Almaden Resident
Community
Photograph by Vicki Thompson
Tunnel Vision: Almaden Valley mother Leila Wagener relaxes with her twins Brianna and Lauren at Greystone Park during a play date with the Gemini Crickets Parents of Multiples club.
Mothers have twice the love, double the support with playgroup for twins
By Sarah Holcomb
While most of the toddler twins that showed up for the Gemini Crickets playgroup at Greystone Park last week were fraternal rather than identical, they were easy to spot. Of course, the double strollers were a giveaway, but there was something special about the group.
As mother Leina Stowers pushed her two boys on the swings, Constance Kaltenbach arrived, apologizing for being late. It's hard getting out of the house on time with twin 2-year-olds.
As the mothers wandered the park, they actively watched their little ones, often asking one where the other twin had run off to on the playground. Oftentimes, one of the other mothers would answer. They watch out for each other because they know what it is like to care for not just one toddler but two. They have all turned to the Gemini Crickets Parents of Multiples club, a group for families with twins, triplets or other multiples.
The monthly playgroup is just one of the perks of Gemini Crickets. The club provides parents with an email group and monthly informative meetings to discuss issues related specifically to twins.
Almaden mother Leila Wagener joined the club just after her twin daughters Brianna and Lauren were born more than two years ago.
Wagener says the most valuable part of the club is receiving advice from other mothers who have gone through the same phases she is going through.
"Every time we have questions, we just send an email out and ask what others have tried," Wagener says. She asks questions about anything from napping to food.
Wagener and club member Leina Stowers, mother of 2-year-old twin boys, both say the first year with the twins is the hardest because the work involved in changing diapers and feeding is double.
"But it gets easier when they start to play together," Stowers says. "Sometimes it's easier than having two children of different ages because they nap together, you can throw them in the bath together, and they have the same schedule."
Stowers joined the club when she was six months pregnant with her boys, Will and Sam. She joined to get advice about the best equipment to buy and other ways to prepare for twins.
Constance Kaltenbach says the annual $35 fee is nothing compared to the amount of advice and support she gets just through the emails.
"Some people I know with twins said they didn't want to pay the fee, but they don't know what they're missing," she says.
Kaltenbach also says the contacts and friends she has made through the club are invaluable. Not only do her twins, Tim and Marisa, get to play with other twins their age, but she gets to spend time with other mothers who really understand what it's like to raise twins.
"If I have to take him to the potty, she doesn't want to come with me every time, so the group can watch her," Kaltenbach explains.
When the children are toddler-age, the club's social network becomes more valuable. The mothers can use the email list to organize group play dates at local parks.
All three mothers used the word "shocked" to describe how they felt when they learned they were having twins, but once the initial shock subsided, each was excited.
In Kaltenbach's case, she and her husband had been trying to get pregnant for a while, so she described her twins has a jackpot.
"It was the best thing that could have happened," she says. "I've never been so exhausted, but I've never been so happy in my life."
Wagener calls her girls " a blessing in disguise. I admire moms and realize the amount of work that goes into parenting," Wagener says.
On May 14, all three will celebrate Mother's Day--with double pleasure.
For more information about the Gemini Crickets Parents of Multiples club, call 408.536.0811.
