Any other PhD students?

anorthro

I'm a 3rd year PhD student in a research-oriented field.  I'm wondering if anyone else is also in the middle of their PhD?  I'm nervous about balancing my research and a baby, telling my advisors about my pregnancy, and getting through these first few important developmental stages without being crazy stressed out!  I would love to hear from other students in a similar position. 

CaitLewis15

Hi! I was in a PhD program for epidemiology, but I ended up stopping after I got my Masters (married and moved away). I've entertained the thought of continuing on at a university in south Florida, but I'm actually doing a job I really love right now, and have had opportunities to work on several research projects related to my areas of interest. Best of luck to you! I had a 5 year old when I started my program, and it's never easy doing that balancing act

mrmses

Phd candidate here. Just finished an on-campus and waiting to hear if I got the job. If so, life is gonna get crazy!
Good luck with your balance. Get as much done before the babe arrives.

Cynthia1207

Not a PhD but I'm doing my MBA part-time, working full-time an I have a 2 year old. It's hard but doable. You just need to have good time management skills

hannahsasser

Yes, my partner and I are both PhD students (he is a candidate, I am in my 3rd year). I have all the same concerns that you do (especially telling my advisor!) but as long as the baby is healthy, I can deal with anything else. We had a miscarriage in October. As hard as that was, it actually provided perspective about what really matters for me in this pregnancy (i.e., staying pregnant!).

ewp1987

Yes! I am in the final stages of my PhD i.e. writing up. I work in a research lab and struggling to juggle day to day work plus writing up. My energy levels are so low this past week. I haven't told my supervisor yet as only 6 weeks and I am worried what their reaction will be. I'm hoping to get my final chapter written before I tell them.

anorthro

Yay! So glad to hear from you all. I just took my qualifying exams and am in year three of what looks like a 5-year program. I'm still taking classes, but should be done with them this semester.

charmcity82

I am defending my dissertation in April and just got hired as an assistant professor to start the fall 2015 semester!  DH is also defending his dissertation and will be starting a new position in the fall.  Once we get past the 8 weeks appointment I will let them know about my pregnancy so we can work on the fall schedule.

When I was pregnant with DS I defended my dissertation proposal, but had finished comprehensive exams and classes.  I can tell you that pregnancy definitely lit a fire under me to get things moving!  It took a little longer than I would have liked, but it was absolutely worth it all around.

mnturk

Hi! I'm working on my 4th year of a Neuroscience PhD. I've done my prospectus/quals, and am doing just research now. Combination of behavioral work (mice), sequencing RNA, and neuronal cultures...I'm hoping to finish up as much as I can during the pregnancy, and then I will still have to finish the final stages of the behavioral work, stats, and writing.

I am SO NERVOUS. This wasn't planned, and I was on birth control, and we aren't exactly financially stable....but I am excited too.

Congrats to you all, and good luck with your work!

crbpjb

I am getting my EdD.  I am set to finish collecting my dissertation data in May, and I was originally set to defend my dissertation October 16 four states away.  I am due October 31, so I am waiting to tell my dissertation chair that we need to reschedule.  I am nervous because I have two big classes and my dissertation defense in fall, but I only have one class in spring and then I graduate.  I am also nervous about writing a dissertation with pregnancy brain :-)

twogirlsandagreen

My situation is not even close to a PhD, but I did complete my master's with two toddlers. It took 4 years instead of 2 and was extremely difficult at times, but just remember that there is a light at the end of the tunnel and it is WORTH IT. I wanted to go back for my PhD, but I'm done. Pregnant with #3. Best of luck ladies. It will be an adjustment, but you can do it!!!!!!!!!!!!

anorthro

Has anyone told their advisors yet? I told mine on Tuesday and they were great. One has kids and he emailed me after to tell me if I wanted to chat about anything kid related to just knock on his door. The other, who doesn't have or particularly like kids, said "I have no doubt that you will continue to do excellent work" and then helped me get my courses sorted out for the fall semester. I feel so relieved.

MeganKGarcia

No PhD here, but I am a student. I start my Bachelors of Nursing in the spring. My program is so intense, M-F 8am-4pm plus time to study. I'm already done with my prerequisites so I only have 2yrs left, but starting my program with a 2mo old baby is scary!

TheSouffleGirl

This is sort of old, but I just wanted to jump on this thread!  I'm getting my PhD in philosophy/literature - my area of specialty is medieval.  For the past three years, I have been doing part-time masters' work while teaching, and JUST made the decision to quit teaching and go back for full-time PhD work when I found out I was pregnant.  I'm 18 hours away from comps, so my new game plan is 6 hours this summer, 6 hours in the fall, and 6 hours in the spring.  I'm excited to see other grad students on here!  I am SO banking on being able to continue school/advanced studies as a bit of normalcy once baby comes.  Let's stay in touch!

TheatreStar86

Love seeing all the PhD's! I got mine while pregnant with my first. I defended before she was born and finished revisions after. I strongly recommend finishing everything you can before! It was a big adjustment for me but it did teach me to be really efficient while working. Also, check out, "Mama, PhD". Great book on the work life balance. Good luck ladies!

rwedding0000

You'll find lots of other well-educated ladies if you google "then comes family"!

anorthro

I really expected this thread to be lost at the end but I love seeing it pop back up on the first page. Thanks for the suggestions and let's all keep in touch!

mrmses

Cool! So what does everyone study and what's your game plan? I'm a history PhD candidate. I study 18th c Caribbean and Latin Am. I've got a conference coming up in May in Puerto Rico, and I'm getting nervous about flying. My last trip (when I was 5 wks along) was super stressful. I'm finishing writing the Diss right now. In fact, I should be writing...

anorthro

@mrmses, I'm an ecology and evolution PhD candidate.  My work is mostly focused on using molecular techniques to develop indicators of impending aquatic ecosystem collapse following detrital and nutrient enrichment.  I also have a conference in but mine is in August (I'll be 7 months pregnant!) and I'm totally nervous about flying then.  I'm still taking a class or two and will begin writing next January.  I've got some folks who have offered to come hang out with the baby during the day while I write, and my advisors have been great about helping me develop a plan to work mostly from home.  

Mrs.Slick

Not a PhD student but I am in the middle of my Masters program. Props to all of you with these huge educational loads and pregnancy!

charmcity82

@mrmses I am a candidate in criminology & criminal justice.  I will be defending my dissertation at the beginning of April, and I actually don't think I will mention my pregnancy to anyone before then.  I was 8 months pregnant when I defended my dissertation prospectus, so I think it would be better to defend the final product without them thinking I am pregnant again.  Not that they would have a problem with it, I just want to keep things focused.  

I have to say that as hard as it has been to complete my dissertation with a small child, I would not go back and change a thing- I am glad we started our family when we did.  It complicated things, but in the most amazing and wonderful way possible!  

TheatreStar86

Mine was in Psychology - cognitive, not clinical. Since there's a lot of you in the writing stage, would a check in be helpful? I feel like I'm crashing the party, but I would have loved something like this!

@mrmses - I should be writing. Such an oft-used phrase in my house...

LiveNLove44

I realize the workload is different for everyone, but I am halfway through my master's degree program and I teach an overload (high school ELA) which means grading and responding to papers for over 160 students each time they're submitted. Pair that with pregnancy and a toddler running around and some days I don't think there's enough time to do it all! It's motivating to hear about all of you who are pursuing your own academic endeavors. Best of luck to you all!

leah665

Wow this is awesome all of you are amazing! I'm not a PhD student, but I am working on getting my BSN in an accelerated program. Thankfully I'll be done before the baby comes.

Balancing school, work, and now pregnancy is going to be difficult.

AE15

I'm currently a PhD candidate in my 4th year of a typically 5 year program. My degree will be in Business (Marketing - Consumer Behavior). I'm currently about halfway through writing the first draft of my dissertation. I'll defend the proposal this May and then collect a bit more data over the summer (hopefully finish that before the baby comes), and I'll defend my dissertation and graduate in May of 2016 if all goes as planned. I also teach undergrad marketing but, fortunately, did not have to teach this semester (and will likely opt of teaching next year also). I plan to tell my adviser in the next several weeks, and I expect him to be completely understanding as long as I keep on top of my writing. It's been hard to keep up my momentum with feeling nauseous most of the time, but I'm just going to be the best I can. Good luck to all of you scholars!

smiles1212

I'm finishing my masters in nursing education in May and have considered going back for my PhD after baby is born instead of working. I already got a job teaching, but know I am not going to want to be away from home 40 hours a week once the baby is here. I worked full time as a nurse most of the time that I was in my full time masters program, but don't want to do that again when getting my PhD!

mrmses

Congrats to everyone for getting it done! I'm struggling with motivation right now. Very bizarre problems like not being able to focus and I lose whole hours to who knows what. I'm hoping it's just the first trimester exhaustion kicking in and I'll be back to normal in two weeks. What about ya'll? What do you struggle with?

TheatreStar86

My first trimester was really low on motivation but 2nd tri got a lot better. With my daughter now, I really need to be staying up and working at night but I'm just too damn tired. Anyone actually have success getting energy from working out?

crbpjb

I definitely have gotten more energy from exercise!

BabyCupp15

I'm in the middle of my RN program, this pregnancy wasn't planned, I'm scared bc my energy is so low and u go to school full time and work part time. Advice? Support?

mnturk

My energy is crazy low but I am super motivated because I want to get stuff done before I have the baby! So I'm just pushing through best I can.

TheatreStar86

crbpjb said:

I definitely have gotten more energy from exercise!

That's great to hear! What are you doing?

TheatreStar86

BabyCupp15 said:

I'm in the middle of my RN program, this pregnancy wasn't planned, I'm scared bc my energy is so low and u go to school full time and work part time. Advice? Support?

Energy level gets better second tri. I was juggling a lot the first time, but I wasn't taking courses at that point. Lots of support! Just pace yourself as best as you can.

TheatreStar86

mnturk said:

My energy is crazy low but I am super motivated because I want to get stuff done before I have the baby! So I'm just pushing through best I can.

Good for you! Motivation helps so much. Just gotta find some around here.

anorthro

I'm pretty distracted (like, I'm in my office right now on The Bump forums instead of working), but hoping that will go away a little in the next week or so!

cderitz

Not a PhD student but am a masters student for a Nurse practitioner program that started last fall. I am going part-time and work part-time as an RN. I also have a 3 year old. I got pregnant last fall that ended in a miscarriage and it put a lot in perspective for me. That first semester was hard. Was about to start the second semester but then we found out my mothers cancer has relapsed so I paused my program until we knew more. Thankfully she is just stage 1. Ironically, I work as an oncology nurse so I was expecting so much worse. We found out I was pregnant again a few weeks after we found out about my mom. I was not sure if I was going to take a whole year off, but my advisors were so helpful to me and suggested I pick up this summer. When I told them I was pregnant as well and that I'd need to fall off, they were so great and supportive. I was freaking out about it all actually.

It's hard to balance it all, but I think once my daughter is in first grade I should be all done if things go according to plan. Life has thrown me lots of curveballs but I'm moving forward. Nice to see other women on here doing the same thing and going for their dreams!

TheatreStar86

cderitz said:

Not a PhD student but am a masters student for a Nurse practitioner program that started last fall. I am going part-time and work part-time as an RN. I also have a 3 year old. I got pregnant last fall that ended in a miscarriage and it put a lot in perspective for me. That first semester was hard. Was about to start the second semester but then we found out my mothers cancer has relapsed so I paused my program until we knew more. Thankfully she is just stage 1. Ironically, I work as an oncology nurse so I was expecting so much worse. We found out I was pregnant again a few weeks after we found out about my mom. I was not sure if I was going to take a whole year off, but my advisors were so helpful to me and suggested I pick up this summer. When I told them I was pregnant as well and that I'd need to fall off, they were so great and supportive. I was freaking out about it all actually.

It's hard to balance it all, but I think once my daughter is in first grade I should be all done if things go according to plan. Life has thrown me lots of curveballs but I'm moving forward. Nice to see other women on here doing the same thing and going for their dreams!

Wow, that's so much to deal with, but you sound like you have everything in perspective and are working through it with grace. Good for you! So how much time do you have left in your program?

rue:D

I'm finishing my MBA right now, will be done in April and graduate in May. Between working full-time and finishing my classes and dealing with constant nausea, I'm so over it all! I'm just glad that I will be done before baby comes. I don't think I could do it otherwise!

mrsLG13

I'm so glad I found this post!! I have been struggling with what to do....I am a 3rd year PhD student (Education)...work full time, Adjunct faculty, and have 2 children. I am also 8 weeks pregnant but in the middle of my qualifying exams this semester. I have been trying so hard to focus, but I have a history of miscarriage. So, after finding out I'm pregnant, much like anortho, I haven't been able to focus on my exam....at all! I have been trying not to stress and make sure baby is okay. (So far, so good!). Not to mention typical 1st Tri symptoms (extreme fatigue is the worst for me)
I finished my Master's when my youngest was a year old (he is 9 now). But I am concerned about my ability to balance it all. Having said that, I have been considering withdrawing this semester and taking my qualifying exams next Spring. I just can't bring myself to focus/balance at this time. And I'm beating myself up over it. But at the same time, I don't want to set myself up for failure by waiting until after the baby is born and trying to do it then. My husband is telling me to push through, but it's easier said than done.

All I can focus on right now is safely getting out of this first Tri. But would still like to take a class or two this summer when my energy picks back up.
Would I be a failure (for lack of better words) for withdrawing from my qualifying exams this semester? Or will I set myself up for failure to resume next Spring when the baby is here?
I need advice from those who understand how much I have to lose on both the academic and personal ends....

TheatreStar86

mrsLG13 said:

I'm so glad I found this post!! I have been struggling with what to do....I am a 3rd year PhD student (Education)...work full time, Adjunct faculty, and have 2 children. I am also 8 weeks pregnant but in the middle of my qualifying exams this semester. I have been trying so hard to focus, but I have a history of miscarriage. So, after finding out I'm pregnant, much like anortho, I haven't been able to focus on my exam....at all! I have been trying not to stress and make sure baby is okay. (So far, so good!). Not to mention typical 1st Tri symptoms (extreme fatigue is the worst for me)
I finished my Master's when my youngest was a year old (he is 9 now). But I am concerned about my ability to balance it all. Having said that, I have been considering withdrawing this semester and taking my qualifying exams next Spring. I just can't bring myself to focus/balance at this time. And I'm beating myself up over it. But at the same time, I don't want to set myself up for failure by waiting until after the baby is born and trying to do it then. My husband is telling me to push through, but it's easier said than done.

All I can focus on right now is safely getting out of this first Tri. But would still like to take a class or two this summer when my energy picks back up.
Would I be a failure (for lack of better words) for withdrawing from my qualifying exams this semester? Or will I set myself up for failure to resume next Spring when the baby is here?
I need advice from those who understand how much I have to lose on both the academic and personal ends....

I think it would depend on when in the semester you would be taking them. I defended at the end of 2nd tri or beginning of third tri. That was good timing for me because I was feeling good for a longer time so I could prepare. There could always be different problems in 2nd or 3rd tri, too. They may end up being worse. Honestly, if I were telling myself what to do (I also have a loss history and know what you mean about being distracted, plus im adjuncting now), I would say to push on through, but only you know how you feel about it. When are your quals? How many weeks will you be when you take them?

ETA: I just reread. If you're thinking of doing them once the baby is here, I wouldn't recommend it. You may end up with a nonsleeper. I hated doing my quals and wouldn't recommend it with a baby.

mrsLG13

It's a written 40 page exam that is due April 1. And I'm not even close to being finished. Each time I sit down to write, I end up doing something else. Granted, if I submit on April 1, and it isn't up to par, I still have until May 1 to make revisions. I know in my heart it's best for me to push through because I hope to be feeling good soon. I just didn't want to submit a crappy exam on April 1 knowing I didn't give it my all.
And you're right, if I end up with a non-sleeper, I may be even more exhausted than I am now.