Baby shower gift for twins

Military Moms - Women shower affection upon expectant mother of

PEORIA - Renae Staffeldt choked back

tears from her hospital bed Tuesday evening as she opened gift after gift, mostly baby outfits.

"They've been absolutely great," Staffeldt said, surrounded by about 15 women, most of whom she had never even met.

The women, members of the Heart of Illinois Military Moms, wanted to make sure the soon-to-be mother of twin boys has the support she needs while her husband serves in Iraq.

"It's very flattering. It makes you feel like you really have a friend who knows what you're going through," the 26-year-old said. "Not very many people know what it's like to have a loved one over there."

Her husband, Tom, was deployed by the Army in August.

Staffeldt, due March 20, has been at

OSF Saint Francis Medical Center since

she started having early contractions in November. Her family, still in Rantoul, hasn't been able to visit except on weekends.

Concerned nurses contacted Barb Boltz, clinical educator for the labor/delivery unit at St. Francis and a member of Heart of Illinois Military Moms.

Boltz e-mailed fellow members of the group, including Becky Rollings, a Peoria mother of two soldiers.

"She called me the very next day," Staffeldt said of Rollings. "She checks on me all the time now."

Rollings said the two quickly became fast friends.

"We talked about everything (that first visit)," Rollings said. "We really hit it off from the moment I walked in the door. We're best friends now," she said, winking at Staffeldt.

But with two baby boys on the way, Staffeldt needed more than just friends.

"I thought, 'How can she shop?' " Boltz said. "I thought (throwing a baby shower) could be a happy thing for (the Military Moms) to get involved in."

So Paula Strandquist, one of the founders of the 40-member prayer and support group, started planning, including how to pay for a baby shower.

"I walked in my house, and someone called wanting to give us $500 - it was that very day, that very minute," Strandquist said. "I asked them if we could use it for a baby shower, and they said, 'Sure.' The lord has taken us to many different places, and tonight he's definitely brought us here."

Tom Staffeldt won't be able to return for the twins' delivery, something Staffeldt admits frightens her.

"It would be nice (if he could be here for the birth)," she said. "But I'm glad he was here when he was (in November). He felt like he was actually doing something. He left feeling reassured that I was in a good place and getting good care."

He is scheduled to return to the states in August, exactly one year after he was deployed.

Staffeldt said she hopes to be able to return to her home in Rantoul soon.

"I don't get too excited about anything these days until it actually happens," she said.

Staffeldt said her stay in Peoria has been made much easier by the love and support she's received from the Military Moms.

"The staff says there's been a remarkable change in here," Boltz said, smiling at Staffeldt. "Especially in her smile."