Block Party pod pendants

These charming pendants from Block Party Press on Etsy would be a sweet gift for the expecting twin mum. High quality, nice colors, artsy. Each pendant is 1 1/2" x 1/2" black polymer clay with white, hot pink, turquoise or lime green acrylic paint. They are created with a hand carved stamp. Each pendant is $15. I have some clips from Block Party press and can attest to the quality!

Does anyone with twins buy this?

A U.S. doctor is claiming that the risks of having twins has been over-stated. The BBC and others are reporting that Dr. Norbert Gleicher from New York's Center for Human Reproduction says that one twin pregnancy is no riskier than two single pregnancies.

Ridiculous. Singleton babies are born prematurely, on occasion. But with the risk of a twin pregnancy, I can't believe the comparison. Has anyone with twins not counted days and weeks, hoping against severe prematurity? Even Angelina Jolie is in the hospital six weeks before her Aug. 19 due date.

Fortunately, fertility doctors are rejecting Gleicher's statements. It is a hot topic in the UK now because officials are asking clinics to cut their rate of multiple pregnancies by having women transfer only one embryo during IVF. Gleicher says that this will just result in more cost and anxiety to women as they undergo multiple IVF cycles.

Women should have a say in the specifics of their treatments, but the risk of twins should be made clear. When all goes well, it is fabulous. But the pregnancy and babies' stay in the NICU can be quite stressful.

Crack times two

Seeing your baby smile is like a "natural high" as it stimulates pleasure receptors in the brain, according to a study at the Baylor College of Medicine in Texas. MSNBC and others are reporting that the site of women's own happy babies sent blood rushing to the regions of their brain associated with Dopamine, which plays a key role in addiction. Like a neural kick.

So, with multiples, twice the smiles, twice the high. :)

And they wandered around the forest

With boy/girl twins, the Hansel and Gretel fairy tale has a special allure. :) Here are some cute dolls from seller fairiesnest on Etsy. At $58 for the pair, they are sort of expensive, but they look really well made. They have poseable wrapped wire bodies. Hansel is 4" tall, and Gretel is 4.5" tall. Their clothing is sewn on and they have polymer clay shoes and can stand unsupported.

Not recommended for children under three.

News: Amazingly heavy twins

Chattahbox.com is reporting that a woman in North Carolina has given birth to a set of twins with a combined weight of 23 lbs, 1 ounce. Just to repeat - that is more than 23 POUNDS OF BABY!

The boy, Sean William, weighed 10 lbs, 14 ounces, and the girl, Abigail Rose, weighed 12 lbs, 3 ounces.

This apparently is the second-heaviest set of twins ever, after a pair of twins born in 1927 with a combined weight of 23 lbs, 12 ounces.

Every day should be Father's Day!

It is almost Father's Day, and I came across a few cute ideas for that special daddy...

Snap, Crackle, Pop from Twins Help
You get the three shirts... shirts for the twins (Snap and Crackle) and a shirt for daddy. Kids shirt sizes run from 2T to youth medium, and Dad's shirt sizes run from medium to 3XL. The cost is $39.95 for all three.

Available the Twins Help store.


My Dad is Cooler than Your Dad T-shirt from Childish
And what about this great shirt from Childish? It is available in a 100 percent cotton short-sleeve jersey tee, $36 and available in navy, aqua and grey with a skull pattern in the words. Sizes up to age 7.

Available at Childish.

Twin Daddy socks
From Twin Things in the UK, socks are sort of the traditional gift, right? The cost is 6.99 GBP each.

Available at Twin Things.

Points to Dustin Hoffman

Dustin Hoffman reportedly has offered Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt "no end" to the gifts he would give if she gives birth to their twins on his birthday - Aug. 8. At the same interview at the Cannes Film Festival, he mentioned that Jolie was due on Aug. 19. If that is the full-term date, surely she'll deliver a few weeks before Hoffman's desired date.

After making his request, Hoffman said, "It's the least she could do." Cute.