The people telling you to ditch game development..... unless you plan to start your own company and build small indie games, which, of course, is always risky, expect to be working horrible hours for lower pay than other devs. Compared to other development jobs, a lot of game devs are treated poorly. Don't get a degree in game development - have it as a minor if you want, but get your degree in software engineering.

Those telling you that you don't need a degree for software engineering.... I have mixed feelings on this. I'm a software engineer with an unrelated degree (design) and I don't think it's hurt my career any, but I also got into the industry 20 years ago. It's a very competitive and crowded field and while a lot of the knowledge you pick up in school may be out-dated by the time you graduate, the degree may give you an edge with landing a job - but you'll still need a strong portfolio of work to go with it. Having the degree is not a free pass to getting hired, but it can help and it may mean a higher starting salary.

Also if you're not already somewhat self-taught at this point and don't know anything about software engineering, then while specific technologies may be out-dated, it will teach you a lot of fundamentals and theory. Anyone can learn the syntax of a programming language on their own and make it do stuff. Learning the theories and concepts and best practices behind designing secure, scalable, and efficient software can be another matter entirely. A lot of that depends on you and your learning style and how much experience/knowledge you already have.

Either way you choose, it is a field where you must Always Be Learning if you want to stay competitive and that doesn't stop after you graduate or land your first good dev job.

Now on to the baby..... The first year is hard, no two ways about it. It will get easier as the baby gets older. As a young mom and a student, you probably qualify for all kinds of assistance programs - find out what they are and take advantage of them to help ease the financial stress.

If you're not getting support from your family, try and find it somewhere else. Look for mothers groups, strike up a conversation with that cool mom at daycare, etc.

And don't sweat the little stuff - the house doesn't have to be perfectly clean, a pile of laundry still in the basket never hurt anyone and waiting 'til the weekend to clean the bathroom is perfectly fine. Take some time to yourself to relax and decompress, even if it's just 20 minutes a day.

As for how you deal with the day to day... mostly, you just do, one step at a time, because you have to. As time goes by you get used to the changes and the responsibilities, you work out a routine, your kid becomes more self-sufficient, you finish school, get a better job, etc. You're young. Your baby is still practically brand new. It's not a race to the finish line. You don't have to be perfect. You'll figure out what works best for the two of you. Love your kid, do your best, and try not to stress over the things you can't change or the moments you didn't get perfect.