We all suspected we were seeing more twins, and now a new report released Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (the CDC) confirms it.  The CDC says that the rate of twin births in the United States continues to rise.  Twin rates had been stable at about 2% of births from about 1915 through the 1970′s.  But beginning in the early 80′s, the rate began to rise. 

One in every 30 infants born in 2009 was a twin.

• The number of twin births more than doubled from 1980 through 2009, rising from 68,339 to more than 137,000 births in each year from 2006 to 2009. In 1980, 1 in every 53 babies born in the United States was a twin, compared with 1 in every 30 births in 2009.

Twinning rates rose by more than 200 percent among women aged 40 and over.

• Twin birth rates increased for women of all ages over the three decades, with the largest increases among women aged 30 and over. From 1980 to 2009, rates increased 76 percent for women aged 30–34, nearly 100 percent for women aged 35–39, and more than 200 percent for women aged 40 and over.
• In 2009, 7 percent of all births to women aged 40 and over were born in a twin delivery compared with 5 percent of births to women aged 35–39, and 2 percent of births to women under age 25. 

Health Implications of Twins

While twin parents everywhere rejoice in their happy but difficult circumstances, the increased rate of twin births does have implications for the health of the mother and the babies.  The rise in the rate of twins, which comprise the majority of multiples (96 percent in 2009), has had an unfavorable impact on key indicators of perinatal health such as rates of preterm birth and low birthweight.

Source:
Martin JA, Hamilton BE, Osterman MJK. Three decades of twin births in the United States, 1980–2009. NCHS data brief, no 80. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2012.

Four sets of twins born in different years

When you’re having twins, it’s always fun to speculate about them being born on separate days. And if your due date is anywhere near the last day of the year or shortly after, it can be even more fun to imagine your twins being born in separate years.  And that is exactly happened this past New Year for not one, not two, not three, but for at least four US families.

Twins Ronan and Rory Rosputni were born in Buffalo, NY at 11:37 p.m. Dec 31, 2011 and 12:10 a.m. on January 1, 2012, according to the Buffalonews.com.  Hundreds of miles away in Minnesota, Beckett Humenny (New Year’s Eve — 6:40 p.m.) and sister Freya (New Year’s Day 12:26 a.m.) were welcomed to the world in separate years as well, as detailed by the StarTribune.com.    In South Dakota, Kylee and John Jr. Anthony were born at 11:59 p.m. Saturday, and at 12:03 a.m. Sunday as report by Azcentral.com.   But not to be outdone, TBO.comreports that Leah and Jenna Bear hold the honors for first baby of 2012 and last baby of 2011 in Hillsborough County (Tampa), Florida. 

At least one of the families speculated about how they would celebrate birthdays and suggested that they will have one combined birthday for their twins.  That is a fantastic idea when they are very little — but when twins are born on separate days, parents should consider having separate celebrations as their twins get older.  When little, combining the celebration is far easier for parents and little ones are happy to celebrate together.  But as they grow older, twins often struggle to be recognized independently of their twin and celebrating a separate birthday, especially when they actually fall on separate days — or years — can go a long way to build that recognition.

The TwinParenthood family would like to congratulate all of these special twin families, and we wish them all the best for a fantastic 2012!  Happy New Year!

Announcing TwinParenthood’s 2011 Christmas Photo Sharing Giveaway!

We are so excited to announce an end of year giveaway in honor of Christmas!

Super easy to enter. Please just come to our Facebook Page, “like” us, and share your photo on our wall. That’s it!

One random winner will be selected from all Christmas, New Year’s or winter scene photos posted to our Facebook wall anytime in December — ending January 2, 2012 at 11:59:59 pm PDT. Winner to be announced within 48 hours.

What can you win you ask?

We have a STROLL-AIR DOUBLE STROLLER ORGANIZER/CONSOLE:
• attaches to most strollers on the market
• mounts horizontally and vertically
• two sets of double insulated bottle / drink holders, one with drawstring for each set
• larger compartment in the middle of each set with pockets and a key clip inside

Extra entries

Do any of the following to receive an extra entry into our contest. You must come back here and post a comment (one for each extra entry) with a link to your extra entry.

1. Tweet About It: Post a Christmas photo at TwinParenthood to win a Stroll-Air Double Stroller Organizer! http://bit.ly/sedn87 #tph #twintuesday #giveaway
2. Share it on Facebook. (Click the “share” link from our TwinParenthood 2011 Christmas Photo Sharing Giveaway album.
3. Like it on Facebook. (Click the “like” link on our TwinParenthood 2011 Christmas Photo Sharing Giveaway album.

As usual, please refer to our contest rules page for all the little details you might need. So come post some photos and have some fun!

Good Luck!

All pregnant women should be aware of the dangers of Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome (TTTS). TTTS is a complication of disproportionate blood supply to twin fetuses during pregnancy. It is critical that all women have an early ultrasound to identify if they are having multiples.

World TTTS Awareness Day is an international mobilization effort created by The Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome Foundation to increase awareness of the #1 problem facing multiples. It is crucial for women to get an ultrasound in the first trimester to identify multiples and then to determine whether there is one placenta or two. Women must learn the warning signs of TTTS, the 15 questions to ask at each ultrasound, and the available treatment options. World TTTS Awareness Day is about empowering parents and is filled with messages of Hope, Help and Encouragement. Your babies can make it and be healthy. Don’t ever give up. Please, Get Educated, Get Ultrasounds, Ask Questions, Get Treatment and Get Involved! This day is also a remembrance day for all the babies who have had TTTS. Candles will be lit tonight across the world during the vigil and messages may also be left for your babies through lighting online candles. Please visit their websites to learn more about TTTS.

What is Twin to Twin Transfusion Syndrome?

• Twin to twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS) is a disease of the placenta (or afterbirth) that affects identical twin pregnancies.
• TTTS affects identical twins (or higher multiple gestations), who share a common monochorionic placenta.
• The shared placenta contains abnormal blood vessels, which connect the umbilical cords and circulations of the twins.
• The common placenta may also be shared unequally by the twins, and one twin may have a share too small to provide the necessary nutrients to grow normally or even survive.
• The events in pregnancy that lead to TTTS – the timing of the twinning event, the number and type of connecting vessels, and the way the placenta is shared by the twins are all random events that have no primary prevention, is not hereditary or genetic, nor is it caused by anything the parents did or did not do. TTTS can happen to anyone.

If you are pregnant, what should you do?

Get Ultrasounds

If you are pregnant, it is critical that you get an ultrasound within the first 3 months. With this ultrasound, you can determine if you are having twins, triplets, or even higher order multiples. As early as 7 weeks of pregnancy, it can be determined if you are having multiples. If the placenta is monochorionic, or single, your pregnancy is at risk for TTTS.

Ask Questions

Once you have identified that you are having twins or higher order multiples, it is imortant that you ask questions at each ultrasound. For multiples, ultrasounds should be performed more frequently than in singleton and lower risk pregnancies. Listed below are the TTTS Foundation’s 15 Most Important Questions to ask at each ultrasound.

Confirm at initial ultrasounds (preferably by 10-16 weeks)

1. Is the placenta monochorionic?
2. Are the babies the same gender?
3. Can you see the dividing membrane?
4. Is the placenta implanted on the anterior or posterior surface of the womb?
5. Do the twins’ umbilical cords each have the normal 3 blood vessels, or does one of them have 2 vessels?
6. Are the umbilical cords fully attached to the placenta?

Questions to ask at weekly ultrasounds (16 weeks to delivery)

1. What is the largest vertical pocket of fluid for each baby?
2. Can you see the bladder of the donor baby?
3. What are the weights of the babies in grams? (every 2-3 weeks)
4. Are the dopplers normal for both babies?
5. Is the heart of the recipient baby enlarged or thickened?
6. Does the recipient baby have hydrops?
7. What is the measurement of your cervix, is it long and closed or thinning or dilated?
8. Is the smaller baby growing at the same rate?
9. What is the fundal height?

Read the explanations for these questions at the TTTS Foundation’s website.

PLEASE, get an early ultrasound to determine if you are carrying multiples. If you are pregnant with twins or higher order multiples, PLEASE ask the questions provided by the TTTS Foundation. It could save your babies’ lives. If you are diagnosed with TTTS, or would like more information, please contact the TTTS Foundation for help, information, and support.

The words Twin-Tuition might make you think ahead to college — but that’s not the subject of tonight’s show  on ABC’s Nightline. 

ABC’s Nightline is starting a new 5 week series called, “Beyond Belief”, which begins airing Wednesday, June 22 at 10:00pm ET/PT and continues on the four subsequent Wednesdays.

The subject tonight is “‘Twin-tuition,’ the special connection between twins that allows some siblings to share a language, know what the other is thinking, or share physical sensations across distances.”

What do you think?  Can twins communicate through a mental connection — even across distances?

Having recently gone back to work after having twins, I am curious how having twins has impacted other families with twins. Have you struggled? Did you feel you had choices? Were your decisions easy?

Please take a minute to respond to TwinParenthood’s survey about work after twins. Your contribution is greatly appreciated!

Most twin parents want names that will sound good together. Whether you choose names to honor family members, because they rhyme, or because they don’t — choosing names for twins can be tricky.  If you’re like me, you probably checked out (or are in the process of checking out) all sorts of resources before deciding on names for your twins.  To make is easy for you, we’ve compiled our own list of techniques: How to choose your twin baby names, gives you all the inside scoop for selecting twin baby names.

Plus, every year, the US Social Security Administration publishes lists of popular names, and fortunately for us, they also publish a list of most popular twins names.  The formatting is not fancy, but hey — I’m a working girl and it’s the quick and dirty version.  So, without further ado, here is their list of most popular twin names for 2010.

Girl Twins Names

1 Ella, Emma
2 Olivia, Sophia
3 Gabriella, Isabella
4 Faith, Hope
5 Ava, Emma
6 Isabella, Sophia
7 Madison, Morgan
8 Ava, Ella
9 Ava, Olivia
10 Mackenzie, Madison
11 Abigail, Isabella
12 Abigail, Emma
13 Hailey, Hannah
14 Makayla, Makenzie
15 Addison, Avery
16 Elizabeth, Emily
17 Ava, Mia
18 Heaven, Nevaeh
19 Abigail, Emily
20 Emma, Olivia
21 London, Paris
22 Chloe, Claire
23 Mia, Mya
24 Anna, Emma
25 Arianna, Brianna
26 Isabella, Olivia
27 Abigail, Lillian
28 Addison, Ava
29 Emma, Isabella
30 Samantha, Sophia
31 Ella, Olivia
32 Emma, Hannah
33 Emma, Mia
34 Faith, Grace
35 Madison, Makenzie
36 Madison, Olivia
37 Abigail, Olivia
38 Anabella, Isabella
39 Chloe, Zoe
40 Elizabeth, Isabella
41 Elizabeth, Victoria
42 Jada, Jade
43 Julia, Sophia
44 Kayla, Kylie
45 Madison, Megan
46 Mia, Sophia
47 Natalie, Olivia
48 Paige, Payton
49 Serenity, Trinity
50 Valentina, Valeria

Girl/Boy Twins Names

1 Madison, Mason
2 Emma, Ethan
3 Taylor, Tyler
4 Madison, Michael
5 Jayda, Jayden
6 Madison, Matthew
7 Samuel, Sophia
8 Addison, Aiden
9 Olivia, Owen
10 Zachary, Zoe
11 Addison, Jackson
12 Aiden, Ava
13 Emily, Ethan
14 Emma, Ryan
15 Isaac, Isabella
16 Natalie, Nathan
17 Abigail, Benjamin
18 Andrew, Emma
19 Isabella, Isaiah
20 Jada, Jaden
21 Brian, Brianna
22 Emma, Jack
23 Aiden, Emma
24 Eli, Ella
25 Jacob, Olivia
26 Lily, Logan
27 Michael, Michelle
28 Naomi, Noah
29 Abigail, Alexander
30 Abigail, Andrew
31 Brandon, Brianna
32 Chloe, Christian
33 Elizabeth, William
34 Emily, Matthew
35 Emma, Jacob
36 Emma, William
37 Jacob, Sarah
38 Lilly, Logan
39 Nicholas, Sophia
40 Noah, Sophia
41 Oliver, Olivia
42 Sophia, William
43 Abigail, Jacob
44 Addison, Austin
45 Alexander, Sophia
46 Ella, Jackson
47 Emma, Evan
48 Emma, James
49 Jayla, Jaylen
50 Zachary, Zoey

Boy Twins Names

1 Jacob, Joshua
2 Ethan, Evan
3 Jayden, Jordan
4 Daniel, David
5 Matthew, Michael
6 Landon, Logan
7 Elijah, Isaiah
8 Jacob, Joseph
9 Jayden, Jaylen
10 Isaac, Isaiah
11 Caleb, Joshua
12 Andrew, Matthew
13 James, John
14 Alexander, Nicholas
15 Jeremiah, Josiah
16 Joseph, Joshua
17 Nathan, Nicholas
18 Jonathan, Joshua
19 Logan, Lucas
20 Ethan, Nathan
21 Aiden, Ethan
22 Jeremiah, Joshua
23 Alexander, Andrew
24 Alexander, Benjamin
25 Logan, Luke
26 Jacob, Lucas
27 Jonathan, Joseph
28 Nathan, Noah
29 Andrew, Anthony
30 Brandon, Bryan
31 Daniel, Michael
32 Daniel, Samuel
33 Isaiah, Jeremiah
34 Jaden, Jordan
35 Jayden, Kayden
36 John, Joseph
37 Matthew, Ryan
38 Aiden, Austin
39 Benjamin, Samuel
40 Christopher, Nicholas
41 Taylor, Tyler
42 Benjamin, William
43 Hayden, Hunter
44 Santiago, Sebastian
45 Alexander, Anthony
46 Alexander, William
47 Brandon, Brian
48 Carter, Cooper
49 Evan, Owen
50 Evan, Ryan

Where is the article spilling the details of our twin study trip you ask? It’s coming — don’t worry.

Meanwhile, I found an interesting take on twins studies and what they teach us as twins parents — written by a dad of twins. In this WSJ Blog article, “Twin Lessons: Have More Kids. Pay Less Attention to Them“, Bryan Caplan describes his big learn.  He says, “The obvious lesson to draw is that parents should lighten up.”  He even has a name for it: ”Serenity Parenting”.

You’ll have to read his article to see if you agree.  But, it makes sense to me. After all, that is a lesson I learned from our trip to Washington DC and our own involvement in an individual twins study. I didn’t need Mr. Caplan to tell me — but it didn’t hurt, either.

So I think I’ll relax a bit more and see if I can enjoy this adventure in twin parenting just a bit more as a result.  As for having more kids? I think we’re done.

Authors note:  Up to this point, TwinParenthood has pretty much exclusively featured articles about how to raise and parent twins. We are diverging from our normal format this week — to bring you more of a traditional mom blog to chronicle our trip to Washington DC for an NIH Twins Study. 

This week, we are on an adventure. We’ve travelled to Washington DC with both of our sets of twins so that our girls can participate in twins studies at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Just the beginning to a long day...

The twin study includes blood draws, cognitive testing, and MRI’s.  I guess they are doing something to correlate identical twins intelligence and their cognitive abilities with MRI images.  Interesting stuff.  I’ll write more about that if we learn more details today.

As I am writing this morning, one of my boys (T-man, age 10) is sleeping here at the hotel while Dave and the other 3 kids have already headed over to NIH to begin the twin studies.  T-man was sick last week, and traveling cross country was a long trip, with a time change.  He’s wiped out.  We’re hoping to join the others in a couple of hours.

We were really pleasantly surprised to walk out of the airport to mid 80 degree weather yesterday.  But, by this morning I guess they figured out we were here from Seattle and someone turned on the rain.  Now we feel right at home.

So, the most challenging thing so far has to be the end of the night last night and the tired kids this morning. Last night they were in party mode.  Jumping and bouncing off the walls of the hotel room.  It was after midnight before we finally settled in — with much scolding from mom and dad.  This morning, none of them wanted to get up, but we had our twins studies appointments we had to keep.  Next time, we’ll plan to come at least one day ahead of the planned appointments to make things a little bit easier.

I’m looking forward to learning more about the twins study and letting you know how it went for the girls.  I also hope to find out today if they are still looking for more participants — so I can share that with all of you.

Stay Tuned!

Do you know the zygosity of your twins?

Take our quick Facebook poll — are your twins identical or fraternal? Maybe they were in separate sacs but look a lot alike… or maybe you are newly expecting twins and don’t know yet. Or, is it complicated? If so, leave a comment to tell us why.

While you’re there — don’t forget to click the link to take you to our Facebook Page and give us a “like”. We have a fun Question of the Day and feature 5 new fan photos in the filmstrip daily. Come check us out!