Going Back to School While Working FT W/ a Growing 9Mo old...HELP!

M. S,

It sounds like you are a great women of focus, and a great mom. You have stated a little bit about what is going on in your life and it is amazing. I have a MBA in Strategic Management acquired while I was running a full time business and raising 4 boys and a husband. The advise that I would give you is to keep your eye on the prize. Discuss with friends and family your goals. Explain to your companion how he may have to pitch in a little more (be gentle). Always make time for the family, that is always important even if it is a stretch and you will find that this balance will help you in your endeavors.

Congrats on going back to school. I finished my BS in Management in December of 2007. I went to the University of Phoenix because I needed the ultimate flexibility with working full time, taking care of my then infant son and my hubby and managing my church responsibilities.

I had moe hours but I finished in 16 months. It feels great to accomplish this task so keep your head up and realize that things will not be perfect as you navigate all of this but the end goal will benefit your family.

Wow!!! NO -- but I'll be reading others' responses to your question to see what they have to say. I'm having the same trouble -- how to balance it all and keep everyone happy including keeping myself sane...

In all seriousness, the answer would be support from others. Your fiance, of course, should be shouldering a good bit of the excess -- or, rather, helping you to shoulder it. Good luck to you and KUDOS for being such a go-getter!

M.,
I was in the same situation, but still had 2 years to finish when my son was born (He is now almost 4). I graduated last July from Kennesaw. It was very difficult to work FT, go to school and be there for the family. Guilt was definitely a part of the process, but you have to remember that your baby is little right now and won't remember you not being there as much. It's harder when they start walking and talking, which is what I experienced the last 2 semester of class. That's when they really start to recognize that Mommy is gone a lot. What helped me was a very supportive husband and a schedule on the weekends. Mine was like this: Friday night was for family dinner and relaxing unless there was a group project meeting or a major test to cram for. Sat. and Sun. we split up. One day was for me to devote to school and the other was to devote to family time. Of course there were always exceptions depending on group project meetings, etc. You are very close to graduating. No matter how difficult it may seem, it will be worth it in the end. I won't lie it is difficult, you will feel guilty and there will be times you want to pull your hair out. Just be strong and remember why you are pursuing a degree. Good luck!

Congratulations on going back to school! I hope that your partner is supportive and understands that he will need to help out! Communication is key so that noone is feeling like they are doing all the work or that the other person isn't being supportive. Although I'm not in school, both my husband and I work FT and his schedule is weird (he works 24 hour shifts every third day). What has helped us is that every month we sit with a calendar and develop our schedule. We write down when he works, the hours when we have childcare, and any other special events that are going on (we also plan at least one date night). This way, there are no surprises and we know when we will be on our own with the kids. We post the calendar on the fridge so we can always see what is going on for the day/week/month.

We also plan our dinner menu each week so that we only have to go grocery shopping once. This also helps for those crazy days when nothing is going right and the last thing you want to think about is what to prepare for dinner.

Now if only I could apply my organizational skills to housecleaning I would be set!

Good luck!!!