Baby & final year uni?

[clairelouiisexo]

Hey everyone!

I'm due to start back for my 4th year at uni in September, but my first ever baby is due in Jan!

My boyfriend and I had been talking about kids for a while, but it was decided we'd wait until after I graduated which ended up not being the case!

I was just wondering if any other mums have had a baby in their final year at university and still got their degree? I've been determined to do it as I'll only have classes Feb-Apr then 2 exams in May and I'm done, but my lecturers basically told me it's not worth trying and that I should put it all off for a year until baby is 1, which I'm not keen on doing.

I'd really love any advice/stories if you have anything that could help me decide what to do- I don't want to feel like I'm giving up when I'd only have 4 months left till my degree, but I also don't want to leave myself with a poor degree classification by pushing myself too much.

I have total support from my parents and boyfriend but my lecturers have just left me feeling totally down about it all and I just want to know if there's any hope of ever managing to graduate with a 4 month old baby?

bump

I got pregnant at the start of my 2nd year and had my daughter on the last day of 2nd year contact hours, so she was 4 months old when I started 3rd year.

I'm not going to lie, it was very difficult. We got lucky with the timing so she was born, then I wrote and submitted two last essays, and then we had the summer to recover before going back to classes and before she went into childcare. It's easy to underestimate how much recovery time you'll need, so if your baby is overdue you could struggle to get into classes.

I'm a huge advocate for mums continuing with university, I've been blogging about it for the last few years, but one of the most important pieces of advice I can give is to be realistic. I don't think it's totally out of the realms of possibility for you to finish your degree, and it's a real shame that your lecturers aren't being supportive because their encouragement was a massive boost to me.

Would you take the baby into class with you or would they stay with your BF/parents during the day? Up until 26 weeks post birth, you can take your baby into class with you according to the maternity policies of most universities; it might be worth checking the policy at yours.

I had people telling me I'd made a huge mistake and "think how much better you could have done if you'd waited a year" - I shut them all up by graduating with a First but it was incredibly difficult, very stressful and if I'm honest, looking back I would probably have delayed it by a year, just to take the pressure off myself. I struggled with postnatal depression because of the pressure I was putting myself under and I wouldn't want to see anyone else suffer because they're pressuring themselves to get straight back to university.

At the end of the day, the choice is yours and yours alone. The lecturers can't force you off the course, and you absolutely can do this - there are extenuating circumstances forms you can fill in for your parenting responsibilities to be taken into consideration and so on - but you have to weigh up whether it's worth the additional pressure, or whether taking a year out might be a good idea and going back next September when your baby is 9 months old and you're adjusted to motherhood.

Best of luck with whatever you decide, feel free to PM me if you need any more advice and congratulations on your pregnancy!

Hi lovely! First of all, congratulations!! No experience as of yet but I have a 10 month old boy and I am about to do my final year in October! I know ladies who I went to uni with, got first class honours while juggling with looking after their kiddies as well so it is absolutely doable! I was not 100% keen either but in the end I decided to take a year out and I am so glad I did as I honestly don't think I'd be able to cope with uni workloads and a baby as my son took up almost 100% of my time and woke up so many times during the night and my OH was working and I felt my DS was too young to go into nursery, whereas at least this time I know he is a little older now and feel better about him going into nursery and interacting with other babies. Sorry this is not much help but you will do what you feel is right xxx