When Chris Quinn of Carol Stream found out she was pregnant four years ago, she was thrilled.
But when two babies showed up on the ultrasound, the anxiety set in.
“It was quite a shock,” Quinn said.
The mother of two children already, her joy about the pregnancy was mixed with a little terror.
“I freaked out, thinking I don’t even know how to handle twins,” Quinn said. “Having (babies) one at a time is much different than having two at the same time.”
She sought support through the Double Blessings Mothers of Twins Club, a nonprofit organization formed to support and assist parents of twins, triplets and other multiples. Monthly meetings consist of social, educational and business topics. Other special activities, which include mom-and-tot outings, moms’ night out and holiday parties, are scheduled on a regular basis.
| Get involved Double Blessings Mothers of Twins Club serves many of Chicago’s western suburbs including Wheaton, Winfield, West Chicago, Glen Ellyn, Carol Stream, Bloomingdale, Lombard, Glendale Heights, Warrenville, Bartlett, Hanover Park, Roselle and Naperville. For information, visit www.doubleblessingsmotc.com. |
“The club has been such a great support for me,” Quinn said. “Besides giving me so much great advice on what to expect, I’ve made some great lifelong friends.”
Double Blessings is affiliated with both the Illinois Organization of Mothers of Twins Club and the National Organization of Mothers of Twins Club. There are currently about 125 members from all over DuPage County.
Because fellow Double Blessings club member Nichole Palumbo had undergone fertility treatments, finding out she was pregnant with twins was not a total shock.
“We knew it was a possibility early on,” the Carol Stream resident said.
But though it meant double the joy, it also meant double the work.
“The first year is really tough, just because infants are so needy,” Palumbo said.
She joined a moms group early on, but found it hard to relate to the mothers who were struggling trying to adjust to life with one newborn infant.
“I was left feeling like, ‘Do you know how much I could do with only one baby?,’” Palumbo said.
She joined the Double Blessings club when her twin boys, Tommy and Joey, were about 15 months old.
Initially, it was to take advantage of the organization’s twice yearly children’s clothing and equipment resale. Proceeds from the sales benefit different children’s charities and organizations.
But after going to a few meetings, Palumbo was hooked.
“They’re a phenomenal group of women,” she said. “More than anything else, it’s the moral support and knowing somebody is going through the same issues.”
Today, she is a state and national representative for the Double Blessings Mothers of Twins Club.
Jen Johnson of Lombard got involved after a friend told her about the group when she was pregnant with her twins in 2004.
“I had no idea how to take care of a baby, let alone twins,” Johnson said. “Little did I know that it would enhance every part of my life.”
She encourages mothers of multiples to get involved with Double Blessings.
“This club is an amazing group of women,” she said. “The most important benefit is connecting with other moms who have already raised multiples, or to meet a mom that has multiples that are near the same age as yours.”
