/6/08 at 12:08am
Well, I have had all of my kids in school and it was hard. Being pregnant in college was a challenge, but doable. The really hard part comes when the baby is 3-9 months. Then they need so much more. During the newborn stage (at least for me) I could read and type papers with the baby on the boob. But then came the crawling, eating, less sleep, needy phase and it almost killed me. My grades dropped a ton during those semesters. But overall, I have done well. There are upsides to doing it while in school. My profs were great about flexibility and such. Also, I could schedule classes that worked with my husbands work schedule so we never did use any daycare.

It was hard, but I wouldn't really have changed anything, except maybe our finances. We had almost nothing to live on because I didn't work.

Good luck.
post #18 of 27
1/6/08 at 2:10am
I was taking a half time load last semester. I was in my second trimester, and yeah, it was tough. If you are going to do it, I would suggest only taking classes that you find really intriguing or really easy. I found it hard to concentrate on things other than family (I have a toddler). But, it sure made the pregnancy fly by for that trimester, and I kept in great shape hiking all over our hilly campus.

You know yourself best. Some people are really cut out for doing the juggling act of school/family/pregnancy. Me, well, I enjoyed my semester, but cannot imagine how stressed out I would've been had I been taking a full load. Good luck to you what ever you decide!
--K
post #19 of 27
1/6/08 at 6:21am
Well, I think it depends. I went to school full time but only went 2 days, all day. Maybe you and DH could work something out where you both go full time, all day, different days. It wasn't easy going to school pregnant, but it wasn't awful... I just can't imagine having the baby during the year or summer and then having to hurry and go right back. That would be a lot on your plate at one time. I think if you and DH could both go all day on different days though, it would make things a LOT easier. good luck..
post #20 of 27
1/6/08 at 9:01am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by newmama8824 View Post
Well, I think it depends. I went to school full time but only went 2 days, all day. Maybe you and DH could work something out where you both go full time, all day, different days. It wasn't easy going to school pregnant, but it wasn't awful... I just can't imagine having the baby during the year or summer and then having to hurry and go right back. That would be a lot on your plate at one time. I think if you and DH could both go all day on different days though, it would make things a LOT easier. good luck..
Ok, why didn't I think of that? Like seriously? Here I am trying to see if I can't schedual classes every 2 hours and what not, but only going to school 2 days out of the week would be much easier! TY for the idea!

: - just b/c i love that one!
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