[elco]

Perhaps it would be better suited for the studying area, however I thought I would get more traffic here.

My first baby is due in mid April and I am contemplating starting University study in July. Due to previous study I would have two years worth of full-time study to complete a degree. DH is fully supportive of my study plans. I don't know if I will have a chance to not work and study at the same time later on in the future so I see my planned unpaid maternity leave as a good opportunity to study and care for our child. Kill two birds with one stone if you will as completing a Uni degree has always been a goal of mine.

I am interested to hear others thoughts and experiences on being a stay at mum and studying at the same time. I haven't studied at Uni before so I am not sure if my plans are realistic. As this will be my first child, I also have no experience in knowing how demanding a newborn/toddler is either. I have been working full-time 40-50 hrs per week plus studying part-time at Tafe two nights a week and I have managed that fine, but obviously Uni is different to Tafe.

My preference is to study full-time on-campus as I would finish the degree quicker and the University I am looking at is a literally a 2 min drive from my house. I did consider external study as Open Universities Australia offer the same degree (Bachelor of Business) however I am worried about studying externally - I think I will be more focussed and committed if I study on campus, attending classes etc. The university website advises that the degree I am looking at is 9-12 hours of scheduled classes per week throughout the semester.

Thanks for reading.

[Saecularis Angel...]

My DD is 13mo and I studied last year.

I've done a mix of things; online units, evening classes and one unit run on Saturdays, as well as a business-hours on campus unit. This is partly because finding appropriate childcare to cover classes is not easy or cheap!

I loved getting out of the house and having something to do away from DD, but from the POV of actually managing the workload, online was definitely the easiest, because it was the most flexible. Perhaps look at whether the degree you're interested in offers subjects in different modes, which might let you mix it up a bit?

I managed two units a semester and would have struggled to do more; I don't know that I recommend full time study in that first year. Perhaps you could start part time, and if you feel you could do more, ramp up the following semester?

[Chief Pancake Ma...]

I am planning to study by distance ed part time. they recommend 10hrs a week per subject, I already completed 1 subject while I was working last year. My baby was born at the end of Nov and will be 2+ months old when the semester begins. Right now feeding/settling /changing is pretty all consuming. I think I will have to hand her over to DH after he gets home from work to do a couple of hours study at night.

[elco]

Perhaps you could start part time, and if you feel you could do more, ramp up the following semester?

That's a good idea actually, I hadn't thought of that.

External study does appeal to me because of the flexibility/doing the study in my own time - I am just worried that I will procrastinate and not be as committed as I would if I know I have to attend set classes.

[SnazzySass]

What sort of child care do you have? Will you be able to have someone else look after bubs for 40 or so hours a week? Will that person be able to look after bubs if bub is sick?

Have a look at the timetables if you can for the courses you would like to do because while the face to face hours are few the classes maybe spread over the whole week. I am unable to do full time next year because most of the tutes are on days I can't get day-care and even part time I will have to miss one lecture because it is on a day I don't have day-care. I have spoken to the lecturer and he is happy to record it for me so that is one way you can get around it but there is no getting out of tutes.

Try not to put yourself under pressure there is no harm in giving it a go but I would probably start out with one subject and make sure I believed it was ok to pull out at census date if I wasn’t keeping up. I now pull out if i am even a little bit behind in my reading because I find it difficult to catch up and DS always gets sick just when I really have to work. I also don’t like taking away from our family time too much because when we don’t spend time together it puts strain on all our relationships. That said if I didn’t have uni I would go mad.

[noi'mnot]

I started a postgraduate diploma before becoming pregnant, started my last two subjects just before my baby was born and finished them over the next few months. I found this very easy. It was all online.

I know you're worried about procrastinating and getting distracted, but for me having this "brain time" or "me time" or just "non-baby time" was so refreshing. I really enjoyed having something outside of "baby" to do, which I could mainly pick up and put down as required. I knew that if my baby was having a bad day, then I would listen to the online lecture tomorrow instead of stressing about her being with somebody else. It was perfect for our situation. It may have been a bit different for me, though, because I was already in the groove of studying (did my last semester with baby), and I've got several degrees under my belt so knew what and how much was expected of me, and how to achieve that, though experience.

Good luck!

[Ally'smum]

During my year of maternity I also had a break from studying and looking back there is no way I would have been able to study in the first 6 months, but perhaps in the second 6 months I could have.

You may have an easy baby, you may not be as tired and it might be doable, but keep in mind that it may also be the opposite!

At the most I would enrol for one subject and see how you go, then as the baby gets older you may be able to do two, to be honest I don't know how anyone with a young baby could do any more than that.

Babies are really time consuming and you may find that you can't find the ten hours a week you will need for reading so be flexible and don't be hard on yourself if you just have to withdraw.

I think I am giving you a worst case scenario but I couldn't do it so thought I would let you know.

[ChickenRose]

Do you have access to childcare for when you will be in class? If not, studying externally may be a better option as it might not be appropriate to take the baby with you.

I started a Masters in 2012. My first baby was due in May and I thought it would be a good chance to get some study out of the way. I took 4 subjects in the first semester and as the baby was due in the mid-semester break I thought I could get a fair bit done beforehand. In the end I went into labour early. I was actually finishing an assignment when my waters broke, so I had to madly finish it while sitting on a towel! I managed to finish the semester and got a distinction average but it was really hard work. My son didn't sleep unless held for the first 4 months so I got very good at typing one handed. There's a permanent dent in the couch that I blame on the 30000 words I had to hand in when he was 10 weeks old!

In the second semester I took 3 subjects and managed fine, but I am very organised and dedicated. Over the summer I have been doing 2 subjects and this has been the most difficult time. My son is a very active baby who wants a lot of interaction. Trying to balance his needs, Uni and the rest of my life is pretty tough!

In short, studying with a baby is definitely doable, but you need to be realistic with your expectations and be prepared to work hard.

[PatG]

Does doing formal study while on maternity leave invalidate any of your rights? Your work is required to grant you 12 months of leave for the purposes of caring for your child, not to study.... And if you are getting paid parental leave you cannot work during that time, except keeping in touch days, so can you undertake formal study? Does it make a difference if you were doing it internally or externally?

[TillyTake2]

Do you mean 9-12 CONTACT hours? Because for every contact hour there will be around 3-4 non contact hrs (readings, assignments, online tasks etc). Unless bub will be going into full time child care (& from your post he/she would be around 8-10 weeks!!) then I don't see studying full time as being suitable. I'd perhaps try one subject & see how you go.