Anyone else go to college and take a course or two (or a full load) while caring for a newborn? For me it will not only be caring for a newborn in the fall but also attending school online (only 1 class in the fall for now), working from home AND homeschooling. Add to the list the normal housework and errands for a mother and wife and it can sound overwhelming right now. I'd love to hear from those of you that have BT/DT.

Not typical courses, but I did my dissertation when my son was 0-18 months, and my daughter was 2-4. It wasn't easy, but it was do-able. Also, I teach some online courses, and I often have students who have just had a baby or who give birth during the semester. They are often single mothers, but they don't usually have older children. They usually do fine (at least from what I see on my end), but because their situation is different, I'm not sure how relevant it is to you.

I'd rather do it with a newborn than a toddler. Newborns sleep, at least. :D

Seriously, I believe you can do it. I haven't done online classes, but from what I've seen watching a friend do her master's online, it's as much work as classroom work, minus the commute. :)

I'm not able to report back about the homeschooling kids while mom's in school full time part yet, but I have to leave the house for my classes. I'm barely doing the homeschooling right now. My sitter does it. I suppose I should call it tutoring. :(

Since I've been trying to finish college for about 17 years and I have four kids ranging from 2 to 14yo, I've pretty much done it all. ;)

In-class with a newborn...didn't work.

In-class with a 2yo...it was okay (one class at a time).

Televised (watched from home) with a newborn and a 4yo...it was okay...even the time I took 4 classes (and finished 3!).

Online I've done with a newborn plus two older kids plus a WAHM gig. It was fine but I didn't take more than 2 at a time and it was easy, just do-able.

The past year I've been doing 2 classes at a time (attemped 4 one term and it didn't work!) with a 2, 4, 10 and 14yo. I do 90% of my work late at night when the house is quiet. I dropped my WAHM gig mostly last fall and haven't spent any time on it (I'm a freelance photographer) really.

The best thing about a newborn is that they love to sleep in the sling and that works out really well with online school. :D The other kids are harder to keep happy/entertained. I've considered hiring a mother's helper (or paying my 14yo to work for me a few hours per week) -- is that an option?

I went full time online with a newborn.. but I didn't have any other kids.

I just did full time online for 2 semesters with a 3 and 7 year old... that was ok too. Really you just have to be organized and have a lot of time.

It's nice to see others in a similar situation. I've been going to college since 2007 and had planned to graduate next spring :( but once I found out I was pregnant in January I knew that wasn't going to happen. I can barely take 2-3 classes without a baby in the house so I know I'll be too stressed with a baby in the house. It's in my nature to get stressed really easily. I also know how I got with my last child when she was a newborn/infant. I was a wreck when I didn't get much sleep and that was just with WAH and homeschooling. And "not" WAH isn't an option for me since I help DH with his business. We can't afford to pay anyone to do my job.

I plan to take 1 class each semester until I'm done and can graduate in another couple of years. I have 2 classes this summer (wish I would have taken more) and 1 in the fall and after that I will do 1 course per semester until I feel like I can take on 2 courses at a time. I only have 8 more classes to go so at least I'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. I really want this degree in the next two years so I can move on to another school and work towards my bachelors. This is just an associate degree I'm working on. :(

The other kids are harder to keep happy/entertained. I've considered hiring a mother's helper (or paying my 14yo to work for me a few hours per week) -- is that an option?Actually, my older kids aren't that much of a problem and get along great and my oldest child does do a lot around the house. He likes to cook and does most of the yard work at this point and helps with the business some, so he's a BIG help. But the 7 y o is still at the point where she would play all day if I let her, so I know it will take some getting used to trying to get her to sit still for her school work so I can fit in time each day to do my school work and tend to a new baby.

Thanks everyone for the replies.

I did... ds was 3 months when I started my graduate degree and I thought one online class would be a perfect transition to being back in school...and it was. (I also have an older child in school.)
He typically took really long naps in the morning, so I just made sure to stay disciplined in always getting online and doing school then. Did the whole class with him sleeping in a sling on me while I worked. It went great, never felt stressed about it.

I agree with everyone, I think a newborn would be much easier than a toddler.
I am going to school and working now with a two year old and god help me please.

I have been taking classes online since I had my daughter. I am trying to get an AD in nursing to become a RN. My daughter is 19 mo. now and I will be starting on campus classes in the spring. I also have a son who just turned 5 who I've been home with. I haven't done any homeschooling with my kids yet but am looking into it. YOU CAN DO IT!!! Start now. The longer you wait, the harder it will be. Good luck.