struggling with study and baby!!!

[Chickyboo]

I'm just about to finish my first half of 2nd year of degree. I took a semester off to have baby. Financially we are really struggling, we were before dd came along. I work at home as hairdresser which was okay before dd, but its really difficult and have lost half my clientele. So earn about £300 a month plus cb and tc, £150. Anyway feel like giving Uni up as I have to pay my fees. Thinking of going p/time and getting a job will obviously have to pay for childcare. What does everyone think??

Contact your university about emergency funds, they normally have some money allocated for parents who need help in paying childcare, there are also sometimes nursery subsidies. Going part-time is not a bad idea at all, it saves you a lot of money in tuition and nursery fees, and you also get to enjoy more time with the baby without that little voice whispering at your ear "you should be studying now...".

I have posted this in other thread, hope it may be of help

WhatI did was to send him to sleep at 7, worked religiously for 4 hrs, then go to sleep. Wake up at seven, have a nap for as long as her nap lasts avoid too much activity in the afternoon,that way you don't end up knackered by the time she goes to sleep. Another thing that helped me was to "advance" the deadlines, if I knew Ds was going to be around more than usual I would assume the deadline was just before that time. HTH

The problem is fitting in cooking/cleaning also I stay at MIL from tuesday to friday so that I can go to uni. Then when I get back home dh has left house in a mess so I spent whole time cleaning...dh does shift work so hardly ever see him. Also the evenings are when I try to do my clients. I think I know the answer need to go part time. Have already asked for help from uni can only get help if fees are paid for same with childcare. I used to be the breadwinner and hate see dd go without things.

Cooking and cleaning.... When we were at our busiest and DS was less than a year old, we used to spend a full evening a week cooking and freezing everything already in portions to be consumed during the following days.

Regarding cleaning... I think that the key is to ensure that a room is in acceptable ordered condition before you leave it (obviously if you are soon going back to it forget it, but leaving the kitchen clean and the rooms in order before going to sleep helps to keep big messes away.

I have noticed that sometimes you don't need to earn far more money but to do little adjustments that will make more of the money you have. Check insurances and mortgage rates, sometimes a little change in this payments means that you have more money to use in childcare and things you don't want to go without. I have also noticed that by cooking the food from zero we not only ate more healthy but it reduced the expenses considerably.

And... bear in mind that you have a baby, a husband, a house, you are living away for part of the week and a degree to work on. So things will not be as perfect or under control as they used to be. I realised that the moment I decided that graduating with distinction was not really that important, that a bit of mess in the house was not the end of the world and, that DH could fend by himself, things were easier and more enjoyable. I had more quality time with my baby and still graduated with distinction.

thanks for advice Chandra. I haven't spoken to dh about any of this, think I will tonight. Feel more positive.

Good luck Chickyboo. Could you travel to clients' houses to do their hair? (You can do mine if you like... it's a right mess!) Definitely think about going part-time, and also approach the students' union and see if there is anything they can do to help. Is there a subsidised nursery for students (that is, for students' children...) at your uni? HTH....

don't have a car so find it difficult going to and also have to pay for babysitter, so its easier for clients to come to me. There is a nursery but they didn't have a place for dd, even though I applied last year, that would really help. MIL is going away on 1st may so I'll have to find childcare for last 3 weeks of study, might ring the uni nursery and beg for help . About your hair, I live in Islington are you local?

Chickyboo, nurseries attached to universities normally have places available for the summer, if you can't find any, some creches will be happy to take care of your child at least for the length of the lectures. HTH