Grats on your pregnancy and getting in! I'm still in undergrad with 1 1/2 to 2 years until I apply to vet school, but I think I can lend a few of the tips that have helped me get through college so far. Currently I attend school full time and work 12-20 hours a week at a vet clinic. My husband works full time, and our four year old son is in preschool from 8am-noon. I drop him off, go to school, study a bit, pick him up, come home, fix lunch. Hubby comes home, I go to work, come home, hubby fixes dinner, we fall asleep on couch watching reruns of Star Trek.
The first year especially is tough, I think it's a great idea to defer for a year. But, it doesn't really get easier, it just gets different kinds of hard. Toddlers are always on the move! I'm sure you've spent some time around them, now imagine that 24/7!
Tip #1: Learn to cook in advance. Make large meals when you can and freeze them in portions (we have an extra freezer for this). Always make extra food when you cook, that way you can have the leftovers the next night or freeze them so you can have them next month. Portion out snacks for your kiddo like baggies of animal crackers, carrot sticks, etc. and keep them in your fridge so that they're easily accessible. Spending one hour a week doing this is way better than spending 15 minutes every day fixing an afternoon snack. My husband and I spend about a couple hours every Sunday doing this, and it saves a lot of time. I can pop something in the microwave and go right back to studying.
#2: Build your support system early, and keep it strong. Whether it's your mom who's going to watch your son/daughter while you're in school, your significant other, a daycare or a nanny, start looking early and make sure that whoever will watch your child is perfectly reliable. I can't tell you how frustrating it is to find out 20 minutes before class starts that my sister got called in to work early and can't babysit for me, so have backups in case your primary daycare provider can't watch your child one day.
#3: Make a schedule, and stick to it. Sounds pretty self-explanatory, but I know a lot of students at my school who have kids and don't do this. Kids thrive on structure, and it's easier on everyone. Don't forget to schedule in time for studying. As a mom, you'll be able to put up with a lot of "background" noise (ie kids running around the house while you're on the phone, non-stop chattering while you're trying to watch the news, whatever), but having kids running around the house while trying to study is not fun, not productive, and annoys everyone involved. Maybe you will arrange childcare for two hours three or four times a week so you can stick around at school to study.
#4: Make time for yourself. Everyone says that. It's a good idea. Every couple of weeks I take a Saturday afternoon when the husband is home and grab some Starbucks, go to a bookstore, and just wander around. Or, the husband and son will go to the park and I have the house to myself, and I use that time to blast music or play video games or paint or whatever I feel like doing. This is important not only as a mom, but as a student. If you don't set time aside for yourself, you will get burned out and your grades will suffer. That said, also make time for your family. Even if it's just chilling in the backyard, put the darn books away and just have fun once in awhile.
There's a website that I refer to that has some great tips for moms in medicine:
http://www.mommd.com/ (it's geared towards MD's but many of the things apply towards busy moms in general). I've found some really good tips on there about all types of things. Haven't been on in awhile, but when I first started school it helped me out tremendously!
Hope all this helped, sorry for writing such a novel. You can always pm me if you have a question.
