PUTTING TWO AND TWO TOGETHER: Twins Leo and Heath Vaughn (front) with their mother Maree and her second set of twins Lewis and Brooke (left back), Rebecca Wignall with James and Hannah (back), Rachel Calder with Abby and Ava (front), Naomi Elliott with twins Kate and Mikaili and daughter Brianna (back), Jen Cooke with twins Ezra and Micah and daughter Willow, Suz Fuller with twins Angus and Isaac and Ashleigh McArdle with Lachlan and Harrison.Photo: STEVE GOSCH0228sgtwins1
PREGNANT with twins, Rebecca Wignall and her husband Leigh moved to Orange from a remote mining town in Queensland to be closer to family and access all the facilities a big city had to offer.
Much to her shock, Mrs Wignall learned Orange didn’t have a support group to help parents with multiples cope with the daily stresses and joys of having more than one baby at a time.
“Having three kids under two is quite daunting,” Mrs Wignall said.
“I was so disappointed to find there was no multiples group in Orange ... I was told Orange was the twin capital of Australia.”
Mrs Wignall said she decided to form a support group for parents of multiplies in an effort to “make new friends with people that understood what I was going through”.
“Whenever we are out and about there is always someone staring or commenting on my twins, most don’t know how I do it,” she said.
“But that’s the beauty of being a twin mum, you do what you have to do and you learn to juggle and be super organised.”
Mrs Wignall said she’s had a good response to a Facebook page she started to gauge interest in forming the group, and is now looking for a venue to hold regular meetings.
The group’s looking for somewhere warm and secure with toy storage space and an area for children to play.
While the group will provide a social outlet for both parents and children, it will also serve as a place for people to seek advice and support.
“There are many challenges faced with twins,” Mrs Wignall said.
Mrs Wignall said these challenges include difficulties during pregnancies, having to buy two or more of everything, premature births, finding twin friendly activities and working out feeding and sleeping routines.
Ashleigh McArdle, who’s mum to twins Lachlan and Harrison, agrees a support group for multiplies is long overdue.
“There are risks with [multiple] pregnancies so it would help to talk to ladies who have had twins and know what to expect.”
Jen Cooke, mum to twins Ezra and Micah, said there are enough twins in Orange to warrant opening a multiple birth group.
“It would be really nice if there was a way to share other people’s wisdom.”
Mrs Wignall’s Facebook page is Mums of Multiples in Orange.tracey.prisk@
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