cover image Multiples Illuminated: A Collection of Stories and Advice from Parents of Twins, Triplets, and More

Multiples Illuminated: A Collection of Stories and Advice from Parents of Twins, Triplets, and More

Edited by Megan Woolsey and Alison Lee. Megan Woolsey and Alison Lee, $15.95 trade paper (210p) ISBN 978-0-9968335-0-9

According to Woolsey and Lee's introduction to this helpful guide, when Woolsey was pregnant with triplets, she found herself filled with questions that the usual parenting resources couldn't answer. Woolsey and Lee have compiled what they learned on their own as parents of multiples (in Lee's case, twins) alongside stories from other women in a collection arranged into chronological sections: trying to conceive, pregnancy, labor, post-pregnancy, and the first few years of parenting. Woolsey kicks off the discussion by opening up about her own difficulty with fertility treatments and giving readers practical tips on "surviving fertility." In the pregnancy section, Lee shares important best practices for health and safety. To prepare for labor, Woolsey lists what to pack for the hospital, and readers learn the importance of an "outplan." In the post-pregnancy section, Lee prepares readers for the possibility of ill or premature babies being placed in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), and the parenting section covers breastfeeding and handling stress. Each story is short and sweet, replete with helpful information and examples of the ways in which parents have coped, and will appeal primarily to women, since every story (with one exception) was contributed by a mother. (BookLife)