This past weekend, I spent three days in Windsor at the Multiple Births Canada conference. This was my third conference. They all rock. This one really, really rocked. It had the education component, the making connections component, and,….wait for it,….the FUN component!
It was so much fun. During Friday night’s dinner the hosts, Windsor-Essex Pomba, hired actors to enact a murder mystery. They were soooo funny, that most of us were laughing so hard, for hours, that we were crying! I really can’t describe it but, honestly, I haven’t laughed like that in ages. The actors were so good they managed to include everyone in the audience, it was very interactive.
Later that night, “Hospitality Christine”, had all of us in hysterics in the hospitality lounge. It had nothing to do with the Jello shooters, honest. She had us playing the funniest games. “You Have a Minute, To Win It!”. The contestants (including me) had to perform party tricks within a minute time limit. My task was to bounce ping pong balls into a plastic cup, and then stack another cup on top and bounce another ball into it, again, and again, until I got to eight cups. I didn’t win it! Because it was hard. The cups were toppling over, unbalanced. It was fun.
What else did I do? I went to workshops and sessions about supporting breastfeeding moms, handling stress, finding balance, supporting healthy multiple pregnancies, laughter yoga (a big fave of mine), CPR, a Pink & Black Dinner Gala, I could go on and on.
Connecting with other parents of twins and more is so important to me. And, I think it’s important to many other parents of multiples. No one else really knows what it’s like to be pregnant with multiples. What it’s like to know the risks and stay hopeful. What it’s like to have on baby in the NICU while the other is not. Or to have all of them in the NICU. How to deal with sibling rivalry between twins, triplets or more. What it’s like to breastfeed multiples. What the sleep deprivation is like, how to survive it.
It’s just nice to be with people who understand. People who want to advocate for multiple families. People who are fabulous and want to do Jello shooters with you.
If you have multiples, or expecting them, you’ll find fantastic support in your local chapter and in Multiple Birth Canada.
Erin!! was so awesome meeting you…your smile lit up the weekend! It certainly is important for mothers of multiples to stay connected, to support one another in our journeys into motherhood. My most cherished memory of this weekend is sharing laughter yoga with you!
Awesome summary Erin! It was really great to meet up with you again. I’d do jello shooters with you anytime. 🙂
So great Erin!
Sounds like a very interesting and FUN time, Erin! YAY!!