Advice from current parents?

[sunny1]

I need to retake the MCAT for next year's application. It was largely one section in particular that did me in, so I know where I need to focus the majority of my time.

Question is when to take - January vs. April MCAT - given that I am due to have a baby in late December. That's why I'd like advice from parents who've made it through those first few months with a child.

Jan. MCAT: Study now through December, material may be fresher in my mind. But I will have a 4-6 week old baby at that point too...will my brain be functioning with such little sleep at that point? And umm...what about breastfeeding? Can I make it 5 hours without doing that? I honestly don't know much about all this.

April MCAT: Study now through April. I'll be taking 12 weeks FMLA so I will be home for a good portion of Spring, yes, but home with a baby... Am I necessarily guaranteed to be getting any more sleep with a newborn vs. a 4 month old?

What do you think? Thanks!

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[Kateb4]

I need to retake the MCAT for next year's application. It was largely one section in particular that did me in, so I know where I need to focus the majority of my time.

Question is when to take - January vs. April MCAT - given that I am due to have a baby in late December. That's why I'd like advice from parents who've made it through those first few months with a child.

Jan. MCAT: Study now through December, material may be fresher in my mind. But I will have a 4-6 week old baby at that point too...will my brain be functioning with such little sleep at that point? And umm...what about breastfeeding? Can I make it 5 hours without doing that? I honestly don't know much about all this.

April MCAT: Study now through April. I'll be taking 12 weeks FMLA so I will be home for a good portion of Spring, yes, but home with a baby... Am I necessarily guaranteed to be getting any more sleep with a newborn vs. a 4 month old?

What do you think? Thanks!

If it were me I'd wait and take the April MCAT. I took it pregnant and that was difficult, but I think taking it with a newborn baby will be terrible!

If you took it in Jan with a newborn, you will first of all be very very sleep deprived (particularly if this is your first baby). I had such a hard time with my first. Then if you are planning on nursing the baby, they eat every ~2 hours at that point, and all of the lactation people recommend waiting until 6 weeks to start pumping or bottle feeding to avoid nipple confusion (I know that's not a big deal for most people, but you would have to be giving him/her a bottle for a week or so before hand so he/she is used to them - I had a hell of a time getting mine to take bottles). If you do get your baby to take a bottle, you will have to figure out some way to pump during the test. I took my personal trainer certification test about 10 weeks after I had my first baby and had to go to the car at our break to pump, that was not fun! You would probably have to get special accomodations for that.

Also, you never know what will happen with babies. Maybe you'll go overdue, and carry into Jan. Or if you end up requiring a c-section you could still be recovering.

So, if you wait until the baby is 4 months old. No, you probably will not be getting enough sleep still, but it will be better than at 1 mo. Just make sure your husband/SO takes night duty for the few days before the test so you can catch up on your sleep. You may still need to pump once in the middle of the test, I think at 4 months old they space feedings out to every 4 hours, but you may even be fine if you pump/feed before and after.

So, long story short, I think that waiting until the later date would be the better option. Good luck with your pregnancy and the upcoming application!

 

[2008orbust]

At four weeks, odds are you are still sleep deprived. Also a breastfeeding mom has even more on her plate and a higher strain on the body (kudos for nursing BTW- my wife nursed both of our kids)

If you are on leave till the April MCAT, that seems to be a good choice. Young babies take several naps a day and you really could squeeze in a good 6 hours a day of stuying if you are die hard about it. Also, if there is someone to help keep up with laundry and such that would make life easier too.

Good luck to you. Parents CAN do this.

 

[sindadel]

I have 2 year old twins who are still night-nursing. The night before my MCAT was my first night away from them! I nursed them around 7 PM, and then slept over at my parents' house. I had a noon test, which I highly recommend if available, as I was able to go back to my house in the morning, after a good night's sleep and reconnect/nurse them right before the exam. Depending on how your baby is sleeping at 4 months, you might not _need_ (or want) to spend the night away, but you might want to have a plan B in your pocket in case that turns out to be the teething night from hell. You will be uncomfortable and need to pump if you don't nurse overnight and then don't nurse in the morning.

So I say absolutely take it in April. It will still be hard being away for 6+ hours and you may need to use one of your breaks to pump if you have a good milk supply but there's just no guarantees about how you'll feel at 4-6 weeks postpartum. And babies sleep alot in the first few months - you'll be surprised at how much you can get done. After 6 months, it's another story entirely as they get mobile and are awake more of the day.

 

[Deepa100]

I agree with others. I wanted to take it before the baby but was asked to take it easy due to some health issues. So, I took it after the baby and it was real hard. I got very little sleep for the one year I nursed him. Even if you don't nurse, they still get up a lot at night.

 

[nontrdgsbuiucmd]

Concur - go with the April exam (or later if possible, you'd be fine for the app cycle with a June exam) ..we (ok She) nursed our 1st for years, sleep for us worked pretty well as our daughter was in bed with us, my wife would 1/2 wake up for the 2am feeding & then back to sleep, rather than fully wake up, go the the baby's room, feed her, come back to our room, etc. Dr. Sears has some excellent books on this, written as an MD with something like 7 children of his own.

Tough when pregnant to test well I'd think, my wife was in grad school & spoke about taking tests and just blanking out..

Sleep with a newborn was tough, but not as tough as I'd been lead to expect, there were only a few nights when she was up hourly, typically she'd sleep for 4-5 hours straight even from a very early age. In my experience w/my children "up all night with the baby" refers more to being woken up 2-3 times during the night for a bit & then going back to sleep.

 

[Nanon]

Ya, I gotta agree with taking it in June, if you can. I took the MCAT the first time when my kid was 4 months... egads. Let's just put it this way - I improved my score by 5 points the second time I took it this summer. My kid is two. I didn't breast feed, but I was pumping 4-6 times a day at that point. In the beginning it was every 2 hours (the nipple confusion this is for real, btw). I have some strange memories of that first few months, like falling asleep while pumping and dreaming that I was having a conversation with the pump.

Ultimately, my advice is this: Take this as it comes. Babies are strange little creatures, and they do some trippy stuff to your brain. If you aren't ready to devote the time it will take to get the score you need when your kidlet is 1 month or 4, (for me, around 350 hours of studying), that's ok. It really is. And if you can do it, rock it out!

On a momma note, I'm going to tell you something that my sister told me (she had twins and then another one 14 months later). It totally became my mantra on those long nights when I seriously couldn't figure out what he wanted - "Birdies fly and babies cry."

Good luck!

S.

 

[montessori2md]

APRIL!

Actually, I would say April 2010, but I know everyone has their own timeline for these things.....

My IQ dropped, I swear, at least 30 points, and it wasn't back for awhile. I can't imagine taking MCAT with a newborn -you are in such a hormone haze at the end of pregnancy and right after, and then there's bleeding, etc. There's a reason you have a check-up at 6 wks post-delivery -it's because the expected recovery time back to "normal" will be about then, and that's with a "normal" delivery (not c-section, etc).

Plus there is no admissions boost to taking in Jan vs April anyhow, and if your baby turns out to be high-maintenance, you have a little time to adapt to that before you have to pay for MCAT.

Some babies (b-fed or formula) are good sleepers, and some are not. I think the non-sleepers get more press (they are the ones who get your attention), but I'd still say the good sleepers are a bit out-numbered. I'd expect at least one wake-up/night at 4 months, and as long as baby sleeps 5 hrs straight, they're considered decent sleepers at 4 months. You can function on that kind of sleep, but you do tend to be more stupid than your normal self (which is why I'm not much of a fan of 30 hr shifts...another story).

I might also add, that if you haven't already done it, now is the time to start figuring out childcare for your post-12 weeks return to work. If you're planning on sending your baby to anyplace which has multiple kids, breastfeeding can help you miss less work. If it's a 1-on-1 situation, try to make sure the caregiver gets him/her out into the world enough to get some sun and see other people. It will help with the sleeping.

 

[heartoftexas]

Gosh, this is a tough one. If it were not your first baby, I might say take it in January. I have three, and based on my personal experiences, I would rather take it with a 6-week-old baby than a 4-month-old. But your experience as a first-time mom isn't really analogous to my experience as a hypothetical fourth-timer.

The problem is that there are a lot of variables. You might have a baby who is a great sleeper or you might have one who is up all night (although IME, the first two weeks are usually pretty easy...it's after that when days/nights get mixed up). You might have an easy time breastfeeding (I always have...yea for extended nursing twins, sindadel!!!) or you might be having issues that require special attention. You might experience some baby blues (I did, but only once), or you might not. Etc., etc.

As a practical matter, you would have plenty of time to study those first few weeks (especially if you have a lot of help), because newborns don't do much. They're pretty boring, actually. ;-) But emotionally, you might not be in it.

I would recommend studying as if you were taking it in January, taking a break to enjoy your babe for a few weeks, take a little time getting the hang of being a mom, and then focus on studying during nap times (there will be a LOT of napping!) and evenings after the babe is asleep.

I haven't taken the MCAT (I'm just starting this whole journey), but that's my two cents. Take it for what it's worth!

OH, WRT breastfeeding, taking the test with a 4-6 w/o could be a nightmare in terms of nursing. You can introduce a bottle, but I had two babies who would never take one. And at 6 weeks, your supply is still just starting to regulate, so even a couple of hours without nursing or pumping could mean serious engorgement. By four months, if you nursed your baby right before the exam, then pumped to be sure you're empty, you could probably go 3-4 hours without pumping. I know someone who got permission to pump during the bar exam, though, so you might be able to seek an accommodation for the MCAT.

Good luck, and congratulations on your baby!

 

[sunny1]

Thanks to everyone for some really helpful insight!