starting distance learning when due to give birth soon?

[rasgal]

hi, i really want to start a distance learning course in Jan but my baby is due in March. i have done years 1 and 2 full time BA HONS normally at uni but since finding out im pregnant have been unable to decide on taking a year out, quitting or distance learning.

i am just sooo bored waiting for this baby to come and want to do something!!

has anyone else done distance learning giving birth during the course? good or bad idea??

I'm doing a short OU course at the moment - it started in Nov and officially runs until March but I'm due at the end of Feb. I'm going to try and get it done by then though so I've only got to send it off!

I'm due my second child in March and have just registered to do my final OU course of a post-grad diploma. If you can get a head start before baby arrives then I think it's do able (at least I hope so or I'm screwed!)

Good luck (with course and baby)

I have had two babies whilst studying for my phd and actually find the first few months relatively easy to get work done in. If you just chuck routine to the wind and work when they sleep etc then it kind of works (is obviously tough but not impossible). Gets harder when they are more mobile really.

Is it your first baby?

yes it is and i feel so clueless about everything and kind of stuck because i havn't finished my degree course.

thanks for all your advice.

did any of you have complications during the birth and still continue studying? any had a cesearean??

I had hyperemesis and was sick every day for the whole 9 months lol. I also had to have regular appointments for blood tests and had high blood pressure and was in and out of hospital for the first. For me the months after baby is born is easier than during pregnancy but for many mums its the other way around.

If its your first technically you will have time when baby is sleeping etc - but obviously you will want to rest yourself. With my first I found by about 3 months I was happy to work in the evenings and a bit in the day when he slept. With my second I was doing a bit of work from about 6 weeks as motherhood wasnt such a shock or adaptation but then things were limited with having two children.

I think if you have come this far then great carry on. I am a lecturer and have had a few students carry on a few months after birth. How much do you want it? I think that will determined if you will finish or not.

Home studying will be easiest as you can do it whenever and wherever - surprising how much reading you can get done feeding or holding a sleeping baby!

Not saying it will be easy but if you really want it then it can be done (with a lot of moaning along the way lol)

xxxxx

I dropped out of an OU course back in 2001 when I had my first baby. I'd done all the assignments but the exam was only a couple of weeks after. I had an emergency C-section and was quite depressed - just couldn't face revising.

I retook it in the end but it was a bit of a waste of money. That said, I've just had my third and am almost halfway through a six month course. This baby was an uncomplicated home birth. I'm struggling to keep up with the course but am just about coping (albeit skipping a lot of the online tutorials and additional activities and just focussing on the core assessments). My main problem is 'baby brain' - I just find it hard to think about anything other than the new baby and lose motivation.

That said - I feel this course is helping me fend off depression - it feels like I'm actually working towards something solid that I can put on my CV and will help when I go back to work eventually - sort of keeping me on track and stopping me from just sitting around watching daytime tv.

I do rather agree with peppapig's suggestion that your own determination will drive you on.

I'd say don't do it until your baby is here and you've got to grips with her/him. I started a distance learning course when 6 mths pregnant and it went completely by the wayside when my DD arrived 8 weeks ago. i just don't have time (dont want to ake the time - i want to be cuddling my baby and sleeping when I'm not!). There's plenty of time for study and I dont necessarily think that the first few months of your baby's life is the right time.