Every morning at 6 a.m. Matt Coury and Kerry Waldrep begin the same hectic routine. There are diapers to change bottles to make and bags to pack — and their toddler William is waving his hands in the air. He needs to go potty.
Plus" their classes at the law school start at 8 a.m.
""A friend called me the other day at 9:30 and said" ‘Oh I hope I didn't wake you up"'"" Waldrep said. ""Oh" trust me" I'm awake.""
Coury and Waldrep are two of a growing population of student parents on campus.
The couple met as undergraduates at Georgetown University and married in 2002. After working with the Peace Corps in China"" the pair arrived in Chapel Hill — ready to start law school and a family.
""Part of the reason we decided to have children in school was that we would have the ability to be home more"" Coury said.
Coury is in a dual law school and business school program, and Waldrep is a law student. They've had to balance their academic life with that of their growing family.
Going to school visibly pregnant was so weird"" Waldrep said. I carried a pillow to class during finals to ease the stress on my back.""
Their first child" William was born in December of 2006. Following the birth Waldrep took the spring semester off.
Waldrep returned to classes for the next year and a half balancing motherhood academia and the pursuit of internships.
By December 2008 their second son John" was born.
Just another daily routine
Coury and Waldrep sit down and pull out schedules every Sunday to make sure that someone will be available for the kids every hour.
""Right now" since I'm not in school it's not incredibly difficult Waldrep said. But just recently" I had a meeting at the law school and Matt had to rush back here after class and walk the kids around outside for an hour then turn around and go right back to class.""
The hectic mornings are made easier by the cooperative boys.
""William knows if he's awake before 6" he can't get out of his bed because the birdies aren't awake yet Waldrep said.
William spends his day at a Spanish language immersion day care in Carrboro while Waldrep stays at home with John.
During the day it's not bad" Waldrep said. We have plenty of friends around to help us out.""
After classes" William is picked up from day care at 5 p.m.
The textbooks are temporarily replaced with Hot Wheels as playtime begins. For three hours focus is on the children and enjoying time together as a family.
But after the kids are asleep" it's all work and no play.
""We have to be really careful about separating playtime and study time" Coury said. We know that we can play until bedtime at 8" but after that we absolutely have to study.""
""It's hard when you don't get to choose when you study" Waldrep said. Sometimes you just don't feel like studying" but we know we won't get another chance.""
But things don't always balance.
""Today for example" I happen to have the day off and should be doing work but instead I'm sitting here playing trucks" Waldrep said.
Coury and Waldrep try to schedule classes with each other, allowing one to be present to take notes if the other needs to be home with the children.
Their social life requires just as much structure as their daily lives.
It's gotten very hard for both of us to go out together"" said Coury.
They usually take turns — one of them goes out while the other stays home with the kids.
Recently, they've discovered other student families on campus.
Being able to be around other students who have children is great because they understand what we go through"" Waldrep said.
Last semester, when William got a virus from someone at day care, Waldrep missed a week of school to take care of him.
If I didn't have kids" sure I could make all A's" she said.
But the most important thing for me right now is to have a family.""
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Textbooks and toddlers
Students Matt Coury and Kerry Waldrep play with 2-year-old William. They have to balance classes at the law school with taking care of William and infant John" who was born in December. Every Sunday they compare schedules to make sure someone always will be on call for the kids.
