Planning another child-about to start 2nd year-am I mad?

[LissyD]

Right, my plan is to get pregnant in two or three months, be pg through 2nd year, have the baby at the start of the holidays, then it and my dd1 will be able to go to nursery when I start 3rd year. Has anyone else done anything similar? Any tips?

Hi Lissy, my situation was not exactly the same but I did get pregnant accidentally during the first year and then again just after finishing the second year but I finished semester 1 of the third year pregnant and then took a year out. I had planned to carry on after the baby was born but she arrived about a week after the start of semester 2 and there was no way I could have done it. I'm sure that it would be possible to go back once the baby is a few months old and in nursery though, the only issue is that you can't plan exactly when you will concieve and when the baby will come. If you have to take a year out then it's no big deal really, I will finally graduate this summer after 5 years of doing my degree! You can always see how it goes and if it's manageable, I'm sure your uni will support you. Good luck with everything.x

My experience was that I started my uni course when DD was 2. Managed to complete the first year and returned for the second, only to find out I was pg with DS. I was pg all the way through the second year and all my student friends finished the course about 3/4 weeks ago but I am finishing tonight (have my final exam) as I had DS 2 weeks ago.

My tutors have been brilliant, especially when I felt so worn out I couldn't get to uni or missed lectures etc. That was the only thing really, missing lectures (most of them for this exam tonight ). You also have to think about how tired/rough you will feel with a LO at home already, being pg and having to literally force yourself to do your work at home. It's not easy, but it can be done as long as you are being supported.

IME the third year is much tougher than the others! Maybe that's just how my course works but it seems harder than the first and second years put together. Our course leader pointed out, and end of our first year, that to get the same grades throughout the degree, you need to work progressively harder each year - and I've found that to be very true.
Having said that it's probably do-able if the new baby arrives as planned at the beginning of the holidays and you have good support from your partner etc. Going part-time is also an option - that's what I've done and I've found it takes a lot of pressure off and gives you time to do things properly and see your DCs.

'at the end of our first year' I meant!

spent many hours bfing and typing at 3 am... graduation ceremony when she was 6 months old and looked like phil mitchell in the photos (her not me lol).

it's possible, but do consider other options too... sometimes i wonder whether i deliberately try to do too much...