Last updated on September 30th, 2021 at 10:18 am
Today we at Twiniversity want to introduce the new MAM Super MoM Donna Wiedmann.
Donna’s friend Amanda nominated her for Super MoM and says, “I met Donna towards the end of my twins NICU stay. My son was still in the NICU but was getting close to heading home. Donna’s daughter was in the crib right next to my son. We struck up a conversation and soon found out how much we had in common, starting with our twins being born on the same day and riding the NICU roller coaster on opposite ends of the NICU. We continued to keep in touch after we all went home and become great friends, helping each other when we needed it most.”
Donna is mother to 6-year-old Aubrey and two-year-old twins Delaney and Kayleigh. Her twins are MonoChorionic/MonoAmniotic (MoMo) twins, which is complicated and can be very scary. MoMo twins happen in 1% of twin pregnancies where the embryo splits around 8-13 days within fertilization and they share a placenta AND an amniotic sac with no separating membrane. The doctor told her she would go on hospital bed rest at 24 weeks (and she did, with much difficulty to leave her older daughter at home). With constant monitoring, the goal was to keep them cooking until they reached 32 weeks. But complications arose (preeclampsia and HELLP syndrome) and the twins were born via emergency c-section at 27 weeks. Then started her 5 month roller coaster ride in the NICU… where her babies would beat the odds as little miracle babies, and Donna would meet her new friend Amanda.
Amanda says, “The quality that makes Donna stand out the most for me is her active role in the MoMo support community and online preemie support groups. Donna is there for the other families of twins who are in their darkest times. Donna has been showing these parents the support and guidance they need during these difficult times and she does this as a volunteer.”
Donna shares her motivation for such giving: “I believe that we are given these life experiences to share them, to use our new knowledge to help others who may be going through a similar situation — not to hole them up and forget them. It’s not easy though! I recently had to take a small break from one of the groups I was involved in. We were experiencing a lot of deaths of one or both MoMo twins. Some were early in the pregnancy, but many were later (27+ weeks, the week my babies were born) and it just broke me. Thankfully, I am in a better place right now and I’m back to all my groups again. There’s something so neat about not knowing the majority of these moms but we are all connected, whether it be because we have MoMo’s or we just have preemie twins. There are so many moms asking questions, looking for advice, and looking for peace of mind, and it’s nice to be able to be there for them with our success story.
Donna became a stay-at-home mom when the company she worked at for 12 years asked for her resignation due to all the time she needed to take off for her pregnancy, delivery, recovery, and NICU stay. To keep her from going stir crazy, she decided to try her hand at making hair clips. She discovered she had a knack for it and quickly turned it into a business. It all started with these lady bug hair clips. (Aren’t they so cute?!) She has also started making maternity sashes too. You can visit her at ADK Creations.
