Babies

Double the Trouble or Twice as Nice? by Charlene Sands

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Charlene-with-BooksI married a twin of the fraternal variety and we were married nearly right out of high school, so it baffles me why it’s taken me this long to write a twins story!  For me, loving a twin has been twice as nice, and not double the trouble.  But that isn’t always the case. And so, I penned a story about a hunky father of twins, who meets up with trouble in the form of a spirited woman whose car has broken down along the side of the road.  Texas Style.  

In doing my research I found out some amazing trivia about twins:

The word twin is probably derived from an ancient German word twine, which means ‘two together.

1 in every 32 children born is a twin (1 in 65 pregnancies results in a twin birth). Twins account for 1.5% of all pregnancies or 3% of the population.The twinning rate has risen 50% in the last 20 years. This is attributed to an increase in maternal age, wider use of IVF and assisted conception and advancement of medical technology.

 Fraternal twins do run in the family but only on the maternal line. If a mother herself is a fraternal twin, the chance of conceiving twins increases four-fold.
 The rate for identical twins, or monozygotic, multiples is random and universal (no influencing factors) and occurs 1 in every 285 births. They are the same sex, have the same blood types, hair and eye color, hand and footprints and chromosomes, yet have different teeth marks and fingerprints.
 Mirror image twins account for about 25% of identical twins. Their hair falls in opposite directions, they have mirror image fingerprints and if one is right handed, the other is left handed.
 Twins and multiples have been known to develop their own ‘language’ that only they understand. This ‘twin talk’ is known as cryptophasia or idioglossia.
 The world’s oldest twins were born on Feb 14 1803 in Virginia and died at the ages of 108 and 113 respectively. The chances of identical twins surpassing the age of 100 is 1 in 700 million.
 The Yoruba tribe of Nigeria have the highest twinning rate in the entire world (3 sets of twins in every 19 births). The Nigerian people attribute it to their population’s consumption of a specific type of yam. China has the lowest twinning rate with only 1 in 300 pregnancies resulting in a twin birth.
 Up to 22 percent of twins are left-handed. In the non-twin population the number is just under 10 percent.
Twin types and genders are oddly symmetrical. 1/3rd of all twins are identical, 1/3rd are the same sex fraternal and 1/3rd are male/female fraternal. Of the identical twins, half are male/male, and half are female/female. Of the same sex fraternal, half are male/male, and half are female/female.
 Australia produced the world”s first test-tube twins in June 1981.

Twins for the Texan_Sand

AMAZON    BarnesandNoble  HARLEQUIN   ITUNES  KOBO   GOOGLE PLAY

Here’s what they are saying about Twins for the Texan! 

Their explosive attraction is just the beginning of an unexpected journey full of love, parenthood and second chances.  Expressive characters bring authenticity to the emotional and sometimes chaotic aspects of falling love while raising small children. This Billionaires and Babies romance is sizzling!…Romantic Times Book Reviews Magazine 

Wyatt is an amazing hero, a wonderful father and an incredible lover. Brooke cannot help but fall in love but she is not sure Wyatt is ready for more. The path to true love is never easy and this one has more than a few rocks to navigate. The story unfolds magnificently as Brooke helps Wyatt by serving as the nanny for his children. He accepts her help and hopes for some more time in other areas as well. It was also nice to visit with Brooke’s brother and her best friend. Charlene Sands knows how to capture us and keep us reading until the last word.  Debby Guyette, formerly of Cataromance 

Do twins run in your family, like they do in mine?  How would you feel about raising twins?  Any fun twin stories? I’ll tell you mine, if you tell me yours?  Post a comment and be entered in a drawing for my new western ebook release Bachelor For Hire or one of my print backlist books…

Sands-Bachelor-MEDIUM

 

 

MY BABY CONNECTION by Charlene Sands

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Isn’t this cover beautiful?  What a gorgeous baby and hunky cowboy!   I was thrilled when I received the cover for my December book and it being only September I’d normally wait to show it off.  But this book and cover couldn’t be more pertinent in my life!   As of today’s post, my daughter is 33 weeks pregnant and that means in about 2 months I’ll have a new and first grandchild.  It’s a girl and no, they won’t tell us what names they are cooking up.  The little girl’s name on the cover is Meggie. Her mama, Trish calls her “Sweet Pea” sometimes.  And that hunk on the cover is none other than Clayton Worth, brother to Tagg Worth from Carrying the Rancher’s Heir. Both of those Worth men live on Worth Ranch in Red Ridge, Arizona.

Though, THE COWBOY’S PRIDE is a contemporary story, I thought we’d go back in time and see how babies were cared for in the 1800’s.  (AND trust me — you’ll be glad you had your babies in the modern world) but I did find some commonalties where parenting has come full circle.

 

THE CARE AND FEEDING

Affluent new mamas of the mid to late 19th century often used “wet nurses” to feed their babies.  In Europe and in the Victorian era, women rarely stayed at home and relied on servants, mammies and caregivers to breastfeed their children.  This practice was done much earlier in America though.  In the south and as early as the 1700’s, slaves spent a great deal of time raising children from wealthy families and that included nursing them.  If for some reason breastfeeding couldn’t be practiced, then the baby was given PAP, which is a combination of bread, water and sugar. When the child was old enough to eat solid foods, regular food cooked for the family was mashed up and spoon fed to the babies.   In 1867 a London scientist developed the first baby food. Baron Justus von Liebig introduced Soluble Food for Babies and it was available in America by 1869. 

The little tykes did not have it easy.  There were no modern conveniences and probably the worst of it was diaper-changing. 

MESSY ONES

In rural areas often babies were “toilet-trained” as early as possible.  But often times, this meant simply holding the baby over a chamber pot and allowing him to do his deed.  For the first few years of the baby’s life, they either went around bare-bottomed or wearing a skirt for this very reason.   If I was the mother, I’d say the sooner the better with the toilet training.  Ugh.   Poor babies – their little bottoms were never lotioned, oiled or pampered.  If they developed skin problems, they would be treated with a mixture of herbs.  Later on in the 1800’s if a baby wore a diaper, it was recommended that diapers be washed and not just hung out by the fire to dry as per prior practices.   Oh…a lovely thought!   Babies bottoms were simply wiped clean with a dry cloth and powdered with absorbent wood dust.  Then they were either re-diapered or left to run around naked for a while.  Baths were infrequent at best and it took doctors until the early 20th century to start recommending using soap and water to clean the baby’s bottom.  A “novel” idea.   The diaper “safety pin” was invented in 1849, which I think must have made life a little bit easier. 

COMING FULL CIRCLE

Though these practices seem uncivil and rough, many of our current baby care techniques have reverted to more natural techniques used centuries ago.   For instance, as nice as they might make the baby smell, the use of oils and lotions are not considered necessary in today’s world.   Too many babies develop skin rashes and sensitivities from the chemicals contained in those products.   So it’s okay not to butter up a baby’s bottom, but if you must, it’s now recommended that an all natural product be used on their skin.  Thankfully, we are in the “green” era and these all-natural, fragrance-free and chemical-free products are easily found on the store shelves.  It’s important to read the labels. 

Another practice that’s coming full circle is the use of fresh foods and baby grinders to mash up baby’s meal.  Often time, new parents like to know exactly what ingredients are in the food they serve to baby and they spend a great deal of time buying and preparing fresh healthy food for their children.  Something as simple as chicken stew, a little chicken, some fresh carrots and potatoes can make a hearty delicious meal for the baby.  No Cajun spices, please!!  Or you’ll find yourself holding that baby over the modern day chamber pot!

IF YOU LOVE BABIES

I hope you remember my new release coming to Eharlequin this November and all other outlets and bookstores in December. (It is available now for Pre-Order)   Little Meggie is a cutey-pie in a story of second-chances and heartfelt emotions.  Clayton Worth has a connection to this baby, but it’s not what you think. (And that’s all I’m saying!)  And there will be more about my Baby Connection coming soon!

In the meantime, my Kindle and Nook release, Smooth-Talking the Hometown Girl is available now for $.99! 

DRAWING

I’ll be offering a copy of my May release, Carrying the Rancher’s Heir or any one of my backlist books today, if you stop by with a comment about your parenting or babysitting days. 

What was the best and worst thing about caring for a baby?