We are looking for up to 10 multiple birth parents to sign up to be part of our new buddy program. We are doing a three month trial to begin with to enable us to see how it will work and what will suit our members best. There are no restrictions on when you can sign up as a Multi Mentee - you may still be pregnant with your multiples or they maybe much older and about to start school. You would sign up to this program if you are looking to connect with another multiple birth parent who is ahead of you in their multiple birth journey. Please read the program overview, aims and rules below before signing up to this program. We have a set of questions for you so that we can match you up with a parent who is going through a similar experience as best we can. You only need to answer what you feel is important for your experience. Once you have filled in the questions, grab your free ticket to register as a Multi Mentee Thank you! Program Overview The MBSA Buddy Program is a volunteer program facilitated by the MBSA committee where MBSA members volunteer to be a point of contact for other parents of multiples who are facing a similar journey. The role of the more experienced mentor is to provide peer support through their lived experience to the other member. Multiple Birth SA’s aim talks about providing “a network of connections across South Australia to empower them to thrive”. This program is all about creating connections between members and helping to provide that network. Program Aim The program aims to: ● Connect multiple birth parents to allow them to provide peer support, and ● Enable those with older multiples to give back to the multi community. This is another way for members to connect. There are many members who may not feel comfortable reaching out on the members forum or otherwise unable to attend play groups or events and this may suit them better. Secondly, this program gives the mentor an opportunity to give back to the community at a one on one level. Not everyone will want or be able to volunteer for the committee or support roles but would love to personally support another member. Terminology We will use the following terms: ● Multi Mentor - for the more experienced member, ● Multi Mentee - for the member looking for support, and ● Buddy - to refer to both Multi Mentor and Multi Mentee. Rules Buddies are not to give medical or legal advice. All members should contact their general practitioner, maternal and child health nurse or paediatrician if they are concerned about any aspect of their child’s health or development. Respect your buddy’s privacy and do not share what they have told you unless you have explicitly asked for permission to do so. As this program is for peer support only it is not a requirement to hold a current Working With Children Check, be fully vaccinated or have a current First Aid Certificate, as visiting and babysitting are outside the scope of the program. You may meet up in person, but this is a personal decision between the buddies. Any issues must be raised with the MBSA committee. This may include things such as: Being concerned about your buddy and how they are coping with multi life, Lack of contact from your buddy,  No longer being able to participate in the program, or Not connecting with your buddy for whatever reason, The committee will then deal with the matter appropriately which may include providing the family with extra support or changing buddy matchings.

We are looking for up to 10 "experienced" multiple birth parents to sign up to be part of our new buddy program. We are doing a three month trial to begin with to enable us to see how it will work and what will suit our members best. To qualify as a Multi Mentor your (first set of) multiples must be at least 12 months old (actual age). Please read the program overview, aims and rules below before signing up to this program. We have a set of questions for you so that we can match you up with a parent who is going through a similar experience as best we can. You only need to answer what you feel is important for your experience. Once you have filled in the questions, grab your free ticket to register as a mentor. Thank you! Program Overview The MBSA Buddy Program is a volunteer program facilitated by the MBSA committee where MBSA members volunteer to be a point of contact for other parents of multiples who are facing a similar journey. The role of the more experienced mentor is to provide peer support through their lived experience to the other member. Multiple Birth SA’s aim talks about providing “a network of connections across South Australia to empower them to thrive”. This program is all about creating connections between members and helping to provide that network. Program Aim The program aims to: ● Connect multiple birth parents to allow them to provide peer support, and ● Enable those with older multiples to give back to the multi community. This is another way for members to connect. There are many members who may not feel comfortable reaching out on the members forum or otherwise unable to attend play groups or events and this may suit them better. Secondly, this program gives the mentor an opportunity to give back to the community at a one on one level. Not everyone will want or be able to volunteer for the committee or support roles but would love to personally support another member. Terminology We will use the following terms: ● Multi Mentor - for the more experienced member, ● Multi Mentee - for the member looking for support, and ● Buddy - to refer to both Multi Mentor and Multi Mentee. Rules Buddies are not to give medical or legal advice. All members should contact their general practitioner, maternal and child health nurse or paediatrician if they are concerned about any aspect of their child’s health or development. Respect your buddy’s privacy and do not share what they have told you unless you have explicitly asked for permission to do so. As this program is for peer support only it is not a requirement to hold a current Working With Children Check, be fully vaccinated or have a current First Aid Certificate, as visiting and babysitting are outside the scope of the program. You may meet up in person, but this is a personal decision between the buddy pair. Any issues must be raised with the MBSA committee. This may include things such as: Being concerned about your buddy and how they are coping with multi life, Lack of contact from your buddy,  No longer being able to participate in the program, or Not connecting with your buddy for whatever reason, The committee will then deal with the matter appropriately which may include providing the family with extra support or changing buddy matchings.

The festive season is nearly upon us! And to celebrate the year that has been we're throwing a party for all our multi-families :) Join us at Hendrie Street Reserve for a bit of Christmas cheer. There will be free coffee for the grown-ups, kids entertainment, soft play for the babies, face painting and of course a visit from our favourite man in the red suit. There will be sausage sizzle available for food purchase, or pack a picnic to enjoy on the grass. The reserve has an awesome inclusive Playground which has endless entertainment for kids of all ages. Come along and celebrate another year of surviving multiples! We can't wait to see you there.   

Deb has been the Multiple Birth Coordinator at the Women's & Children's Hospital since 2011 and during that time she has educated, advocated for and supported countless multiple birth families. This casual catch up is to give those in the multiple birth community a place to say thank you to this wonderful person! If Deb helped you in some way, no matter how long ago or if you are a current MBSA member or not, we'd love to see you. Dinner and drinks provided - therefore RSVPs are required by Monday October 17.

Who's up for a $15 Schnitty?! A few of us multi parents are meeting for dinner and drinks at The Goody on Monday 26 September at 7.00pm. We would love to meet other MBSA members, so this is an open invitation to join us. Hope to see you there!     

Roll up, roll up!  MBSA invites you to a night at the movies - featuring "Top Gun Maverick" and the somehow ageless Tom Cruise. Join us for a bit of fun served with a pizza dinner, all the while helping us to raise money for MBSA to host more fabulous events just for you! Ticket price includes pizza and entry to the movie, and is open to both members and non-members. The bar will also be open and 15% of bar sales will go to MBSA. So grab your crew and come down for fun night all in the name of a great cause. Pizza served at 6.30pm with the movie starting at 7.30pm. See you there!  

Notice is hereby given to all life, financial and associate members that the Multiple Birth SA Inc 2022 Annual General Meeting will be held on Wednesday April 6 2022 commencing at 7:30pm at The Cumby Hotel, 205 Waymouth Street, Adelaide. We'd love you to join us for our AGM to hear more about MBSA's achievements over the past 12 months and enjoy some free food & drinks! --------------------------- Every year, all of our committee positions become vacant at the AGM and amazing people from our membership step up and take on a role. These people are special in that they usually have families and full lives already but they understand our aims as an organisation and they want to help realise our goals of creating supportive connections and helping families in our local region. They step up because they know how valuable those supportive connections are and they want to offer that to new families and to continue fostering those connections for our current members. We'd love to have you join us, so have a look at the FAQ document that was emailed with the March Multi Bytes and then get in touch with the MBSA President (nae@multiplebirthsa.org.au) to find out more.

Join us for a little get together celebrating the joys of multiple births! There will be free coffee for the grown ups, a petting zoo for the kiddies, a play space for the littles plus more to be announced. Grab your picnic blanket, pack some snacks for the kids and come enjoy some fresh air and great company with other multi families. On street parking is available on Angas Street and entrance to the event is via Angas Street. Tickets are limited so be sure to get yours early. All adults, children and babies require a ticket for entry. We can't wait to see you there!

The festive season is nearly upon us! And to celebrate the year that has been we're throwing a party :) Pop the kids in the car and head over to Stockade Botanical Park to catch up with other multi-families and engage in a bit of Christmas cheer. You can pack a picnic or grab a sausage sizzle while you're there and let the kids explore. There'll be kids entertainment, sports and games, a bouncy castle, kids hairdressing and coffee for the grown ups. Plus of course a visit from Santa!  Unfortunately due to COVID-19 restrictions we are limited to 150 guests at a time. So to give the most amount of multi-families the opportunity to enjoy the activities, the event will be split into two sessions of two hours each: 10am - 12pm and 12.30pm - 2.30pm. Don't worry, Santa will be present at both! You can choose which time suits your family better so please take note of the times when securing your tickets.  Note that due to COVID-19 restrictions we have strict attendance limits that include children & babies, therefore you MUST purchase a separate ticket for every person attending, even if they are only newborns. We look forward to seeing you there!

Multiple Birth SA's multi-dads are invited to our next catch-up at Kartmania. The night will be a Grand Prix format consisting of qualifying, race and final with a trophy for the winner. The cost is usually $75 per driver however MBSA are kindly subsidising a portion so out of pocket cost per driver is only $25. Numbers are limited so get in early and payment will need to be made two weeks prior to the event (7/10/21). Buy your ticket now to reserve your place. As this is a MBSA subsidised event it will be current members only. Should be a fun night and we could follow up for a debrief of the night at the Coopers Alehouse afterwards.