Things I Love Thursday: Mother of Multiples Groups

Every week I participate in Things I Love Thursday over at The Diaper Dairies. This week, I decided to go with my Mother of Multiples Group because it really has been an excellent resource for me while on this journey of parenting twins. To anyone who also has twins, look into it, you won't be sorry.

If you're searching for a group in your area, this should be your first stop. The National Organization of Mothers of Twins Clubs. And don't let the name fool ya, they are extremely relevant and appropriate for families with triplets or more. They have a zip code search over on the right to search for a club in your area. If you don't find one in your area, that doesn't necessarily mean that such a club doesn't exist near you. There are many clubs around that choose not to join the NOMTC, but since so many are this is still the best first stop for finding a chapter near you.

If you can't find a group through NOMTC I would suggest checking out MeetUp.com. Although there isn't a MeetUp group in my area for Multiples, my guess is that there certainly is in other parts of the country. I have found several Mom & Me type groups through MeetUp and it has been an EXCELLENT way for me to meet other local moms and get out of the house to fun activities with my kids.

If that doesn't work, then simply google "Moms of multiples your city and state". You're sure to find something!

If you live in the greater Portland Metro area, there are 2 Moms of Multiples clubs. The largest is not a member of NOMTC, and they hold most of their meetings over on the west side. It's called Full House MOM's or FHM for short. I joined FHM while I was expecting, and they were extremely helpful! They have 2 very large resale events a year. Each family (usually around 50-70) has a booth full of baby stuff. You wouldn't believe the great things I scored at that sale! Plus they also have a library, a preemie closet, they deliver meals to new mothers, and mom & me events. Great club! Great ladies! Totally worth the $35 annual membership fee.

PS: FHM's Spring Resale Event is coming up soon! It's March 14th, and although members get to enter at 8am, it's open to the public starting at 9am! So if you're expecting ANY number of babies you absolutely don't want to miss it! Check their web site for details!

The other club in our area is Columbia Mother of Twins Club. They are members of the NOMTC, and therefore are able to participate in regional and national conferences. In fact, they are hosting the Portland 2011 conference, and are already making preparations for that event. Columbia MOTC is located in Vancouver, WA up in the Salmon Creek area, but they serve all of Clark County. This group has been around for 50+ years and many of the founding members still attend the meetings. This gives the meetings such an awesome multi-generational feel, and it's great to be around other moms that have gone through it all before. They have monthly meetings (for moms only), which usually involve some sort of activity or guest speaker. This group is highly organized, and you can expect a lot of planning going on at each meeting. They offer mom & me events as well as mom's (and dad's) nights out. Their annual membership fee is $20 (I think!).

As a mom of twins, these groups have been extremely helpful to me. There are a couple message boards on the 'net dedicated to mom's of twins or more, but I truly think there is value in face to face interaction, and there's just something that I get out of monthly meetings that I can't get online. And it's SO important to talk to other mom's who have multiples, because frankly, so many singleton moms just don't 'get it'. It's not their fault, they just don't fully understand the way a mom of twins (or more!) can. I can't even begin to tell you how helpful it is to be around other mom's who DO get it!