6-27-2018 11:43pm

Eight Is Enough As Quadruplets Reunite at Graduation

Saline resident Susie Treber, and longtime friend Christine Doyle, have much in common, as both are mothers of quadruplets.

The two began a friendship that involved bringing their children to parties at the United Methodist Church and picnics at Mill Pond Park along with other families of triplets and quads from Michigan.

The two sets of quads hadn't seen each other for many years until a reunion recently took place with an invitation to the Doyles' high school graduation party. The 20-year-old Treber quads, Madeline, Holly, Hannah and Aliza celebrated with the 19-year-old Doyle quads, Patrick, Matt, Tony and Nick.

The Doyle boys will all be starting college at Michigan State, while the Treber girls will be entering their junior year of college, with Hannah and Aliza at Western Michigan University, Holly at Hope College, and Madeline at the University of Michigan.

The mothers friendship was a result of Treber mentoring Doyle through her pregnancy. Both were under the care of renowned Dr. John Elliott of Arizona, a perinatologist who specializes in high risk multiple pregnancies. They later worked together on the support groups Treber organized for multi-birth families.

Doyle and Treber now communicate through social media, but it wasn’t always that easy. To form her support groups, The Michigan Quad Squads, More and later and The HOMMIES (High Order Multiples of MI, East and South), Treber had to make contact with other multi-birth families via email and telephone.

Determined to share, Treber even wrote a newsletter highlighting parenting tips, while she and Doyle remained friends sharing many of their unique parenting experiences.

Treber said the children didn’t want notoriety, but lots of questions were asked over the years. Madeline said the most frequently asked question was, “What’s it like to be a quadruplet?” Madeline always responded, as did her sisters, saying, “It just feels normal to me.”

Treber entertained questions too. Not all of them were pleasant, she said, but many that voiced the experience would be horrible were outweighed by comments such as, “You’re so lucky and blessed.”

Treber said each child had their own personality and when they reached high school age, they developed their own pursuits. One thing that always stood out to her was how they would greet one another after an absence with a group hug.

Treber said the graduation party was lots of fun and she enjoyed visiting with Doyle. Both having a sense of humor, Treber said, “We have always joked that the children should get married, and we could have one big wedding and save on wedding costs.”

The support groups Treber founded have been inactive for many years, but for more information on multi-birth families visit http://www.raisingmultiples.org/.