Part way through a PhD and Pregnant - anyone else out there in the same boat?

[traymca]

Hi,

I'm almost a year into my full time PhD and am 4 months pregnant and starting to think about what I'm going to do when dc arrives... I have a 9 year old son who lives with me and a 14 year old step daughter who stays occasionally all in a rather small rented house!

Is anyone out there in a similar siutuation or have been through it that wants to chat? I'm finding the who PhD thing a bit isolating and am thoroughly fed up with my ethics proceedure at the present!

xx

Oh I had an ethics procedure - it is a PITA isn't it?

I think my situation was easier than yours. I had my daughter in the July of my second year. I took a year out but then decided to take another year out. My reasoning was that I could actually go part-time starting from the second year out as there is no actual part-time option in my dept. So I worked 2 days/week during my second year out then 3 days/week during my official third full-time year and on into my sadly unfunded fourth year and submitted last April

So although officially I finished half-way through my fourth year (and we are allowed a fourth year, no funding but nofees either) I actually took 5.5 not 3.5 years (are you with me??).

DD was at nursery then we moved and she is with a CM now (better and much cheaper - nursery 3 days/week was nearly all of my grant). Also, dh took dd out on Saturdays while I worked. I did not do at all well working at night but I did for spells.

Can you work from home? Can you afford childcare? Do you have a partner living with you? Do you have any plan so far

yeah, my ethics has taken 8 months so far! it's a vulnerable population and so everything has been double checked time and time again, hopefully I'll get clearance end of this month!

I am fortunate in that I can (and do) occasionally work from home although the head of the department does like to see the research students in at 9am! (arghhh does she not realise how much of a pain that is!!) and my hubby is very keen to share the childcare (bless him, he's like a mother hen!) and as he works shifts we should be able to work something out to cover me when I need to go on site etc... My ds goes to a childminder twice a week after school and I may be able to use her too in an emergency but my DH is against childcare like this so I think he may be called in to take over more often than not! (there goes his nights at the pub, lol)...

Glad to hear you managed to complete yours, I don't mind extending a little but like you it would be non funded but I would have to pay an extension fee! arghhh...