Intro/Question: 2U2 Teachers

bes12 · December 2013

I am a kindergarten teacher, my son was due in May but I had to be induced at 37 weeks bc he was losing weight for unknown reasons. He ended up being born in April, just 2 days before my birthday (the best present EVER!). My husband would have loved to have Irish twins (I thought he was CRAZY). We really want our LOs to be around the same age and grow up together (H and his brother are 8 years apart, my sister and I are 5 years apart). We are seriously considering TTC within the coming months. I am also working on my Masters and will not be finished until May 2015 (although this can be put on hold if needed once the baby is here). I want to know, what is the REALITY of 2U2 with a teacher schedule (long hours, working at home, working weekends, etc.)?

jf198400 · December 2013

I am not a teacher but I am a FT working mom and my DH is gone long hours. Honestly adding a second child is going to be a transition no matter when you do it. I think it's almost easier having 2 LOs b/c they are both in the baby and toddler stages at the same time. Mine are 18 months apart and they are best friends and entertain each other. They are now 3 and almost 2 and we are thinking if adding a 3rd baby. I am more nervous about it now b/c I have to balance swim lessons, dance class, play dates, etc. I think as long as you have a supportive partner you can make it work. I would definitely consider taking a break from school though, I can't imagine how you manage that with one kid, much less 2. Good luck!

mek20 · December 2013

Hi, I'm a teacher and pregnant with our 2nd LO, due in June. Our son was born this past may, so we will have our babies 13 months apart. I also am planning to start my masters in the fall. I guess I am not so nervous about it because, IMO, the pros of having them so close in age outweigh the cons. They will be in the same stages of life, and will have pretty much the same abilities. Also, with teaching, you can do work after they go to bed, which is hard to transition to, but it maximizes the amount of time I get to spend with my son.

I agree with everything jf198400 said--its going to be a transition regardless of when you have them!

good luck with whatever you decide to do!!!

bes12 · December 2013

Thanks for the words of encouragement! I've pretty much transitioned to working at nights and when h is spending time with daddy on the weekends(that's when I get hw done). I think we've pretty much decided on trying, it's just crazy to me to think about having 2! Crazy in a GOOD way though, I just feel like we will have a busy household! But to me the pros outweigh the cons. Just wanted to hear what others who have been there done that have to say!

mommymegan831 · December 2013

Mine are 25 months apart and I teach middle school, which I assume is a whole lot less prep because my students can do so much more for themselves and I need to plan 1 90 min lesson rather than the whole day.

I've never found teaching overwhelming. I get in about 30 min early and work until the bell rings, then I walk out 15 min later, as early as we are contractually able to, as do alot of other teachers in my district, and I rarely do work again until the next morning. I don't socialize during my lunch, I also have papers with me so I can grade or plan during meetings that I don't really need to be paying attention to and I'm always doing something during the times the students are silently testing or other independent work, which again I'm sure you have much less of.

The challenges that I've found is I am much more frazzled and forgetful in general. It's just things never stop. I go from nonstop work at school to nonstop work at home. I do try to space cleaning out through out the week so it doesn't take up my whole weekend. My daycare bill is huge and another major issue is sickness. We're lucky enough to have parents around to help when they can, but I feel awkward asking others to take off of work and I have had to leave in the middle of the day for a sick kid a few times which also makes me feel very uncomfortable. Overall I have found teaching a great profession as a mother, but I do think taking off as a teacher is much more of an inconvenience to others than other professions may be and that is the one thing I struggle with.

bes12 · December 2013

mommymegan831 said:
Mine are 25 months apart and I teach middle school, which I assume is a whole lot less prep because my students can do so much more for themselves and I need to plan 1 90 min lesson rather than the whole day.

I've never found teaching overwhelming. I get in about 30 min early and work until the bell rings, then I walk out 15 min later, as early as we are contractually able to, as do alot of other teachers in my district, and I rarely do work again until the next morning. I don't socialize during my lunch, I also have papers with me so I can grade or plan during meetings that I don't really need to be paying attention to and I'm always doing something during the times the students are silently testing or other independent work, which again I'm sure you have much less of.

The challenges that I've found is I am much more frazzled and forgetful in general. It's just things never stop. I go from nonstop work at school to nonstop work at home. I do try to space cleaning out through out the week so it doesn't take up my whole weekend. My daycare bill is huge and another major issue is sickness. We're lucky enough to have parents around to help when they can, but I feel awkward asking others to take off of work and I have had to leave in the middle of the day for a sick kid a few times which also makes me feel very uncomfortable. Overall I have found teaching a great profession as a mother, but I do think taking off as a teacher is much more of an inconvenience to others than other professions may be and that is the one thing I struggle with.

I definitely have much more to plan and much less time to do it in. I've had other teachers tell me I need to so middle school! I agree with the sickness and taking off issues. We recently had hand foot and mouth disease and I had to miss two days. He also had surgery the last day before Christmas break and I had to take that day off. It is definitely something to consider as it is nearly impossible to take off, especially last minute when baby wakes up sick!

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