doing A levels and having a baby!

[hettyandjam]

Hi, I'm 18 years old, and I've just found out I'm pregnant. I live in my own apartment with my boyfriend (soon to be fiancée) and we are like a 30 year old couple haha. He's on a very good wage, and will be on 30k by august, if not 40k if he gets this new job! (fingers crossed) my boyfriend is 24.
I was seriously ill with anorexia and bulimia for the last two years and so was unable to do my A levels
ive made a miraculous recovery health wise, and i owe that mostly to my incredibly supportive partner.
Although i still suffer with really bad anxiety, and so have not been able to get a job because of this, and i also have 0 confidence in myself . I went from getting 7A*'s n 2A's and GCSE to being a waste of space (in my opinion)
I'm definitely DEFINITELY going to college to do my A levels in September. But the baby is due about then also. Is it possible to do A levels and have a baby at college? Or should i do part time study? or even home study? (id rather not home study as i enjoy the sciences and i'd have no practical support for the experiments)
im lost at what to do
I love this baby already, and love my partner so much, and I cant do my life without either, but i also need to get my qualifications, even for the sake of my own self esteem.
What options do i have?
Anyone been in my position?
Also, will i have time for anything extra curricular? I loooovee acting and dancing and singing, and i hoped that after my eating disorder i could start making myself feel better with showing my talents.
I have avery supportive partner who would be there after work all hours at 4.30 pm, and his mother doesnt work and has said she would love to have the child, and she would adore it and have it always whenever.
Is there any support most colleges offer??

Im not going to miss out on going out etc, i dont really have any friends, i hate drinking and partying, and i prefer to better myself with talents and academia and now being the most loving mother!

please, im lost and worried,any help would be very much appreciated!

 

[stephx]

Firstly congratulations!

College is defiantly possible with a baby, I do online classes, but a lot of girls on her go to full time school. I dont know about going when your baby is just born, I think most people have 6 weeks off, so you might want to start abit later if you're due in september, or take a year off and o next year?

Extra-curricular, I doubt it tbh, babies are 24/7 and I dont know a lot of mums who would go to work/school full time and then have extra time away from their babies iykwim?

x

 

[amygwen]

Congratulations!

It is definitely possible to do school while you have a baby. I've been doing online classes because they're more convenient to do at home when I have the time rather than go to regular classes. A lot of women go to school while they have babies and survive, so I'm sure you'll be fine! The most important thing is just to be very self-motivated. Because if you aren't and you don't have anyone pushing you to succeed than you may find it hard. Try not to fall behind on your work either because once you do it'll be pretty hard to catch up.

I agree with Steph regarding extracurricular activities. I barely have enough time to play with my LO because between cleaning, schoolwork, regular work, etc etc.. you just don't find time to do those things. Unless you have a specific day where you meet with a certain club, you could have your OH or a family member watch your LO while you go, but if you're anything like me, the last thing you'll want to do is leave your LO. Your feelings may change when your baby is born so just try to wait it out and make a decision then.

 

[emyandpotato]

It's possible but if you have the option financially I'd wait! You need to enjoy your LO and bond without any extra stress, trust me! It's great that you wanna do your A levels though.

 

[rileybaby]

It is possible, i had my LO at 15 and did my GCSE's when he was 12 weeks old, and im doing my A levels now COngrats

 

[Pandora11]

Hi, I'm 18 years old, and I've just found out I'm pregnant. I live in my own apartment with my boyfriend (soon to be fiancée) and we are like a 30 year old couple haha. He's on a very good wage, and will be on 30k by august, if not 40k if he gets this new job! (fingers crossed) my boyfriend is 24.
I was seriously ill with anorexia and bulimia for the last two years and so was unable to do my A levels
ive made a miraculous recovery health wise, and i owe that mostly to my incredibly supportive partner.
Although i still suffer with really bad anxiety, and so have not been able to get a job because of this, and i also have 0 confidence in myself . I went from getting 7A*'s n 2A's and GCSE to being a waste of space (in my opinion)
I'm definitely DEFINITELY going to college to do my A levels in September. But the baby is due about then also. Is it possible to do A levels and have a baby at college? Or should i do part time study? or even home study? (id rather not home study as i enjoy the sciences and i'd have no practical support for the experiments)
im lost at what to do
I love this baby already, and love my partner so much, and I cant do my life without either, but i also need to get my qualifications, even for the sake of my own self esteem.
What options do i have?
Anyone been in my position?
Also, will i have time for anything extra curricular? I loooovee acting and dancing and singing, and i hoped that after my eating disorder i could start making myself feel better with showing my talents.
I have avery supportive partner who would be there after work all hours at 4.30 pm, and his mother doesnt work and has said she would love to have the child, and she would adore it and have it always whenever.
Is there any support most colleges offer??

Im not going to miss out on going out etc, i dont really have any friends, i hate drinking and partying, and i prefer to better myself with talents and academia and now being the most loving mother!

please, im lost and worried,any help would be very much appreciated!

I'm not a mum but i do work and do A Levels. I do them at home through NEC. You can submit assignments online and then you do the coursework and then find an exam centre. You have your own tutor to ask for help and with distance learning, if you weren't ready to take the exam because you'd been so busy with your baby etc you can just take it in the January etc.

There are a few other places but the thing that puts people off is the price.

 

[kittycat18]

I went back to college full-time when my daughter was 6 weeks old I am in 9am-6pm and I am doing a Foundation Degree in Art and Design! They more than likely have a Care to Learn scheme which will cover your childcare and because you have a baby you can apply for EMA as an independent student (£30 a week). I don't know if it's gone in England, it's still in Northern Ireland. Most colleges offer a hardship fund so you could apply for that! Oh and congratulations! x

 

[LauraBee]

I fell pregnant towards the end of my AS year. I was heavily advised to take a year off and returned to continue at A2 when my daughter was seven and a half months old. I was offered a chance to come back when she was four months old but I felt nowhere near ready for that.

My friend dropped out during her second year of college due to health problems, now she has a two month old and is planning to return to college in September.

A lot of people have done it and until you've had your baby, you won't really know when you're gonna feel ready to start college. My friend and I had already done half of our courses, so it made more sense to return ASAP. If you haven't started yet, it may be more worthwhile to postpone it. I'm happy to be back at college but it took some time before I felt comfortable again, and to be honest, I think I would have preferred leaving it a bit longer in order to see some more milestones.

It's a really personal decision, all we can do for you is let you know that it can work, but you need to decide what the best timing for you and your child is.

 

[mayb_baby]

Congrats and welcome to bnb
I am Lorna, 20 with a 1yo baby boy called Michael
I fell pregnant during my A2s and was about 12-15 weeks in my exams so not to heavily on. I took a year off and went to uni the year after.

I agree education is possible but extra curricular not so much

 

[Melibu90]

Congrats
I have no advice about your studying but well done for wanting to get into it
Good luck

 

[hettyandjam]

I went back to college full-time when my daughter was 6 weeks old I am in 9am-6pm and I am doing a Foundation Degree in Art and Design! They more than likely have a Care to Learn scheme which will cover your childcare and because you have a baby you can apply for EMA as an independent student (£30 a week). I don't know if it's gone in England, it's still in Northern Ireland. Most colleges offer a hardship fund so you could apply for that! Oh and congratulations! x

Wow, your an inspiration! how hard was it going back to college emotionally for you? leaving your child behind? i know its going to be hard for me to be without her/him in school but i think over time it'll get easier. Who looked after your LO whilst you were studying? I have a few options, but dont know whether to use daycare or my OH's mother? Thank you for your help xx

 

[hettyandjam]

It is possible, i had my LO at 15 and did my GCSE's when he was 12 weeks old, and im doing my A levels now COngrats

thats fantastic! Do you have to be strict with yourself, and whenever you have free time, to revise? xx

 

[rileybaby]

It is possible, i had my LO at 15 and did my GCSE's when he was 12 weeks old, and im doing my A levels now COngrats

thats fantastic! Do you have to be strict with yourself, and whenever you have free time, to revise? xx

Not really, i do 30mins each night once Riley is in bed, but its just got into my routine! Sometimes i get behind with my work as i dropped out of 2 days a week to get some time with Riley, but then ill just catch up on work when he's napping

 

[fantastica]

Congrats

It definitely is possible. I got pregnant whilst at uni and took a year and a bit out, and then went back. It is tough, but manageable. Tbh, although it was great spending LO's first year with him, I think it would have been slightly easier to go back when he was little. Although you feel knackered and not quite with it for a little while, they sleep a lot more and aren't mobile so you can get a little bit more done without worrying about them running off! But I guess this depends on how you feel at the time.

For other activities, you'll probably find you won't have a lot of spare time, but there's no reason why you might not be able to fit in night classes etc. at some point!

Good luck x