A newsletter for mothers and expectant mothers of multiples in the Syracuse area January/February 2007

Events CalendarJanuary1st: Happy New Year

3rd: 6:30pm,MMMDinnerMeetingat Dakota's(ourNEWlocation)

6th: 7pm,MMMHolidayPartyatDakota's

14th: 8pm,National Geographic's "Multiples in the Womb Special"

15th: 10am,Ticketsgoonsalefor"Amy's Slumber Party"

16th: 6pm,CrouseHospital'sMultiple Birth Class

17th: 6:30pm,Slim-DownWeigh-InatKelly's

19th: 12:30pm,MaryWood'sPlaygroup

26th: 6pm,Scrapbooking

february7th: 6:30pm,MMMDinnerMeetingat Dakota’sRestaurant

21st: 6:30-7:30pm,SlimDownWeigh-In atKelly’s

23rd: Amy’sSlumberParty,Doubletree CarrierCircle

MultitudesMultitudes

Just the FaCts

Stats from paid members only, as of January 2007.

• 9% twins born before 30 weeks

• 39% twins born between 30-35 weeks

• 48% twins born between 36-39 weeks

• 54% triplets born between 33-35 weeks

• 43% triplets born between 36-37 weeks

we asked our members:

“How many weeks gestation

were your multiples born?”

Now that your multiples are here, why are those extra pounds sticking around when they're no longer needed? Getting your body back after a multiple pregnancy may seem like the least of your worries in the midst of caring for your little ones. It may not be a concern until weeks, months or even years later, but eventually, most mothers have to contend with shedding the weight. It can be a huge source of frus-tration, especially for mothers of multiples, who often not only have more to lose, but are also coping with the challenges of raising twins or more.

Here are some things to consider:

Patience Pays Keep your expectations realistic. Pregnancy impacts women's bodies in numer-ous ways, and sometimes it never returns to it's original condition. Aim for overall health. You may find that even if the scale moves down, you won't fit into your old clothes. Your hips might be wider, your feet may be larger and it's possible that your stomach won't ever be flat. In the meantime, celebrate your body's changes. It's a small price to pay for the marvelous miracle of having multiples.

Diet DecisionsMake sound nutritional choices. Stock up on lean proteins, high fiber carbohydrates and fresh fruits and vegetables. Keep healthy snacks on hand so that your hunger doesn't get the best of you.

(continued on page 2)

Weight loss After BaBiEsLosingWeightAfterHavingTwins,TripletsorMoreby Pamela Prindle Fierro

B i r t h a n n o u n c e m e n t s : Look WHo'S Arrived

twins: shayla riley, 4 lbs. 10 oz. and Dean Gary iii, 5 lbs. 8 oz., were born on Monday, December 4th to Jaqueline and Dean Davison ii.

twins: nicholas James, 6 lbs. 3 oz. and michael Louis, 7 lbs. 7 oz. were born Tuesday, December 5th to Vicki and Paul sacco.

twins: ryan, 6 lbs. 12 oz. and christopher, 6 lbs. 3 oz. were born on Tuesday, December 12th to regina and Kevin williams.

triPLets: madison Grace, 3 lbs. 3 oz., connor thomas, 3 lbs. 13 oz. and mckenzie 2 lbs. 12 oz. were born on Sunday, January 14th to Beth and Brian romocki.

copyright 2006 baby-gaga.com

"I haven't been able to touch my feet for three months!"

Multiple Moms-To-Be:Gina mcmahon expecting twin boys, February 2007—It's getting close...hang in there Gina!

alexia conrad expecting triplets, June 2007!

PresiDentKelly Carter jcarte9@twcny.rr.com(315) 492-8453

Vice PresiDentChristine Coomes recorDinG secretaryLori McIntyre

corresPonDinG secretary Elva Greene

treasurer Penny Meskos

Executive Board

LiBrarianSharon Bush

memBershiPMary Wood

newsLetterDonna ReficiCheryn Powell

PLayGrouPMonica Fenu

Committees

January/February 2007, Multitudes 2

BeDrest suPPortKathy AbbottLeslie PettyLindsey Stoppacher

BiG sisters suPPortChristine CoomesMonica FenuLori McIntyreDonna ReficiKimberly SortsLindsey StoppacherMary Wood

DiaBetes suPPortAmy Morehouse

Lactation suPPortLindsey StoppacherMary Wood

nicu suPPortDeirdre ComfortLiz FormozaLeslie Petty

support systems

Membersareentitledto:

• Attend all meetings, events, playgroups and functions

• A membership directory

• Full access to our online support group

• Borrow books and materials from the club’s library

• Voting privileges

• Sell and trade clothing and equipment

• Receive Multitudes, newsletter

• A "Big Sister" for new and expectant moms

Membership is $20 for March 2007 —March 2008

(continued from front page)

be Water WiseDrinking sufficient water is vital for weight loss, as hydration encourages the body to flush fat stores. Drinking water throughout the day can be a challenge for moms of mul-tiples, who don't have an extra moment to breathe, much less drink! Try to always keep a glass or water bottle handy.

exerciseMonitoring your diet, drinking water and being patient are important. But the key to any successful weight reduction is exercise. Even if you had a regular routine before babies, it may be difficult to establish an exercise habit after they're born. Time constraints, child care concerns, and an overall lack of energy may defeat your desire to make exercise a high priority. Walking is one of the cheapest, most convenient and most ef-fective forms of exercise. Put your babies in a stroller and head outside if the weather is nice, or inside to a mall or shopping center if it's not. Find a walking partner to keep you motivated. Encourage your spouse to join you; it's a great opportunity for communica-tion and togetherness. If you can't get out of the house, check out the numerous home exercise options. You can spend a little (video exercise routine) or a lot (treadmill) and fit in a workout while the babies nap. If you have reliable child care, attend an exercise class or join a gym. The benefits or regular exercise are numerous, it's the best thing you can do for your body and thus your babies.

Slim DoWn for sprinG

Slim Down For Spring is a 9 week program for Multiple Moms Mingle members. Each participant paid $25 at the initial weigh-in. Participants pay $1 for each pound gained. The member who has lost the most weight (percentage wise) will be awarded 50% of the prize money. The member who comes in 2nd place for weight loss will receive 20% and the 3rd place winner gets 10% of the prize money. Finally, 20% of the money collected will go to the club.

Pay to weiGh Dates (6:30pm):

• January 3rd, MMM meeting at Dakota's, initial weigh-in• January 17th at Kelly’s house (lastnamesA-F,bringahealthysnack)• february 7th, MMM meeting at Dakota's• february 21st at Kelly’s house (lastnamesG-Z,bringahealthysnack)• March 7th, MMM meeting at Dakota's, final weigh-in & prizes awarded!

We have 10 moms participating offically...kelly Carter, deidre Comfort, Monica Fenu, Mary Martin, Suzanne Calkins, Cynthia rizzo, Tracie Griffin, Melanie doctor, Liz Formoza and Leslie Petty! Many more multiples moms are working on it, on their own. Here are some strategies that may help you succeed.

• Weigh yourself every day • turn off the television and MoVe! • contact a friend for support • Keep a journal of your excercise and food intake • Drink 8 glasses of water per day

BeST oF LuCk To everYoNe! M

hElp wantEd for the following committees:

• clothing and equipment sales

• Fundraising

• historian

• national representative

• nominating

• Programs

• state representative

• summer Family Picnic

If you would like to join or chair one of the committees listed above, just let Kelly know.

"A vegetarian diet is very good for stress. If you crunch raw vegatables loud enough, you can't hear your kids quarrel at dinner!"

3 Multitudes, January/February 2007

Committee information

BEEn thErE, done that!

Need Support or Advice From SomeoNe who’S BeeN there?

on Bedrest? 50% of us have been there

Nursing and/or pumping for multiples? 80% of us have been there

dealing with diabetes? 24% of us have been there

have a baby or babies in the Nicu? 64% of us have been there

Forsupport&advicefromMultipleMomswhohavebeenthere:visitmultiplemomsmingle.comorcontactlindsey at 449-3243or

deidre at 676-7995,theywillhookyouupwithabuddy!

Happy BirtHday to you...DeceMber10th: Harper stoppacher's 4th birthday! 13th: emma and Gretchen stoppacher's 1st birthday! collin & alexandra abbott's 3rd birthday! 15th: Katie coomes's 4th birthday!

January4th: nicole, Joanna & Michael Mesko's 2nd birthday!

15th: alexis & Jessica Price’s 2nd birthday!

february5th: Kate & clair Hayes’ 1st birthday!9th: Joshua & Heather sorts’ 1st birthday!11th: ella & evie formoza’s 1st birthday!21st: claire & Lauren Petty’s 1st birthday!

Kids —

DeceMber 30th: Leslie Petty's birthday!January 2nd: Liz formoza's birthday!february 1st: cathy Keating’s birthday!

Moms —

Welcome new MoMs to multiple moms mingle...• Suzanne Calkins

• Alexia Conrad

• Cynthia Kiggins Rizzo

• Meghan Leonardis

• Mary Martin

• Cheryn Powell

• Vicki Sacco

• Regina Williams

• Your Name Here! (38

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aDuLt hoLiDay Party: Penny meskos & Lori mcintyre Hooligans ownership was changed and we had to change our location. Thanks to Kelly for finding an alternate location at Dakota's Restaurant. The party was on Saturday, January 6th at 7pm. Favorite Things baskets were up for raffle. What a great time every-one had! Thanks for all the hard work ladies!

BiG sisters: christine coomes, monica Fenu, Lori mcintyre, Donna refici, Kimberly sorts, Lindsey stoppacher & mary wood Each "big sister" gave a report of how their "sisters" are doing. Our intent is to reach out to new moms for the first few months after giving birth. So far all Moms are doing well and we hope that this will prove to be helpful to our new moms of multiples. christmas FamiLy: Kelly carterOur Christmas family was appreciative of our generous gifts. Thanks to all of the Moms that so kindly donated gifts to our family.

exPectant mom / new mom suPPort: Lindsey stoppacher & Deidre comfort Thank you to all of the Moms that have agreed to help with supporting expectant/new moms in the group. We will contact you as the need arises. If you are interested contact Deidre or Lindsey.

LiBrarian: sharon BushContinue to donate books or videos to our collection. Contact Sharon if you are inter-ested in checking out a book or video. We have many things to choose from that may be helpful to you.

memBershiP: mary woodContinue to send Mary pictures of your kids or family if you'd like one included in the directory. Mary has also created an easier, new website address that will direct us to the yahoo site. It is: www.multiplemomsmingle.com

PLayGrouP: monica FenuPlaygroups are being formed for the new year. Please contact Monica if you'd like to schedule a play date at your home. You may choose the day and time. It can be either a weekday or weekend. This is a great chance for Moms to Mingle and for the kids to play.

January/February 2007, Multitudes 4

Multitudes, Multiple Moms Mingle newsletter, happily accepts suggestions, tips, articles and information for pub-lication from members...although we do hold editorial rights. ;) We did our best to get all the information correct and up-to-date. if you notice something that is incorrect or was left out, please let us know.

Please submit information and materials to donna refici or Cheryn Powell by the 10th of the month prior to publication. thank you.

Less shopping. Less chopping. Less clean-up. You’ll love it! Imagine home-cooked meals for your family without the stress of menu planning, food shopping, or the chopping and slicing of ingredients. And no cleanup! At Make and Take Gourmet you can come in and prepare enough meals for the month in under two hours…and have fun doing it! Every month we create a menu of 16 entrées to choose from. All you need to do is sign-up for an in-store session or call us to have your meals made for you. We make it easy to spend more time with your family and spend less time in the kitchen and less money on groceries!

HelpsupportMultiple Moms Mingle—registerforasession!

enter "Multiple Moms" in the "notes" box when you register for your sessions online, www.makeandtakegourmet.com. or mention "Multiple Moms" when registering by phone, 315-701-0472.

AnnounceMents evie Formoza (Liz's daughter) is re-scheduled for her craniostenosis surgery on January 29th at strong Memorial Hospital in rochester. Please keep evie and the formoza family in your thoughts and prayers. contact Kelly if you'd like to help by making a meal for them during this time.

clothing And equipMent sAlethanks to those Moms that searched sites for us. We will keep you posted about the exact location/date. Kelly hopes to check out some possibilities soon. if you are interested in being a member of this committee please let Kelly know.

club FundrAiser Favorite things Gift Basket raffle: thank you to everyone who brought a favorite thing or two to the January meeting. our fabulous gift baskets were raffled off at the holiday party. Lucky winners were: Cyndi,Melanie,Kelly,Becca,LoriandTracie.the club made $132 from this fundraiser.

nYs orgAnizAtions oF Mothers oF twins club conventionapril 26-29th, buffalo, ny: www.nysomotc.org some of us are interested in going for 1-2 nights! sounds like tons of fun!

preeMie closetWe will be collecting gently used preemie clothes at the february meeting. these clothes will be kept in plastic color coded (pink for girls, cream for neutral, blue for boys) bins and will be loaned to moms when their multiples are born.

slogAn contest—our club needs A slogAn!this on-going contest will continue until March 2nd. if you have a fun, unique idea for a club slogan that encom-passes our club values and what MMM stand's for then sendyourideastoChristineCoomes. submit as many ideas you may have. entries will be voted on at the March 2nd board meeting. the winning Mom will have her yearly dues waived. We have received a few fun ideas already...keep them coming in!

Multitudes Message Board

who’s that multiple mom? Fun Facts scramble

Our love and prayers to Evie and her family!

evie Formoza, 11 months old

"Out with the old...in with the new or gently used!"

1. Which member named her twin daughters after cities she and her husband visited while honeymooning in italy? _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

2. Which member got a huge surprise when the doctor delivered baby c before baby b—for a minute she thought she was having triplet boys? _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

3. Which member named her twins with the first initials a & b after their ultrasound pictures? _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

now unscramble this: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ !

answer: ____________________________ Havefun&goodluck!;0)

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