Is this for real??? I mean, I know my husband and I planned for this but when reality hits, it hits! I was in school for my BSN, working full time, and now pregnant. How was I going to get through this? What if I had morning sickness or didn’t feel well? How was I going to continue to work full time, continue school, and grow a human? My brain was spinning. I was unsure of how it would all work out. Here’s my experience of being in school and pregnant.
All new moms have so many questions and some fears when they become pregnant. Working on a telemetry unit, caring for a variety of patients with different diagnoses, and having a load of six cardiac patients at time, my concerns grew for the well-being of my child. My whole focus shifted from myself to my unborn child. Even though all healthcare professionals are expected to practice proper safety protocols, I took it to the next level. I applied for a different position on another unit (cardiac intervention unit). Yeah, you can call me extreme! Not knowing the actual job description, I applied anyway. I knew the job was on an outpatient unit and the duties included getting patients ready for their cardiac procedure. I knew it was better than my current position and it put my mind at ease. Through God’s grace I got the job. He knew what was best for me. Now I’m not telling you all to go find a different job when you are pregnant, it’s just what I preferred to do. Don’t let me scare you, I know plenty of nurses who were pregnant and worked on a busy telemetry or med surg unit and both them and their babies were healthy.
Now, let’s talk about me getting through school while pregnant. My planner became my new best friend. Every Monday I would plan out my school work sessions for my days off from work. Since most of my assignments were due on Sundays, Monday worked well for me. Because the nursing profession is so flexible, I only worked the same three days a week. It gave me ample amount of time to get my assignments done without feeling overwhelmed. I’m not going to lie, there were times I felt overwhelmed when there was big paper due or a class project was due and the members of my group procrastinated. Nonetheless, it was a good experience.
Being pregnant, I would get tired often so I found that getting my school work done in the morning worked best. At that time of day, I had the most energy and I was able to get a lot done. Of course I took my breaks and got a nap in here and there throughout the day, but for the most part mornings were ideal. You have to find your rhythm and see what time of day you have the most energy and work around that. Consistency is key to the reduction of stress when you are in school. After finding out about my pregnancy and being in school, I became a hardcore scheduler. It was the only way that I would be able to through with satisfying grades. I graduated with a 3.8 might I add.
When it was time for my son to be born I had 2 classes left. I was fortunate that my school allowed me to take a short leave of absence while I gave birth and got situated with my new life. After two weeks of having my son I started my classes back. I had to get my work done while he was sleep. The good thing about newborns is they sleep all day. That was beneficial for me because I was able to get my assignment completed. However, on the flip side, I was exhausted. The baby was up frequently during the night. I was a walking zombie for a few months, but it got better. I found a new rhythm of getting my assignment done early afternoon after I had gotten a couple hours of sleep during the morning hours.
So, I am here to tell you, it can be done! You can have children, work fulltime, be a wife, and go to school at the same time. It won’t be easy, but having a plan and a schedule can make a huge difference. Also, support of family and friends play a big deal. Some may call me crazy but I did it twice. Three years ago I went back for my Masters and while in school I became pregnant again! My goal was to obtain my Masters before having more kids because I knew it would be even more difficult. Thankfully I had a great pregnancy and stuck to my schedule as much as I could. I made it through!!! The moral of the story is YOU CAN DO IT!!!
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