tzippi,
I know that it’s not easy to learn in kollel even for a year or two with no financial support from family members. I wasn’t trying to minimize the effort involved, just to point out that it’s possible to do it even when long-term kollel is not an option. Certainly it can mean a lot of mesiras nefesh.
For me personally, supporting my husband & baby through 2 years of kollel was a lot easier than supporting my k”ah growing family while my husband finished his schooling, & had even less time to spend with us.