FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla.
- (KRT) - Lisa and John Hall already
had double duty raising toddler twin boys when
the Hollywood couple discovered they were
expecting again.
Hoping for a
baby girl, they got their wish, times two. Lisa
gave birth to a second set of twins last year.
While two sets
of twins in the same family is unusual, chances
are the Halls' "four Js," Jakob, Joshua, Jessica
and Jordan, won't be the only kids in class who
have their teacher seeing double.
The number of
twin births has increased dramatically in the
United States, jumping 74 percent during the
past two decades. The ranks of triplets (or
more) grew fivefold during the same time period,
but twins accounted for about 95 percent of all
multiple births, according to the National
Center for Health Statistics and the March of
Dimes.
Researchers
cite an increase in babies born to women older
than 30, who are more likely to conceive twins.
Assisted reproductive techniques, such as in
vitro fertilization, also play a paramount role.
According to a survey of fertility programs
cited by March of Dimes, 56 percent of the
births resulting from these procedures were
multiples.
Twins are
everywhere these days, including the news.
Olympic gymnasts Paul and Morgan Hamm. Barbara
and Jenna Bush. Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen.
Julia Roberts is expecting twins next year.
Actress Geena Davis had twins this year at 47.
Joan Lunden, former host of "Good Morning
America," was 52 when her twins were born last
year to a surrogate.
It's no
surprise that clubs for parents of twins and
multiples are growing in almost every city. Baby
stores don't blink at strollers built for two or
three. Internet shopping sites cater to twos.
There's even Twins magazine.
Two or three
sets of twins are spotted at "Mommy and Me"
classes, something rarely seen a few years ago.
National
Gymnastics in Boca Raton, Fla., offers a play
group just for twins and multiples at a
discounted cost. Publix and Albertsons grocery
stores have added shopping carts shaped like
trucks that accommodate three small children.
Other stores are doing the same.
"You never used
to see that," says Jana Werksman, the Boca Raton
mother of 3-year-old twins, Mia and Mason, and a
5-year-old, Stephen. Werksman is president of
the Coral Springs, Fla., Mothers of Multiples,
which now includes two sets of triplets.
"We don't
advertise for members and our membership is
increasing with every other group in Florida,"
says Werksman, who also sees more
early-intervention programs for multiples, who
face a higher risk of premature birth, medical
complications and developmental delays.
Support clubs
can be a life-ring for families who are facing
double the everyday costs, workload and stress
that comes with parenting, says Dr. Rebecca
Moskwinski, family practitioner in South Bend,
Ind., and executive vice president of the
National Organization of Mothers of Twins Clubs.
Moskwinski is a mother of six, including
21-year-old twin daughters.
"You find
people in the same situation, who have lived
through it, who can give advice or at least tell
you, this will pass. They can give you
perspective," says Moskwinski, who will address
about 250 parents of multiples in October at the
statewide convention of the Florida Organization
of Mothers of Twins Clubs.
Besides
offering social support, clubs for twins and
multiples can ease the cost burden on parents
because they share resources, passing around
coupon boxes, sharing parenting books and
hosting warehouse-size clothing swaps and garage
sales.
With four
children close in age, the Halls take advantage
of these perks. Their house may resemble a small
day-care, stocked with four highchairs, two
swings, two cribs, bunk beds and six car seats,
to name a few. The family goes through four
industrial-size boxes of Cheerios a week. At one
point, they were changing 30 diapers and
training pants a day, at a cost of 20 to 30
cents per diaper.
"Just the
formula, diapers and wipes can put you in the
poorhouse," says Lisa, 37, a nurse for 15 years
who works in the labor and delivery room at
Jackson Memorial Medical Center in Miami. John,
34, is a nurse in the emergency room. Lisa
estimates she saved hundreds of dollars by
breastfeeding her children instead of using
formula.
The Halls'
4-year-old boys are identical twins. Their
19-month-old daughters are fraternal twins.
Although twins don't run in either family,
neither Lisa nor John was totally surprised by
the doubles match. A couple who conceives one
set of twins stands a higher chance of having a
second set.
Still, "I
haven't known anyone in my life who has two sets
of twins," says Lisa.
With their
ranks swelling, twins growing up today are not
subjected to as much curiosity as previous
generations, although bystanders still gawk a
little or ask questions.
"After the 50th
time, it gets annoying," says Carolyn Rowland,
47, of Sunrise, Fla., a mother of 22-year-old
twins.
"They're not
the novelty that twins of the past were," says
Jessica Hartshorn, senior lifestyles editor at
American Baby magazine. "Now almost everyone
knows someone who has twins. The articles in the
magazine take a much more matter-of-fact
approach, like how are you going to breastfeed
two babies."
Many parents,
in turn, are emphasizing separate identities
from an early age, choosing not to dress their
twins alike, buy them the same toys or assume
they have similar friends and interests.
"If you really
delve into the twin community, the current
philosophy is, you're raising two different
people," Hartshorn says. "You tend to play out
the differences rather than the similarities.
You don't raise them as carbon copies of each
other and you do that from infancy."
Parents, too,
are more likely to find someone around the
corner in the same boat.
Twenty years
ago, Rowland founded a twins club for mothers in
west Broward County, Fla. It grew quickly, and a
few years ago, the club changed its name to
Parents of Multiples West Broward because some
members have triplets.
"It has grown
immensely over the years," Rowland says. "When
we started our club, I'd go to my obstetrician's
office and they'd say, `Did you bring us more
newslettters?' That's how we got the word out. "
Back then,
finding a stroller for two was double the
trouble and cost. Rowland had a noisy infant
swing that she had to crank by hand. Moskwinski
remembers lugging two babies to the car in a
stroller because there were no strap-in carrier
seats.
Medical school
didn't prepare her for two crying, collicky
infants, she says. Mothers felt more isolated.
"Now at 2 in
the morning, you can find somebody to talk to on
the Internet," Moskwinski says. "Back then, if
you didn't have close friends or you weren't
hooked up with a club, there wasn't anyone to
call."
While life may
be more convenient, the challenges of raising
multiples, including physical fatigue, financial
stress and feeling overwhelmed, haven't changed,
Moskwinski says. Her advice to parents: Keep a
sense of humor.
"They're going
to get into more trouble when there's two of
them and you're outnumbered. Remember, it will
be funny later on. It may not be funny now."
Moskwinski
remembers when her twin girls were toddlers and
one emptied a can of motor oil on the other. The
first thing she did was grab her camera, despite
feeling overwhelmed by the mess. Today, the
family laughs over the photograph.
"I had to throw
her clothes away. Get it out of her hair. It was
one of those moments where you don't even know
where to start. I tell people, keep the camera
handy. It helps you to count to 10."
With double the
challenges, the Halls have another mantra:
Patience is a virtue.
When Lisa knew
she was having a second set of twins, "I was a
little frustrated, a little angry, a little
happy. Just the thought of having to take care
of two babies again on top of the two kids I
already had was overwhelming, mentally,
financially, physically. I was saying, `I can't
do this, I can't do this.""
Today, Lisa and
John have the twin thing down, alternating their
12-hour work shifts so that one parent is home
and keeping each set of children on the same
schedule.
"You just do
it," Lisa says, when people ask how they manage.
"You can't define it for people. Until you're
there, you don't know how you'll find the
strength to do what you need to do on a
day-to-day basis."
"It's working,"
John says, adding, "even with routines, it gets
stressful. There's still a lot of stuff to do."
The Halls have
a poster in their bathroom that reads: Twins are
like sponges. They soak up all your energy, but
one good squeeze and you get it all right back.
"That's what
it's like," Lisa says. "Twins are a lot of hard
work. But you get it all back."
