Each month, iParenting.com spotlights a mother who inspires and moves us, who embodies the qualities that we all admire in a person, a woman and a mother. Above all, the Mom of the Month is dedicated to her children. Rich or poor, famous or not, she shines as an example of what mothering is all about.

Our choice for August is Kathleen Callahan, mother of five.

Raising triplet 2-year-olds and a 4-year-old and 13-year-old would exhaust most moms. But not Utah's Kathleen Callahan. This sunny-dispositioned mom of five is often up at 5:30 a.m. reading to one of her toddlers before heading to Optimal Outcomes, a brainchild she conceived in her heart. "As soon as my babies [triplets born at 29 weeks gestation] were stabilized, I wanted to start a charity to provide much-needed services to high-risk pregnant mothers and their families," Callahan says. Following a stressful triplet pregnancy, she ached for her premature babies who, for more than a month, were too fragile to be held.

"My babies had so many tubes and wires, all I could see was a line where their mouths were," Callahan says. She'd become pregnant with the triplets without the use of fertility drugs just three months after delivering stillborn Matthew. Holding Matthew, a privilege she'd been denied 15 years earlier with another stillborn child, gave Callahan the chance to grieve for her children lost to stillbirth and several miscarriages. She resolved to go forward with her triplet pregnancy, risking a stroke from severe toxemia and an increased chance of kidney and liver failure from carrying multiples. At 10 weeks gestation, Callahan was put onto bed rest, almost unbearable for this former Collegiate All-American Swimmer. Stuck in bed, she worried about her one-year-old and her preteenager at home, and her husband, who was working two jobs in anticipation of high hospital bills.

Callahan went into full labor at 18 weeks gestation, but her doctor postponed labor for 11 more crucial weeks. The day after Christmas in 1997, Kelli Elizabeth, Keegan Clancy and Kevin Eric were born at 29 weeks gestation. The babies weren't breathing, and were rushed to the newborn intensive care unit. As her empty arms ached, Callahan wondered if her children would live. Hours later she was wheeled into the intensive care unit to see her newborns covered with wires and tubes. She still couldn't hold them. "I struggled with joy, love, fear and guilt," Callahan says.

Three months later, the babies came home on oxygen and monitors, and Callahan's living room became a beeping, flashing intensive care unit. Would she be able to care for the tiny infants? Would they survive? How would the rest of her family function when the babies constantly needed care? Callahan had more fearful questions than certain answers. Her training as a social worker didn't keep her from feeling overwhelmed.

"My whole community helped me with the babies," she says. Her church supplied meals to her family while she was on bedrest and for several months after the triplets came home. A parish member took Callahan's one-year-old into her daycare at no charge. Friends visited in the hospital, brought goodies and helped baby-sit. One friend paid for a part-time nanny for six months. "Despite all of this care and support, bedrest and the first year of the babies' lives were incredibly difficult," Callahan says.

Remembering the difficulty of that first year drove Callahan to found Optimal Outcomes, a nonprofit lifeline for women facing high-risk pregnancy, premature babies/special needs babies, and pregnancy or infant loss. Services are free. Many families don't have a support system like Callahan's and she wants to ensure that they have resources. Some worries plaguing these families include:

• Will the baby live?
• Will the mother live?
• Will the marriage and family survive this pregnancy experience intact?

Women-in-need are referred to Optimal Outcomes by perinatologists or they learn about the charity by word-of-mouth from other women. After a referral, a staff-member visits to determine what the woman needs. "I had one woman who was put in the hospital on bedrest while carrying twins. She was going crazy and didn't know how she could stand one more day," Callahan says. "I had her make a list of friends and family with their phone numbers. I asked everyone on the list to call her on alternate mornings and tell her to expect a surprise that evening, then deliver the surprise. Every day she had phone calls, visits and surprises to look forward to." Callahan's voice sparkles, capturing some of the excitement that her bedridden patients must feel.

Founded in February 2000, Optimal Outcomes is growing rapidly. Current services include: transportation to medical appointments, childcare, meals for families, emotional support and triage referrals to community services such as psychotherapists and grief counselors. A progressive three-year-plan envisions a diagnostic center with state-of-the-art equipment and a full spectrum of services, from genetic counseling to massage therapy. A Web site is in the works.

When removing her "Mom to the Multitudes" hat, Callahan eagerly heads home to her family. She tries to squeeze in quality time for each family member daily. "I often get up early with one of my 2-year-olds. He's happy with this extra time. Another of my triplets likes to shop and the other enjoys helping me cook." She and her husband have a scheduled date night. "It's important for couples to have special time together," she says. She credits her husband with helping her maintain her can-do attitude and pursue her dream to help women. "He's a big help!" she says.

So is raising triplets a handful? "Of course!" she says. "Beware of plastic tools." Her triplets once removed door hinges with their toy screwdriver. She adds, "Our backyard was a huge mud puddle before the grass for our landscaping was put in. Eager to play in the mud, my kids sawed halfway through a deck log with a plastic saw. Later, they dragged a picnic table over to the deck railing and climbed over to make mud-pies." She laughs, smiling knowingly. "One kid distracts me while the others go to work."

She remembers a time when her triplets went through a stage when they liked to be naked, which Callahan says was messy since they weren't potty-trained. "I tried dressing them backwards but they'd just help each other undress. I tried safety pins but they unfastened them immediately. Finally my husband pulled out a roll of duct-tape. That worked!"

To unwind, Callahan runs, gulping pine-scented air and admiring the vivid wildflowers and aspens in her mountain neighborhood -- and the peace and quiet. Sometimes she mountain bikes, reads or sews things for her kids. But she has little spare time. The day after we spoke with her, Callahan was headed to accompany a young mother of twins home with her babies. "This girl is just out of college. She's worried about the monitors and hectic schedules that come with preemies. I'm going to help her set things up and just be there with her as she adjusts."

The rewards Callahan reaps from her work are non-monetary, but she finds them invaluable. "Every penny is pumped back into Optimal Outcomes. I don't draw a salary because for every dollar that comes in there's a mom that really needs the money," Callahan says. The organization desperately needs funds and volunteers. "No financial gift is to small," she says. Topping her wish-list are laptop computers for stir-crazy, bedridden women, clothes for premature babies and twin nursing pillows.

"The need is more than I will ever be able to take care of," Callahan says. "I guess I have to look at it as helping one mom at a time."

For more information on Optimal Outcomes, e-mail Kathleen Callahan.