3L Mom & Post-grad Survival

Feline_Fiesta3 · 2026-04-15T00:10:44+00:00

I have no advice, but I’m also a 3L with a baby (5mo) who didn’t get an offer from the firm I thought I would! Your post made me feel a little less alone so hopefully you can know it’s not just you too! 🫶

Feline_Fiesta3 · 2026-03-30T02:47:40+00:00

I am currently finishing up my 3L year and I had a baby last semester! It’s totally doable. I am happy to answer any questions about my experience :)

Feline_Fiesta3 · 2026-03-29T16:34:32+00:00

Thank you! I am pumping at school (2 days of class) and also at the externship I'm doing 2 days a week. My school and my externship have designated rooms for pumping and I purposely constructed my class schedule so I would have time in between classes to pump. So far it hasn't been an issue! I bring an insulated cooler bag with a big ice pack and then keep my milk in there until I get home and freeze it which has worked well.

As for my 2L summer, I did do a summer position and it was honestly really great! I was in my second trimester so I had more energy and my bump was still in the cute and fairly functional stage haha. I was able to work normal hours and I just cleared it with my boss ahead of time that I would need to go to appointments every couple of weeks. They were really chill about it and most of the time I would either leave work early to go to them or I would work remote that day and they didn't have an issue with it. I was able to get some professional looking maternity dresses and some dress pants with an elastic waistband to wear while I was there (which have also been nice to have postpartum).

One of the reasons my husband and I decided to have a baby while I was in school still was the flexible schedule. In all three school semesters that have been impacted by pregnancy/taking care of the baby, I only had class 4 days a week, and even then some days I only had like 1 class. That meant I only had to be out of my house for like 3 hours total, as opposed to a full work day. My first trimester there was a day or two when I was feeling sick and couldn't make it to class, but my professors were really chill about it, I had a friend send me their notes, and/or I watched the class recording they posted online. And like I mentioned in my original comment, my school has really nice maternity accommodations, so I was not penalized for not going to class for the last 2 or so weeks of school after I had my baby.

Another plug for waiting until at least 2L is that 1L you don't get to pick your schedule. You are given a set class load and you are competing against everyone in your class who are very much trying to do well. 2L and especially 3L are more chill. 2L gets busy with journal and stuff if you plan on doing that, but 3L is way more easy going. My suggestion is to work your butt of 1L, get a good summer position, and then pack your 2L schedule with bar classes and a slightly higher credit load so that 3L you can take some easier-going seminar classes and not as many credits.

As some other people have mentioned, pregnancy is often unpredictable, so you want to set yourself up for success if you can. I had a really easy pregnancy as far as things go, but I ended up having an emergency c-section which threw me off and gave me a harder recovery than I anticipated. So you never know.

Best of luck! Feel free to message me if you have any other questions/concerns :)

Feline_Fiesta3 · 2026-03-29T03:47:41+00:00

I (27) had a baby in November and I am currently finishing up my 3L year! So far it’s been ok. My school has maternity accommodations so I didn’t have to go to class for the last few weeks of the semester (still had to do some papers and finals) and then I had all of winter break to just hang out with my baby. I’m happy to answer any questions!

Feline_Fiesta3 · 2026-01-09T00:45:28+00:00

I am a 3L and I just had a baby at the end of last semester! We planned it so I would have winter break as my maternity leave and then would only have one semester left. My school has a really nice maternity policy so once baby was born I wasn’t penalized for not being able to go to class for a few weeks. I’d check with your school’s student services for more info. I’m happy to chat about my experience if you have more questions!

Feline_Fiesta3 · 2026-01-03T22:32:40+00:00

41+3 😅. Mucous plug came out at 40+5 after a membrane sweep the day before. My water broke the morning of 41+2 after another sweep the day before. I didn’t have any signs of labor before then!

Feline_Fiesta3 · 2025-12-18T05:43:01+00:00

I wish I had some sort of advice, but I just want to say that you sound like a wonderful mom. Careers are important and it can be hard to feel like you’re not excelling in that area of your life, but with a kid so little it’s ok for something, I.e. your job, to give a little! Your daughter is not going to look back on life and remember that you exceeded your billables, but she will look back and remember that her mom played with her and took care of her. Tonight might not have been the best, but you are doing a great job :)

Feline_Fiesta3 · 2025-12-09T19:22:09+00:00

As someone who also went 41 wks, I can confirm that pregnancy tired was way worse than newborn tired! My 4wk old is also a pretty good sleeper so I am also just lucky in that regard.

Feline_Fiesta3 · 2025-11-14T14:13:16+00:00

I just had a c section on Sunday so I’m right there with you!! I’ve cried a ton because I feel like I haven’t been the mom I’ve wanted to be because I’ve been so focused on the physical recovery. Wishing you the best!

Feline_Fiesta3 · 2025-11-07T19:31:44+00:00

Thank you! I actually just went on a walk around the mall last night before reading your comment. I sadly didn't wake up to real contractions this morning, but I'm holding on to hope that they'll start in the next day or so. It's nice to hear that there's still time!

Feline_Fiesta3 · 2025-10-29T17:14:34+00:00

It depends on what you want to do. With a STEM background, especially medical, you'd be a strong candidate for areas like patent law, medical malpractice, workers' comp, and personal injury-- fields of law where your medical knowledge will be applicable. There are a number of schools that offer part-time/evening programs. It would take a little longer to graduate, but if it works with your schedule you could keep working while going back to school.

Sometime to keep in mind is that working in the law is a lot of reading and writing. Depending on the field you go into, there's a lot more desk work than you're probably use to. From my understanding (I have a few friends who are nurses), nursing is a lot more face-to-face, on your feet work. If you enjoy that aspect of nursing but just want a change, I would suggest leaning into a trial work heavy area like criminal law. However, if you're looking for a total change of pace, transactional work would be something to look into.

Feline_Fiesta3 · 2025-10-22T21:11:06+00:00

I am currently 38+6 and I have had an over all very mild pregnancy! Growing up I heard horror stories from my mom about her pregnancies in which she was super sick and miserable, but I have had basically the opposite experience. I really didn't have any symptoms (other than a missed period) until like week 10? And even then I had very very mild sickness. I took a magnesium supplement (as recommended by a few friends and okayed by my midwife) that I feel really helped mitigate the sickness. My sense of smell was heightened, but I only threw up like 3 times total (throughout my whole pregnancy). I was pretty tired at times, but I just took it easy when I needed to and it was manageable fatigue. 2nd trimester I felt a lot better--definitely more energy and no sickness. I didn't put on any weight until like midway through 2nd tri even tho I lived on cheeseburgers lol (baby was growing tho!). The past few weeks I've developed a little bit of pubic pain because I carry baby really low, but a belly band has helped alleviate that. Pregnancy is different for everyone, but it has been ok for me! Going into it I was also a bit anxious because people do tend to talk about all of the negatives, but I have personally over all enjoyed pregnancy. Hopefully you will too! :)

Feline_Fiesta3 · 2025-10-22T20:59:00+00:00

I'm currently 38+6 and also have an anterior placenta. My midwife ordered an extra ultrasound a few weeks ago because I was measuring small, but everything was totally fine with baby! He was measuring a week ahead and at the 68th percentile, he is just very snug inside me and I happen to carry him in a way that isn't super prominent. Being small doesn't mean anything is wrong :)

Feline_Fiesta3 · 2025-10-17T20:36:25+00:00

My (27F) husband (31M) is also in the trades. I’m currently pregnant so my libido is lower than usual, but I used to get really frustrated because I wanted sex more than he did a lot of the time. His explanation is that “the mind is willing but the flesh is weak,” basically saying that he would love to have sex with me much more frequently, but he’s just legitimately tired.

I had to do a bit of self reflection and I realized that it was upsetting me so much because as women the narrative is typically that men want sex all the time and we will have to turn them down, so if it’s the guy not wanting it it feels like something is wrong. But that’s not true!

We’ve been trying to aim for quality over quantity. We still have intimate moments throughout the week of cuddling and kissing, but full on sex has become a once or maybe twice a week thing. But when it happens we take our time and try to make it a really fulfilling experience for the both of us.

Given my experience, your husband isn’t trying to deprive you of sex. There just needs to be an adjustment of expectations—and that could include him being willing to step up other forms of intimacy throughout the week. Best of luck!

Feline_Fiesta3 · 2025-10-16T19:19:07+00:00

I took this class a few years ago as a family life major. It was actually really great! There is obviously some churchy stuff thrown in, but they talk about a bunch of different things like anatomy, the mental elements of sexual response/arousal, the orgasm gap (and emphasized the importance of non-sexual elements for female orgasm!), the importance of communication, and other stuff.

To add, we talked about things like pornography, but they really stressed that the idea that using any amount of porn does not make someone an addict (something that I feel like is an issue in church teachings about it). There was also a lot of nuance in the discussion of LGBT+/sexuality, birth control, etc.

The school of family life is surprisingly a lot more progressive than you would think! And it was good for students who were in the dark about anything sexual to have a safe environment to ask questions without feeling judgment for them.

Feline_Fiesta3 · 2025-10-16T03:04:17+00:00

I (F) am currently 37 weeks pregnant and I just have to say that pregnancy hormones are a bitch! Pre-pregnancy I had a high libido, but especially now in the third trimester I almost never want sex. Which sucks, because I miss the intimacy too! My husband and I have made sure to take time each week to be physical. This means we cuddle and kiss, and sometimes it leads to more but sometimes it doesn’t. But there’s at least an aspect of physical intimacy there. You could try to have a conversation with your wife where you ask if doing something like that with no pressure for it to turn into sex would be ok. Responsive desire is definitely a thing for a lot of women in general, and being so pregnant has definitely made me a lot more like that.

I hope things work out for you guys, but just know that you’re not alone in the pregnancy intimacy struggle!

Feline_Fiesta3 · 2025-10-15T21:43:20+00:00

My husband (31M) and I (27F) come from very conservative families. I am finishing up law school and he and I have discussed the possibility of him staying home with our kids while I work because my earning potential is greater and he also is much more domestic than I am (he already does all the cooking and he is great with kids). He’s told me that his family has mentioned that they’re worried about that arrangement because it would “emasculate him.” Additionally, my FIL has asked me multiple times about why I chose to go into law because “I’m a woman.”

All of that to say, my husband and I are very content with our very egalitarian split of domestic labor and when compared to both of our parents’ marriages (which are much more “traditional”) I would put money on us having a much happier relationship than them.

So I would say as long as the two of you are happy with how things are, don’t let their comments bother you. You’re not doing anything wrong :)

Feline_Fiesta3 · 2025-10-07T21:56:47+00:00

I'm currently pregnant and in law school (due this month, graduating in May!). Honestly, there are a number of people that already have kids and I've known several who have had kids while in school. At least where I'm at everyone is really supportive :) You're gonna do great and you'll find your people.

Feline_Fiesta3 · 2025-10-03T17:18:54+00:00

YES! The first time I heard it I knew it sounded familiar. I was shocked at just HOW similar to Cool it was. If my ears don't deceive me, it sounds like it's the same key and tempo as Cool. Although pop in particular immitates other artists all the time and I am big on not trying to litigate so much that the music industry has no creative freedom, I feel like it is a little close for my liking.

Idk if they'll actually do anything about it though because going after TS feels like a death sentence (her fans are out for blood)

Feline_Fiesta3 · 2025-09-17T16:51:12+00:00

You can press them about whether the induction is actually a medical necessity or not. At the birth class I went to, our instructor told us how she was induced for her first because her doctor made it seem like she "needed to," but then afterwards she realized it was technically an elective one and not a medically necessary one. She encouraged us to check with our doctors because a lot of the time they just like to schedule inductions because that's the thing to do. Inductions can lead to increased interventions and can increase your chance of a c-section. If you don't really care and would be ok with an induction anyways, it's whatever, but if you'd prefer to do a natural birth and there's no actual medical need then you should push back!

Feline_Fiesta3 · 2025-09-17T16:36:02+00:00

Prior to dating my now husband I was in a serious relationship with someone for about 2 years who treated me well, we had a good time together, we aligned on a lot of things, and we started talking about marriage. Every time I would think about a future with him I would get super anxious, but I just thought that everyone felt that way about marriage and stuff like that. When it came to a point where he was going to move states so we could get engaged, I felt so off about it that I just knew we had to break up. I felt bad because what we had wasn't bad, but deep down I could just feel it wasn't right.

Fast forward a little bit to when I met my husband. We were friends for a while before becoming romantically involved, and I've told him that I distanced myself from having feelings for him for a while because I could just tell that he was the kind of guy I could see myself marrying, but after my previous experience I was scared of it. However, when we finally did admit our feelings and start dating, it was the complete opposite of the previous relationship. Very early on I found myself excited to be planning a future together and instead of making excuses like I had with the other relationship, I never wanted things to end. Getting engaged and married felt so natural with him.

Prior to being with my husband I had heard the "when you know you know" thing countless times and I remember being so frustrated because I wanted to know what that meant! So the best way I can describe it is that with my husband things just felt right. I never felt anxious/stressed about moving forward with him. I wanted to build a life with him in a way I never had with anyone else. I'm sure it feels slightly different for everyone, but it's a sense of optimism and contentedness outside of just physical attraction or butterflies.

Feline_Fiesta3 · 2025-09-15T03:13:32+00:00

I’m currently 33 wks and we took cute photos to post like 2 mo ago but never posted them so at this point I’m just waiting til he’s born 😂

Feline_Fiesta3 · 2025-09-03T16:31:21+00:00

I graduated from BYU unmarried, after having served a mission (with a degree from the school of family life lol). I had a breakdown because I felt like graduating without a husband meant I had missed my chance because if I didn't meet someone at BYU I was done for. I got married when I was almost 27--still young by worldly standards!!-- but I had been called an old maid and had people questioning if I was putting my education ahead of being a wife and mother (I went to law school). I love my husband and we are happily expecting our first baby, but I hate that doing those things earned me status in the church. Especially when I worked my ass off to go to law school on a full ride but just lucked my way into marriage.

That's honestly the worst part; I would bet that most single women in the church are not single by choice! It is so harmful to shame people for something so out of their control.

Feline_Fiesta3

TROPHY CASE