One and two makes twins

Club helps parents adjust to having more than one child at once

Friday, Feb. 23, 2007

Click here to enlarge this photo Staff Photo By Darwin Weigel Bryan and Cally Iberg and their 5-year-old twins Aidan and Avery of Lusby are members of Southern Maryland Parents of Multiples. E-Mail This Article | Print This Story

‘‘She’s delivered a lot of the twins in the county,” Isaacson said. ‘‘She was good friends with the founder of the club and ... from there I got more information [of] things that worked well with twins.”

That club, known as Southern Maryland Parents of Multiples, aims to lend expectant mothers and parents of twins, triplets or more advice, support and encouragement as they learn about the differences of raising more than one child at a time.

‘‘Primarily, we are first and foremost a support group,” said Sandy Crawford of Great Mills, president of the local multiples club. ‘‘From a mom to mom connection, from issues of how you are going to raise two children at the same time without losing your mind, to answering questions, doing meal deliveries, playgroups, and Yahoo! groups. It’s a tremendous resource of information.”

Crawford began her time as the club’s president in August 2006, after serving as vice president under Isaacson for two years. It was a position she willingly accepted as a five-year member of the club, joining around the time her boy-girl twins were born.

‘‘I thought I had it all figured out until they were born. I was in a huge state of denial,” Crawford said. ‘‘If women can join before [giving birth] than I think the whole experience is a lot less overwhelming.”

For Isaacson, who has been a member of the club for about 5 years, being a member has been beneficial.

‘‘Especially if you’re a first time parent,” she said. ‘‘You can save yourself a lot of time and frustration. It’s definitely worthwhile.”

Iberg said the club has been helping her since her pregnancy.

‘‘I joined in September of 2001, when I was pregnant,” she said. ‘‘When you have your babies, ... we have meals delivered [by member volunteers] for the first week, which is very helpful. Every evening someone would show up with a meal. It was fabulous.”

Meal deliveries to new mothers or those placed on bed rest before giving birth are just one of the many services provided by the multiples club.

‘‘We have a lot of play dates and social things where we will get together, like going to Hyperspace, going to parks, having mom’s night out,” Crawford said, adding that because the group’s membership spans Calvert and St. Mary’s counties and a few members from Charles County as well, the group tends to hold events in the northern and southern parts of the counties to reduce travel time for those who want to participate.

The club also hosts an online Yahoo! forum, where parents of multiples can ask questions and seek advice for issues they may be dealing with.

‘‘It was just a great group of moms giving their advice and support within different things, but now we have a Yahoo! group and everyone gets e-mails so you can post questions or problems or concerns,” Isaacson said. ‘‘I remember in the beginning my mom was concerned about the babies sharing pacifiers and I didn’t think it mattered much, so I posted a question to the group and I got back a flood of answers and help. It was really neat. That’s our club’s main resource for people — people have a lot of good ideas and things that work — [it’s] support, questions, answers and ideas.”

‘‘Recently somebody wanted to know if anyone else had experienced something with their children before, and because there are a lot of kids, usually somebody has seen something to calm someone else down,” Crawford said. ‘‘It’s a good information resource. It’s a big information clearinghouse locally.”

The club also hosts yearly yard sales, one featuring children’s clothes and toys — which Isaacson said is especially helpful when you need at least two of everything — and another for household items. Club members also get the opportunity to attend conventions throughout the tri-state area where they spend time learning about different aspects of raising multiples. And, each year the club hosts several major events aside from its usual activities, including an Easter egg hunt, Christmas party and summer party.

‘‘The activities are really fun,” Isaacson said. ‘‘I think it’s helpful for everybody.”

The southern Maryland club has been in existence for 8 years, originally beginning as a mothers only club. It now is open to both mothers and fathers, and Crawford said the club even includes a few grandmothers who wanted to be involved. The club currently has around 35 members. Club participants meet the second Saturday of each month and Wills said the public is welcome to drop by. Membership in the club is $25 per year and also includes membership in mid-Atlantic and national multiples groups.

‘‘Raising multiples is a difficult situation.” Crawford said. ‘‘We offer support to families of multiples. To talk to another parent who is in the same situation is wonderful.”

‘‘It’s most helpful if you join when you have infants,” Iberg said. ‘‘It’s fabulous. It’s very helpful for someone who’s clueless, especially about multiples. It’s a wealth of information. You’re guaranteed someone in the club has either encountered it or know someone who has. It’s a very good support system.”

‘‘We’re here. Don’t be shy. Pick up the phone, send an e-mail, just call,” Crawford said. ‘‘There’s a lot of information and a lot of women who have been there, done that, and we’re here to help. It’s a tremendous mommy network.”

For more information, visit www.somdpom.org.

E-mail Meagan Boswell at mboswell@somdnews.com.