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FREMONT, Ohio /
The Fremont News-Messenger / June 24, 2009
Moms of multiples night out
By Kristina Smith Horn • Watchdog/enterprise reporter
PORT CLINTON -- Lucille Zunk remembers the December day more than 50 years ago when her twins disappeared into the woods outside their Oak Harbor home.
Heather Dewitz with her son Matthew, 7 (center), and 5-year-old twins Nicholas (left) and Noah (right). (Jonathon Bird | News-Messenger).
Dennis and Deborah pulled their little red wagon into the trees without telling anyone their plans.
A while later, they returned with a live pine tree they had cut down themselves for the family Christmas tree.
"That was so special," said Zunk, 77, of Oak Harbor. "I'll always remember decorating a tree they cut themselves."
To Zunk, the fraternal twins idea to choose a Christmas tree was one of those moments twins share just between themselves.
And it was a story she told other local mothers at the Port Clinton Mothers of Twins Club. For 57 years, local mothers of twins, triplets and quadruplets have gathered monthly to talk about the challenges and joys of raising multiple-birth children while having a moms night out.
"We have enjoyed each other very much," said member Ruth Finke, 91, of Port Clinton. "Our goal, more or less, is to encourage and inform mothers of multiple births."
Today, the club has about 18 members, and they range in age from young moms with small twins to senior citizens, Finke said. Members come from all over the Port Clinton area with moms as far away as Elmore and Pemberville.
Ruth Finke (left), now 91, stands between her fraternal twin sons, Donald Lee (far left), of Port Clinton, and Ronald Lee, of Huron, in this undated photo.
Finke's 65-year-old fraternal twins, Don Finke of Port Clinton and Ron Finke of Huron, are the oldest twins of mothers in the group.
Multiple-birth babies have become much more common than when Finke and Zunk had their twins, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
Today, women are having babies in their 30s, and more of them are taking fertility drugs, according to the library. Both factors make having multiple babies more likely, according to the library.
From 1980 to 1997, the number of twin births rose 52 percent, according to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. There were 137,085 twin births in the United States in 2006, according to the CDC.
And with those multiple births come challenges. It's easy to feel overwhelmed with more than one infant, some of the club mothers said.
"The disadvantage is you don't have enough hands," Finke said. "When they're small, and both are crying at the same time, it gets a little mind boggling."
Moms also wonder whether some twin behavior is normal, she said. Sometimes twins are very dependent on each other or have their own language.
With identical twins, sometimes mothers have trouble telling them apart.
"I've known people who've left hospital bracelets on until they find an identifying mark to tell them apart," Finke said. "A few (twins) have played a few tricks on teachers and boyfriends."
At the club meetings, the moms learn these things are all common among multiple births, the mothers said. They would also pass clothes and double-strollers on to new moms in need of the items, Zunk said.
"You know you're not alone," said member Heather Dewitz, 37, of Oak Harbor. "They're experiencing it, too. It's been nice to have that friendship."
Twins garner a lot of attention, she said. As her 5-year-old identical twins, Nicholas and Noah, get older, she feels it's important to help them develop their own interests and personalities.
"You don't want to treat them as one group," she said. "They're bringing their own individual traits to the table, so they're not viewed as the ornery one, and one's the funny one."
Like the other mothers in the club, Dewitz wants to make sure her eldest son, 7-year-old Matthew, doesn't feel left out.
This is an area where the club can help, said Finke, who has two other children in addition to her twins. Moms often bring all their children to events and the annual Christmas party, so all of them play together.
"Once, I asked the other kids if they resented the twins club," Finke said. "They said no because they always got to come along to the twins club, too."
Dewitz said the other moms have helped her learn patience and to let the small things go.
"You're not going to be able to do it all, and that's fine," she said. "There's never a dull moment, that's for sure. It's a lot of work, but it's an awful lot of fun." [
rc]
Copyright ©2009 The News-Messenger
Heather Dewitz with her son Matthew, 7 (center), and 5-year-old twins Nicholas (left) and Noah (right). (Jonathon Bird | News-Messenger).
Dennis and Deborah pulled their little red wagon into the trees without telling anyone their plans.
A while later, they returned with a live pine tree they had cut down themselves for the family Christmas tree.
"That was so special," said Zunk, 77, of Oak Harbor. "I'll always remember decorating a tree they cut themselves."
To Zunk, the fraternal twins idea to choose a Christmas tree was one of those moments twins share just between themselves.
And it was a story she told other local mothers at the Port Clinton Mothers of Twins Club. For 57 years, local mothers of twins, triplets and quadruplets have gathered monthly to talk about the challenges and joys of raising multiple-birth children while having a moms night out.
"We have enjoyed each other very much," said member Ruth Finke, 91, of Port Clinton. "Our goal, more or less, is to encourage and inform mothers of multiple births."
Today, the club has about 18 members, and they range in age from young moms with small twins to senior citizens, Finke said. Members come from all over the Port Clinton area with moms as far away as Elmore and Pemberville.
Ruth Finke (left), now 91, stands between her fraternal twin sons, Donald Lee (far left), of Port Clinton, and Ronald Lee, of Huron, in this undated photo.
Finke's 65-year-old fraternal twins, Don Finke of Port Clinton and Ron Finke of Huron, are the oldest twins of mothers in the group.
Multiple-birth babies have become much more common than when Finke and Zunk had their twins, according to the U.S. National Library of Medicine.
Today, women are having babies in their 30s, and more of them are taking fertility drugs, according to the library. Both factors make having multiple babies more likely, according to the library.
From 1980 to 1997, the number of twin births rose 52 percent, according to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. There were 137,085 twin births in the United States in 2006, according to the CDC.
And with those multiple births come challenges. It's easy to feel overwhelmed with more than one infant, some of the club mothers said.
"The disadvantage is you don't have enough hands," Finke said. "When they're small, and both are crying at the same time, it gets a little mind boggling."
Moms also wonder whether some twin behavior is normal, she said. Sometimes twins are very dependent on each other or have their own language.
With identical twins, sometimes mothers have trouble telling them apart.
"I've known people who've left hospital bracelets on until they find an identifying mark to tell them apart," Finke said. "A few (twins) have played a few tricks on teachers and boyfriends."
At the club meetings, the moms learn these things are all common among multiple births, the mothers said. They would also pass clothes and double-strollers on to new moms in need of the items, Zunk said.
"You know you're not alone," said member Heather Dewitz, 37, of Oak Harbor. "They're experiencing it, too. It's been nice to have that friendship."
Twins garner a lot of attention, she said. As her 5-year-old identical twins, Nicholas and Noah, get older, she feels it's important to help them develop their own interests and personalities.
"You don't want to treat them as one group," she said. "They're bringing their own individual traits to the table, so they're not viewed as the ornery one, and one's the funny one."
Like the other mothers in the club, Dewitz wants to make sure her eldest son, 7-year-old Matthew, doesn't feel left out.
This is an area where the club can help, said Finke, who has two other children in addition to her twins. Moms often bring all their children to events and the annual Christmas party, so all of them play together.
"Once, I asked the other kids if they resented the twins club," Finke said. "They said no because they always got to come along to the twins club, too."
Dewitz said the other moms have helped her learn patience and to let the small things go.
"You're not going to be able to do it all, and that's fine," she said. "There's never a dull moment, that's for sure. It's a lot of work, but it's an awful lot of fun." [rc]
Copyright ©2009 The News-Messenger
