The sculptor Daniel Edwards always like controversial subjects. I mean, remember the nude statue of Britney Spears giving birth to her son Sean Preston? Or Suri Cruise’s baby poop in bronze? Or Paris Hilton’s unborn twin fetuses?

This time it’s Angelina Jolie and her twins who inspired Edwards. If you remember, Jolie posed for the cover of W magazine last year while breastfeeding her then newborn twins. Inspired by that photo, the latest piece is called Landmark for Breastfeeding, depicting a life-sized nude Jolie sitting on a park bench and double breastfeeding two babies. According to this ABC report, Edwards depicted one baby as African-American and the other not. Sorry, I can’t confirm this. I can’t really tell from the photos. But I can tell that Jolie is breastfeeding the babies using the so-called “football hold”, something which I’ve tried with my twins, too (not very comfortable for the mom, believe me).

The work is supposedly on display at the Mainsite Contemporary Art Museum in Norman, Oklahoma starting September 11 but will be traveling to London soon for an exhibition

According to Edwards, his new work is meant to raise global awareness of breastfeeding and encourage women to breastfeed in public. Edwards claims to be a social activist, using his works as social commentaries. But he also loves controversy, thus choice of celebrity subjects.

What do you think?

Do you think Edwards is sincere about supporting breastfeeding? Do you think the sculpture is serving its noble purpose?

He is currently the world’s number one in tennis, easily the best tennis player of all times with 15 Grand Slam Championships Titles under his belt. During the last few months he collected one title after the other, from the French Open to Wimbledon. But for Roger Federer, the best title was to be the proud Daddy of Charlene Riva and Myla Rose. The twin girls were born here in Switzerland on July 23. The babies and Mommy Mirka, also a one-time professional tennis player, are all doing fine. Finally, Roger’s dream of having his child watch him play will soon come true, though it’s two children actually.

The whole country of Switzerland is happy to welcome the two new Swiss citizens. Everybody knew that Mirka and Roger were expecting but the news about having twins were kept a secret up to the time of delivery. As usual, the happy tidings were first posted in Federer’s personal website, just as he did about their nuptials last Easter.

“This is the greatest day of our lives. Mirka, Myla and Charlene are all healthy and doing very well.”, the proud Daddy writes. What a great birthday gift for the tennis star who is turning 28 this coming August 8.

Federer is reported to be taking time off from tennis to spend time with his three ladies big and small but will soon be back on the courts later this summer.

Almost three years ago, Maria del Carmen Bousada gave birth to twins, setting the record as the oldest mother ever at age 66. This record was broken by Rajo Devi Lohan of India last year who gave birth for the first time at the ancient age of 70. However, Bousada is still the oldest mom to ever give birth to multiples until she passed away earlier this week at the age of 69, leaving her 31-month old twin boys orphans.

In Vitro Fertilization Aided the Late in Life Conception

Bousada has never been married and got pregnant through in vitro fertilization using an unknown donor’s sperms. She reportedly spent all her life savings and even sold her house in order to pay for the fertility treatments. The IVF procedure was performed in Los Angeles where she supposedly lied about her age. Many countries, including the US, have set a maximum age limit for women who want to go through IVF but some don’t.

Bousada’s case will surely spark up the debate of the ethics of having children so late in life. While proponents of the issue argue for freedom of choice that science has enabled us, its opponents question whether it is fair to have children and put them at risk of being orphaned at an early age. One can say that Bousada’s story has proven the opponents right. Earlier this year, a 65-year old British woman created a furor when she decided to have a child and had fertility treatments in an eastern European country.

What Happens to the Children?

Sources told CNN that the children are being well taken care of by a nephew of Bousada. One source (a neighbour) told CNN that “God didn’t let her enjoy her children very much. He should have given her more time.” But what about the kids? They, too, didn’t have much time with their mom. It is sad, but they will barely remember her when they grow up to be adults.

It’s the big day they’ve been looking forward to. My twin boys turned 6 today! It is certainly a major milestone for the kids as well as for the parents. Here are the reasons why:

• 6 is the age when they start primary school. Until a year ago, kindergarten in Switzerland was not obligatory, so that for many kids, 6 is the year when they actually “leave the nest” for the first time.

• 6 is the age when kids start paying. From now on, they will be paying for public transport, museums, swimming pools, shows, etc. For the kids, 6 is the age when they can have their very own – albeit reduced – ticket. They are no longer the “gratis” babies who had to sit on mom/dad’s laps at ice hockey matches. They will have their own seat! Oh, how proud they are. (And oh, how much more do mommy and daddy have to spend now).

• 6 is the age when kids can do much more. There are games, rides, or toys that are only accessible to 6+ kids, including that big slide and the 3-meter diving board at our local swimming pool.

• 6 is also the age of the big doctor’s check up, when inoculations are finally completed, and when the kids are checked for school readiness.

In addition to these milestones, we have agreed that a couple things can happen once they turn 6, namely:

• They can choose the clothes they wear in the morning, although mommy still has to give the final approval based on weather conditions.

• They can go and shop for their birthday presents.

• They can brush their teeth in the evenings on their own.

Things went fairly well even though they went for sleeveless shirts and shorts on a not-so-warm day. It took them two hours to decide what to buy with their birthday budget of 10 Swiss Francs (about 8 US dollars).

In the end, they refused all suggestions from us parents – from swimming fins, to a ping pong set, etc, and opted for a little stuff toy instead (much to Dad’s dismay and mom’s delight). As for the tooth brushing, it went pretty well despite a mishap with the toothpaste.

It was just 6 years ago, they were born premature and much smaller than normal babies. I remember the weeks when they had to stay in the neonatal clinic. I remember how we lived through post partum depression, the superhot summer of 2003, four months of breast milk pumping, countless sleepless nights, tummy aches, teething pains, and respiratory tract infections. Those are the times when I had my doubts whether I could make it. But then I also remember the first smiles, the first steps, the first words, all the other “firsts”. My six years have come and gone. And I guess I’m allowed to say: we made it! Good night, my babies.

What happens when you are down to your last embryo and your chances of producing more are slim? This is a question facing many parents who are undergoing IVF. And this Greek fertility expert seems to have found a solution – artificially split up the embryo. In the process, Karl Illmensee, laboratory director at the Genesis Fertility Center in Patras, Greece, is creating twins and multiples in the lab.

Monozygotic (identical) twins and multiples are produced when an embryo spontaneously splits to produce several identical embryos. Illmensee does this manually. He claims that by splitting high quality embryos at the 6-to-8 cell stage, viable twins can be produced.

The success of an IVF cycle can depend largely on the number of embryos implanted. This technique can give couples who have a short supply of embryos higher chances of getting pregnant.

As expected, this technique is embroiled in controversy. Two main questions crop up: Is it ethical? Is it safe?

Is it ethical? After claims of human cloning, or performance of IVF on a 70-year-old woman, the ethical question in this issue seems pretty tame.

I am more concerned about the safety of the technique. Would the babies be healthy? Multiple pregnancies as such as associated with a high potential for genetic aberrations plus pregnancy complications that can threaten both the mother and the unborn children.

Illmensee counters objections by saying “splitting one embryo into two or more embryos could serve the needs of infertile couples in several ways. As long as a couple is fully informed of the risk of such an outcome, there would appear to be no major ethical objection.”

Well, my baby girl is now 13 months old. She cruises around the furniture without a second thought. She pushes chairs around the dining room making “vroom” sounds like a little boy. She has even stood up for several seconds 0n a couple of occasions before she realized she wasn’t holding anything. But she will not walk. I really think she can, she just won’t.

It doesn’t help that I have several friends and acquaintances with babies who walked unusually early. For example, little Jesse was walking by himself at about 9 months. Big Connor was jogging across the room at 10 months. That’s about the same age that Kaylee was walking, and now, at just about 13 1/2 months, Kaylee dances. It’s so cute to see her up on her toes, twirling. And then I look over and see my precious daughter–so cute–just sitting there enjoying the show. When’s that girl going to get up and walk?!

If you read my post a couple months ago about wishing for teeth, then maybe you know I’m a little hyper about these things. I’m not worried that she won’t ever walk–I know she will. I know perfectly well that walking early or late has no more to do with intelligence than how early she had hair. And I’m not exactly comparing my daughter to the early walkers, because I know that those kids are unusual. I just want to see her take those wobbly little steps with a big, gorgeous (and toothy!) grin. I guess I’m ready for her to be a toddler.

My son was a couple weeks shy of his first birthday when he stepped out. And the whole family was there to see it, because it was Thanksgiving. I’m a little worried about my daughter’s big debut, because she and I are flying out of state in a few weeks for my niece’s high school graduation. What if she takes her first steps while we are away from Daddy? He’ll never forgive us…

The expert consensus seems to be that most babies take their first steps between 9-12 months, and they walk well just a couple months after that. Of course, they are all careful to say that many perfectly healthy kids don’t walk until they are 16 or 17 months old. That will drive me crazy if it’s true for her. A good friend of mine assured me that her twins didn’t walk until they were 16 months old. But they’re twins. I can easily write off that exception in development. I’ve also heard that the later babies walk, the more coordinated they are in the long run. I thought that sounded like a Old wives tale. Since I can’t find a confirmation for it, I’ll assume it’s not true.

However, Dr. Sears suggests that more easy-going babies walk later because they are more content with the way things are. My little girl is a very content baby, so maybe I should just hunker down and maybe even put the camera away for a couple months…

When did your baby walk? And have you ever heard that late walkers are more coordinated?

Last summer, the buzz was all about Thomas Beatie, “the pregnant man,” and his daughter Susan. Well, Beaties, step aside, now there’s something even better. A Spanish transsexual man claims he is 6-weeks pregnant with twins.

25-year old Ruben Noe Coronado Jimenez and his partner, 43-year old Esperanza Ruiz, happily announced the news to the world this week in the popular magazine Pronto. They plan to marry before the babies are born in September, and raise the children–both boys–together in Barcelona, Spain.

In every sense of the word, Coronado is still a woman. Once known as Estefania, Coronado had been undergoing the physical transformation of becoming a man. Photos of Coronado show a balding, bearded man. But Spanish law, as of last year, allows citizens to change their gender status without actually having sex change surgery (if the person is undergoing other kinds of gender-reassignment treatment, like hormones). The proud “mama” says she only retained her legal female status in order to undergo fertility treatment. Coronado took hormone treatment that would restart her periods, and then did in vitro fertilization. She plans to begin the administrative process that will legally transform her into a man this month. So, when she gives birth via cesarean section, she will actually be “he.”

Even though the pregnant soon-to-be-man announced the pregnancy via tabloid press, Coronado insists, “to protect my children I’m not going to sell my story now or in the future.” But she talked to the press in order that the world can start to see transsexual pregnancies as “normal.” But belly bumps are a different thing entirely. And since someone else will do it if she doesn’t, she may just sell a snapshot or two of “his” pregnant belly when the time comes. Can’t wait to see that one.

The obvious question in this case is, “Why didn’t Ruiz–the partner that intends to remain female–undergo the fertility treatment and carry the babies?”. And, as in the case with Thomas Beatie, there is a simple answer: the other partner couldn’t. Ruiz actually has two children from a previous relationship. But the aging mom was told by her doctor that she could not become pregnant again. So Coronado decided she would do it, even though she plans to become a man. And even though Spanish law doesn’t require it, Coronado does intend to complete the surgical sex job she interrupted. In a strange simile, Coronado compared her quasi-transgender status to having three hands. “You take advantage of them while you have them and you get rid of one of them when they get in the way.” Of course. When your uterus gets in the way, you just get rid of it.

So, are you buying it? Is transsexual pregnancy normal? And will Coronado be able to protect his children from the media?

I have very little experience in putting one baby to sleep. I can’t tell you how to put three or more babies to sleep at the same time. But as a mom of twins, I sure do know how to put twin babies to sleep. At least my babies. Because every baby is different.

Here are some of my strategies.

Schedule. A regular sleeping schedule for one baby is important. Much more with two. It is important that they would be more or less on the same schedule. It’s better for the babies but also for Mommy. We always had our bedtime routine of washing, storytelling (yes, I read to them even as babies mainly our favourites Guess how much I love and Mr. Brown can moo) and lullaby singing. I also tried to have naptimes on schedule. As fellow blogger brit has written, a schedule disruption can lead to an overtired and rather crabby baby. Times two, in my case.

Separate beds. My boys were in the same room but had separate beds right from the start. I found that they were less likely to disturb each other when they woke at night. Also I had an extra bed in another room just in case. Often, when one baby woke up in the middle of the night, I would take him downstairs and put him in his playpen. He’d play and eventually fall asleep there and I’d simply cover him with a blanket and keep him there till morning. When both babies woke up at night – well, that’s another story.

Anything that swings  or rocks - Hammocks and rocking/swinging beds. I would have loved to rock my babies to sleep. But aside from the fact that the ratio of 2 babies to 1 mom makes this logistically almost impossible, there’s also the safety part to consider. Holding two babies in one go increases the chances of dropping one -or even both. Especially when you are sleep-deprived. Now, I know moms of twins who swear to baby hammocks or rocking beds. We didn’t have any of those and we didn’t want to buy them either so we improvised. I used my babies’ car seats as sleeping baskets – at least for naps. I swung them, one in each hand till my arm muscles ached. I made sure they were securely buckled up, though. Or I took one baby in my arms, while I rocked the other one in his car seat with my foot.

Pram/buggy. In the mornings, the best way to get them to nap was push them on the pram. I did this every morning, rain or shine, warm or cold. After they had fallen asleep, I would head back home and place the pram on our roofed terrace. Yes, my boys napped outdoors. And I got to exercise!

Car. Now, if everything else fails, I’d load the babies and the car seats in the car and go for a drive. Ten minutes max and they would be napping. We also tried to schedule our long drives during nap time to avoid disruption in their sleeping patterns.

Physical activity. As soon as they could walk, I kept them physically active, e.g. a walk around the block (without the buggy!) or a couple of hours at the playground. I found that they sleep/nap after exercise.

I guess I did something right along the way because my boys started sleeping through at 5 months and continued to nap till they were 4 years old, one even till he was almost 5! Or maybe they are just sleepy heads by nature. Whatever I did that worked, I found out by trial and error.  These are definitely not found in the books. As I said before, each baby is different and Mommy has to simply find out what works for her baby!

Most of us may not be familiar with the name Sarah Reinfelder, or the term Uterus didelphys, but I suspect that we will be hearing more about both in the coming weeks. According to recent reports, Reinfelder gave birth to twins at Marquette General Hospital. The interesting thing is she has two wombs, and carried one baby in each uterus.

The condition is known as Uterus didelphys. According to the Mayo Clinic website, the condition is rare, and occasionally it is not diagnosed. The cause of the condition is not yet known. In fetuses, the uterus first starts out as two tubes which then fuse to make one organ.

Women who have Uterus didelphys usually don’t need treatment, unless the condition leads to other complications. These include miscarriages or pain in the pelvic area. In cases where the woman becomes pregnant with twins, the births could be days or weeks apart if they are in separate uteruses.

Reinfelder’s babies were born seven weeks premature, but by all accounts healthy. Their lungs aren’t fully developed, so it is expected that they will spend another three to four weeks in the hospital. The girls were delivered by cesarean section.

In 2006, a woman in the UK named Hanna Kersey gave birth to triplets. A single baby was born from one womb, and she delivered identical twins from the other. This was the first known case of a woman with a double womb successfully delivering triplets.

Interestingly, when the ducts fail to fuse, the result is usually two cervices and uteri of normal size. Sometimes the condition can be diagnosed by ultrasound, but this dependent on a familiarity with the condition. In rare cases doctors may resort to an MRI to reach a diagnosis. CT scans are a less preferred option due to radiation concerns, but these have been used as well.

It is certainly good news that these babies were born healthy, albeit prematurely. I suspect that Reinfelder may generate quite a bit of interest for a while, though not on the same level as the Octomom. Congratulations to Sarah Reinfelder on the birth of her twins, especially given what is sometimes a risky condition. I hope that there will be no further complications and that the babies will be able to go home soon.

Ranjit Hayer is 60 years old and is one of the oldest women to give birth, definitely among the oldest in Canada, and certainly as a mom of twins, according the CBC Canada. After several decades of trying to conceive, her patience finally paid off in double dose and delivered twins earlier this week.

Ranjit has been through several miscarriages and even an IVF scam. She and her husband were originally from India.

Ranjit’s case put fuel into the ongoing ethical debate about IVF treatments. In this case, the ground for objection is Ranjit’s advanced age. The cut off age for IVF treatment in Canada is 45 to 50 years old. Because of her disqualification due to her age in Canada, Ranjit went to India to have the IVF procedure done using donor eggs. She was initially pregnant with triplets but lost one embryo. However, she came back to Canada to deliver in Calgary.

With advancing age, pregnancy becomes more difficult and riskier. Ranjit suffered from gestational diabetes and hypertension, as well as placenta previa. She had hemorrhage in her 7^th week of gestation and her twins were delivered by emergency C-section. The babies are doing well but one baby needs breathing assistance and the other is in a special neonatal care unit. The mother had severe bleeding that led to the removal of her uterus as well as blood transfusion and a stay in an intensive care unit..

Many critics are objecting to the fact that people like Ranjit are circumventing the cut off age under Canadian law by having IVF outside the country but still the Canadian health care system has to bear the burden of the costs of prenatal complications as well as the postnatal and neonatal care.

Aside from pregnancy complications and the costs, there are also the social, psychological and financial implications of people close to retirement age still having to raise children to adulthood.

The IVF-at-any-age issue is a very difficult and sensitive topic. On the one hand, technology offers people the possibility of fulfilling their wish for children. On the other hand, at what price and how would it affect the children?

What do you think?

Folks, here is another amazing New Year Baby story.

Six years ago, I, my sister-in-law, and another friend, were pregnant in the same year and delivered within four months of each other. I’m sure this happens lots of times but it was fun for us. But what is the likelihood that twin sisters would deliver hours apart in the same hospital?

Martha and Dorothy from Memphis, Tennessee did just that, according to FoxNews! Dorothy was due on January 3 and Martha on January 11. Somehow Martha labored early on New Year’s Day. Dorothy rushed to the hospital to be with her twin and then started to have contractions herself as well! It ended up having the twin sisters having contraction back to back. Both delivered their babies on the January 1, 2009 within hours of each other.

As mom of identical twins, people are always asking him whether there is any truth to the so-called “ESP” or “special communication” among twins. And I honestly reply “I don’t know.” I know however that my twins have a special bond that goes beyond the usual inter-sibling bond or the even the parent-offspring bond. I’m sure Dorothy and Martha also have this bond that led to the almost simultaneous yet unplanned deliveries.

What a story that would be for their kids!

Babies Online will be selecting someone to receive a FREE copy of Twin Sense: A Sanity-Saving Guide to Raising Twins. All you have to do is share your opinion by leaving a comment about this post. That?s it! Leave a comment and you?re entered to win.

Tarrance Kyle Griffin Jr. was born last year. He’s healthy and well, and probably happy that his little brother was born this year—a New Year’s baby. The funny thing is, they’re twins! Little Tarrance was born at 11:51 p.m. on New Year’s Eve, while his brother Tariq didn’t emerge for another 26 minutes.

That means they have birthdays on different days, different months, and different years! “It was a shock!” said their mom, Tangernika Woods. She had hoped the boys would be born on January 1, but conceded that this just proves the fraternal twins have a mind of their own.

And having a separate identity is an issue for some twins. Tarrance Sr., the boys’ dad, understands this well, as he is also a twin. So Dad is happy for the arrangement. “All I can say is they have their separate birthdays now, you know?”

The boys weighed in at a healthy 5 pounds 7 ounces, and 5 pounds 15 ounces. Born near Detroit, Michigan, the babies will go home this weekend. They will join siblings aged 7 years and 11 months.

I wrote about twins in my last post, saying how fascinating they are to me. With apologies to all the world’s twins and their parents, here I am again! This is the kind of scenario I fantasized about when I was a kid. I always wanted a twin sister, and even pretended sometimes (when I met someone new) that I did. I can imagine how much fun it would be to have a story like this. And considering they have a brother only 11 months older, maybe they can even play triplets.

At any rate, best wishes to the Woods family. God bless your new little babies. Have fun—and try to get some rest.

For more information on twins have a look at this months Comment Contest Book Giveaway! This month’s prize is Twin Sense: A Sanity-Saving Guide to Raising Twins.

Let’s be honest. Most of us are fascinated with twins. When I see a set in the store, I always want to look closely and see if they are identical. Some friends of mine have triplets. Two are identical twins and one is fraternal. I don’t know which captivates me more. Of course, I don’t want to stare, but maybe multiples get used to it? I don’t know.

Well, one set of twins in Britain now has double the reason to catch a second glance. Lauren and Hayleigh are fraternal twins, but looking at them, you may not think they were even related. Lauren is white; Hayleigh is black. Statistics vary, but Snopes.com says the odds of multiracial parents having two single-race twins are about 1 in a million. How likely are they to accomplish the same feat twice?

Alison Spooner and Dean Durrant are now fond of saying their family is two in a million. They just brought home their second set of twin girls, Miya and Leah, who share the same beautiful looks as their older sisters. Seven-year old Lauren has red hair and blue eyes, just like Mum. Twin Hayleigh has brown skin and hair like Dad.

In November, the new twins were delivered early by cesarean, and so were originally taken to a special care unit. It wasn’t for five days their parents saw them side-by-side and really noticed the same differences. “I was shocked when I first found out I was pregnant with twins again  -  but I never thought for one second they would turn out the same as last time,” Miss Spooner said. “‘I was blown away when I saw them together. I didn’t know until then that there was such a big difference between the two.”

Finally, the babies are healthy enough to go home, and to have their pictures shown to the world.

Like I said at  the outset, I am fascinated by twins. If I had twins of my own, I’m sure I would be annoyed by people like myself. But I’m just being honest. Most of the fraternal twins I have known look fairly similar. Think about Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen. I suppose I probably have known more fraternal twins, I just didn’t know it because of their different looks.

This is so cool! What a beautiful family.

For more information on twins have a look at this months Comment Contest Book Giveaway! This month’s prize is Twin Sense: A Sanity-Saving Guide to Raising Twins.

If you have ever struggled with breastfeeding, you can sympathize with 33-year old actress Angelina Jolie. The star, most recently in The Changeling, discussed nursing four-month old twins (and other mum wisdom) with British talk show GMTV.

To put it simply, “It’s very hard,” she said. That didn’t stop her from appearing on the cover of W magazine, breastfeeding one of her twins. The picture, shot by boyfriend, Brad Pitt, was one of many featured photos.

Despite her impression that the so-called football hold is “a lot harder than it looks in the books,” Miss Jolie still managed to nurse both babies for three months, sometimes doubling up in the football hold, and sometimes taking turns. But, as many moms have discovered, she claims it just took a lot of time, and three months was as long as she could go.

Jolie became pregnant with babies 5 and 6 while shooting the film The Changeling. Kudos to Miss Jolie for being a role model in several respects. I commend any mom who takes the effort and time to breastfeed any baby, let alone multiples. A good friend of mine has twins and she barely eeked out 6 weeks breastfeeding them. I also think nursing is especially challenging for moms who work outside their homes, and Miss Jolie is certainly a busy working mom. Finally, she also has several other children vying for her attention. I struggled for several weeks with my second child, and she was just a singleton, with an 11-year old brother, and I am working at home.? It would be tempting for me (if I were in her shoes) to take the easy road and hire a wetnurse, or at least someone to bottle feed for her.

If YOU have breastfed your multiples, you are my hero, too! Way to go! How did you manage?

A few months back, I posted a list of 10 most common questions that a mom of twins gets to hear. I’ve been meaning to go through the list of questions but somehow there were other more interesting topics to write about.

A recent post by Mrs H on Lisa Marie Presley expecting twins sparked my interest again in the issue and I feel it’s now time to tackle question # 10 – Are they IVF babies?

As Mrs H has written

“If not for multiples running in the family.. I’m sure conjectures regarding IVF would be swirling by now.” And she’s right.

In the same way, in last week’s People magazine exclusive interview with Angelina and Brad, the topic of IVF also came up in connection with their twins.

Believe me, it’s not only celebrities who are confronted with this question.

Now I know statistics show that the rate of twinning and having multiples has increased in the last decade or so and this has been attributed partly to assisted reproduction technology. But not all twins and multiples are conceived through IVF. There were twins before the first IVF baby was born and there will always be. And take note – there are many IVF babies out there who are singletons. Do they get scrutinized like twins and multiples? No way!

For me, this is the most stupid and offensive question to come from strangers and casual acquaintances. For one thing, it’s a very personal question and asking it amounts to invasion of privacy. In many cultures and for some people, fertility is a very sensitive issue and unlike Brad and Angelina, some people wouldn’t be “happy to discuss it.” That includes me. Rant over .

Lisa Marie Presley must be doubled over with joy. Her camp has finally confirmed to Entertainment Tonight the rumors that she is expecting twins.

This will be her first children with husband Michael Lockwood. If not for multiples running in the family, her Dad – remember Elvis Presley? – was a twin, I’m sure conjectures regarding IVF would be swirling by now.

Older sister and brother Danielle Riley, 19, and Benjamin Storm, 15 – with first husband Danny Keough, will complete the family circle.

Congrats to the family!

Today, People magazine published a special edition with photos of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt’s new twins, Vivienne and Knox.

People is running this week’s issue one day earlier to take advantage of the demand to see the new babies. The magazine wouldn’t say how much they paid for the photos, but as pictures of their daughter Shiloh sold for $4 million, and Jennifer Lopez’s twins’ photos sold for $6 million, it has to be something astronomical! The Jolie-Pitt family is expected to donate all the money to charity, as they did with the payment for Shiloh’s photographs.

In the rest of the world, British celebrity magazine Hello! has bought the exclusive rights to print the pictures of the babies outside North America. The amount paid for these pictures also hasn’t been revealed, but Hello! is also going to press one day early, will be available on newsstands for an extra week, and has quintupled it’s cover price from the equivalent of $1 to $5. Again, the money is expected to go to charity.

On Friday, July 25th, Australian courts ruled that the unnamed Lesbian couple who underwent In-vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment for one baby and instead got two, had no valid claim and dismissed the case. The controversial lawsuit has sparked outrage amongst many in Australia, with the couple, who insist that the unplanned twin birth had affected their relationship negatively, asking for $400,000 from the doctor who had implanted not one but two embryos.

Most of Australians who learn about the lawsuit are overwhelmingly against the couple, and has convinced others even more that homosexual couples should not be allowed to undergo IVF procedures.

The Lesbian couple, who to this day remains anonymous, have issued a statement that states their love for their twin daughters, now 4 yrs. old. The statement also clarifies that their lawsuit was about the negligence of their obstetrician in implanting two embryos instead of one.

What do you think of this lawsuit? Are you glad it was overturned, or did you think the couple had a valid claim?

On July 11, a woman in Berlin gave birth to twins which are as unidentical as twins – or siblings for that matter – could get. One boy has fair skin while the one has dark skin. This was reported by The Local, Germany’s News in English. The mommy is from Ghana and the daddy is German.

In 2006, two girls with different skin and hair color were born in Australia to a Jamaican-English mother and a German father. In 2005, another set of fraternal twin girls with different skin tones was born in Britain.

According to BellaOnline (The Voice of Women), having twins of different skin tones is highly unusual. Usually, most mixed-race individuals carry both dark and light-skinned genes in theirs gametes (eggs or sperms). However, on rare occasions, some gametes may carry predominantly or totally genes for a certain type of skin/hair color only. For both egg and sperm to match their genes is a very rare occurrence indeed.

I am of Asian ethnicity, and my husband is German. It could have happened to us – but our twin boys are identical. To have twins that are so unlike in outward appearance would be weird – but also special.

“I imagine sitting at a playground where the other mothers will call me crazy when I tell them the boys are twins” said the mom of the African-German babies Ryan and Leo.

The latest development in one of the most anticipated twin pregnancies in Hollywood circle has Angelina Jolie in the hospital for their birth. She has been admitted to Lenval Hospital in Nice, France and a spokeswoman for the hospital has confirmed that mom is doing well. Not much more details has been given but that her admittance to the hospital has been a scheduled one. I’m sure it won’t be long until she does give birth and the whole Jolie-Pitt clan welcome its latest additions.

Some have speculated that the choice of France as the twins’ country of birth is an homage to Jolie’s mother, Marcheline Bertrand who has passed away. But others are saying that Angelina Jolie and husband Brad Pitt, decided on a France birth because of the government’s more stringent rules against paparazzi. French Paparazzis are not allowed to take pictures of celebrities in private settings, especially not celebrities’ children. Only in celebrity events such as premiers, and awards shows, etc, are celebrity pictures allowed to be taken and children’s photos are regularly blurred or even pulled from publication.