Over the past 20 years, the number of twin and multiple births has risen by 50 percent, yet information on caring for twins and multiples remains sparse. Most child-care books touch lightly on the subject of multiples--here's one that fills in the gaps. Authors Patricia Maxwell Malmstrom, founder of TWINLINE (providing services for parents of twins) and mother of twins, and Janet Poland, parenting writer, address the issues and concerns of parents of multiples with aplomb and reassurance. From the moment parents-to-be discover that they are having more than one child, they enter what the authors call "twinshock," a state of stunned disbelief soon followed by elation, despair, and many questions: "How will I tell my babies apart?" (Leave their hospital bracelets on, or paint one baby's toenails until there is no doubt in your mind) and "Will I ever go anywhere ever again?" (Yes. With planning.)

Malmstrom and Poland cover the biology and causes of twinning; the emotional terrain of parenting multiples; the differences between twin and single pregnancy; twin development in babyhood, toddlerhood, the preschool and school-age years, and adolescence; and twins' relationships with each other from babyhood to adulthood. An excellent chapter provides help in coping with difficulties--financial problems, single parenthood, divorce, twin loss, and disability. The authors provide intensely practical details on twin care, especially for babies (yes, they stress, you can breastfeed multiples). Throughout, the authors dispel myths, provide tips, and help fill the dearth of information that, until now, parents of multiples have faced. Malmstrom writes, "My hope is that someday parents of twins will have as much information as all other parents about how to nourish their children's healthy physical and psychological development." In this book, she and her coauthor have begun to provide just that. --Ericka Lutz


From Library Journal
Malmstrom, a mother of twins and two other children, here offers an excellent guide on raising twins and all multiples, from conception to adulthood. Malmstrom, who founded the nationwide group "Twin Services," writes with knowledge and understanding. She explains that the keys to survival are organization, planning, knowing how to ask for help, and knowing the type of the twins (dizygotic or monozygotic). Malmstrom advocates, for example, co-bedding multiple newborns, breastfeeding, and allowing twins to be schooled in the same classroom. "Twins are a hard happiness," she says, as she details the frustrations and joys of parenting multiples. Throughout, one realizes that being a multiple is very special, endowing those so lucky with a great empathy for others. And, as aging adults, twins enjoy a lasting bond with each other that "regular" siblings do not. Connie Agnew and others' Twins! (LJ 11/1/97) has illustrations for pregnant moms (growth in utero, exercises) but stops with twin development at age one. Malmstrom goes through the teen years, adulthood, and old age. Highly recommended.ALinda Beck, Indian Valley P.L., Telford, PA Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.


Book Description
"CONGRATULATIONS--YOU'RE EXPECTING TWINS!"Remember when you first heard the news? After regaining the power of speech, you allowed the joy and anxious anticipation to settle in. Though family and friends simply suggest buying two of everything, parents of twins (triplets, quadruplets, right on up) need more than multiple strollers. For along with equipment, they need more facts, more advice, more patience, more support. Now help is here with The Art of Parenting Twins.Whether you have just discovered you're expecting two (or more) babies, are about to give birth, are struggling through those incredible first weeks, or are engaged in the whirlwind of child-rearing, here are the answers and resources you've been looking for. Written by the president and founder of Twin Services, Inc., this complete up-to-date guide will give you the skills you need. The Art of Parenting Twins covers such vital issues as - Bonding with more than one baby
- Breast-feeding techniques
- Coping with multiples
- Managing sibling rivalry
- Helping your children achieve independent identities
- Understanding the special twin relationship
- Financing your children's futureAnd much more--including the latest research on special health concerns, mental and physical development of twins, and social behavior.



From the Inside Flap
"CONGRATULATIONS--YOU'RE EXPECTING TWINS!"

Remember when you first heard the news? After regaining the power of speech, you allowed the joy and anxious anticipation to settle in. Though family and friends simply suggest buying two of everything, parents of twins (triplets, quadruplets, right on up) need more than multiple strollers. For along with equipment, they need more facts, more advice, more patience, more support. Now help is here with The Art of Parenting Twins.

Whether you have just discovered you're expecting two (or more) babies, are about to give birth, are struggling through those incredible first weeks, or are engaged in the whirlwind of child-rearing, here are the answers and resources you've been looking for. Written by the president and founder of Twin Services, Inc., this complete up-to-date guide will give you the skills you need. The Art of Parenting Twins covers such vital issues as

- Bonding with more than one baby
- Breast-feeding techniques
- Coping with multiples
- Managing sibling rivalry
- Helping your children achieve independent identities
- Understanding the special twin relationship
- Financing your children's future

And much more--including the latest research on special health concerns, mental and physical development of twins, and social behavior.


About the Author
Patricia Malmstrom is founder and president of Twin Services, Inc., and its affiliates--the TWINLINE telephone counseling service for parents and the Twinshock Training Curriculum and Network. She holds a graduate degree in early childhood and special education and is one of the foremost authorities on multiple births, serving as vice president of the International Society for Twin Studies.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

"CONGRATULATIONS—YOU'RE EXPECTING TWINS!"

Remember when you first heard the news? After regaining the power of speech, you allowed the joy and anxious anticipation to settle in. Though family and friends simply suggest buying two of everything, parents of twins (triplets, quadruplets, right on up) need more than multiple strollers. For along with equipment, they need more facts, more advice, more patience, more support. Now help is here with The Art of Parenting Twins.

Whether you have just discovered you're expecting two (or more) babies, are about to give birth, are struggling through those incredible first weeks, or are engaged in the whirlwind of child-rearing, here are the answers and resources you've been looking for. Written by the president and founder of Twin Services, Inc., this complete up-to-date guide will give you the skills you need. The Art of Parenting Twins covers such vital issues as

- Bonding with more than one baby
- Breast-feeding techniques
- Coping with multiples
- Managing sibling rivalry
- Helping your children achieve independent identities
- Understanding the special twin relationship
- Financing your children's future

And much more—including the latest research on special health concerns, mental and physical development of twins, and social behavior.

FROM THE CRITICS

Library Journal