FEATURES

HOM School Placement

A mom of quintuplets outlines what she finds during her quest for research on school placement of higher-order multiple birth children. She offers a balanced list of both pros and cons for separation and together placement options, and encourages parents to view their situation and children's needs individually.

A Moving Experience

A triplet family takes MOST members through the entire moving process covering everything from buying and selling a house, to checking-out new schools, preparing for moving day, and the best way to assimilate into the new location. This story is a wonderful resource for any HOM family planning a move.

RSV Season is Here!

MOST and PreemieCare provide a list of frequently asked questions (FAQs) on Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) to help parents of preemies understand the dangers of the virus and what preventative measures and treatments are available. (Update: This article is now available for free on PreemieCare's RSV FAQ web page.)

Resources for RSV:

PreemieCare
MedImmune

GRANDPARENTS PEARLS

The grandparents of 7 grandchildren, including quadruplets, write to MOST about their experience having HOMs in the family. From sharing pictures with co-workers to overnight stays, they say they love every minute!

FATHERS FORUM

Wrestling with Triplets

A father of triplets, including a daughter with a significant handicap, relays his thoughts, feelings, hopes, and dreams about his children and their futures. Battling through the challenges and his fears of caring for three children, especially one with special needs, he also finds joy in just being a father.

Cooking Tips and School Snack and Lunches Made Interesting

Get out your aprons, cookbooks, and measuring cups ready. MOST families have put together a list of tips on cooking with children of any age. One family also shares their discovery of a unique product to add a little love to every school lunchbox.

Resources for School Lunches:

Little Love Letters

Meet my Friend Tabitha. She Has Quadruplet Sisters!

Meet one of MOST's HOM Sibling Scholarship winners. During her freshman year at college studying music, Tabitha learns that she would soon be the big sister to quadruplets, and in the process, finds a new strength within herself.

Finding Time for Yourself

Parents of large families everywhere will want to read how one mom of 6, including triplets, makes time for herself by setting limits, carpooling, getting organized, using efficient cleaning methods, and just saying 'No.'

Resources for Organizing Large Families:

Taming the Paper Tiger
The Clean Team

A mom of triplet girls takes us on her journey from pregnancy through her daughters' year in Kindergarten. This family's challenges begin with a prenatal diagnosis of hydrocephalus in one of the triplets, and continues through the NICU, surgery, therapy, Early Intervention, potty training and beyond. This article is a touching story of how one family perseveres for the sake of their "3 Little Angels."

The Birthday Dance

A mom of triplets and an older daughter writes about a private moment she shared with her smallest triplet when she wakes up early on her first birthday. Reflecting on the events of the prior year, mom hopes for many future birthday dances with her children.

When I Thought my World was Ending...Three Little Lives began

Facing a long hospitalization, one mom offers her strategy and insight on coping with the frustration, panic, and at times loneliness that comes with bedrest. Missing her two-year daughter and constantly in fear her pregnancy would end too soon, she shares her miracle outcome after a difficult battle with preterm labor.

A Parents' Nightmare

In the middle of moving, her triplet son gets sick. After many tests and an ambulance ride to a children's hospital, he is diagnosed with a rare condition known as Henoch-Schonlein Purpura (HSP disease). This MOST mom recounts the setbacks, fears, and what the future may hold for her son, but also how her family not only survives the crisis, but grows stronger from the experience.

Resources for HSP Disease:

Henoch-Schonlein Purpura (HSP) or Anaphylactoid Purpura

Toddler Times

A mom of 2 year-old quadruplets and two teenagers offers 20 tips on making life easier with higher-order multiples covering bedtime routines, useful products, favorite movies, finding babysitters, temper tantrums and more. She even offers a short list of 9 ways to help an expectant mother of multiples.

Kindergarten is Coming!!!

After two years of preschool experience, one mom of 3 adult children and 5 year-old quadruplet boys, including a set of identical brothers, takes on the challenge of Kindergarten placement. Looking forward to the milestones ahead, she wonders where the time has gone.

How to Help Your Child Learn to Read

Jennifer Brout, Ph.D. and mother of triplets, walks parents through the process of learning to read and the differences between decoding words to recognize them, and comprehending words to understand their meaning. The article discusses sight words, creative spelling, the alphabetic strategy, orthographic systems, and phonemic awareness.

My Experience with Postpartum Anxiety

After the birth of her triplets at only 28 weeks gestation due to pre-eclampsia, one mom braves the NICU experience for 8 weeks only to unravel emotionally when they are transferred to the step-down unit. The idea of caring for three sick infants overwhelms her, and her emotional exhaustion and fear of failing eventually led to a diagnosis of postpartum anxiety. In this story, she explains to other mothers of premature multiples who may experience similar emotions and symptoms how she was able to recover.

The Wide Range of 'Normal' Postpartum Adjustment

Diane Sanford, PhD, explains the wide range of emotions experienced by women following the birth of a child ranging from the 'baby blues' to postpartum psychosis, and offers the best approach for women who may be experiencing postpartum symptoms.

Resources for Postpartum Disorders:

SUPERTWINS articles on PPD and other Women's Topics
Statistics from the MOST PPD Survey

One MOST members shares another triplet family's story as she helps them through their high-risk pregnancy, joyful delivery, and painful sorrow following the father's death only 18 months after his daughter's birth.

Updated 05/9/08