Your chance of conceiving non-identical (fraternal) twins is increased if there is a history of fraternal twins among women in your family.
Three in every 100 women find themselves pregnant with twins, up from a rate of one in 100 only a generation or two ago.
There are several reasons why multiples pregnancies are on the rise. With more and more women delaying pregnancy well into their 30s and 40s, the incidence of non-identical (also known as fraternal or dizygotic) twins or triplets has boosted, thanks to age-related hormonal changes which can cause hyperovulationHyperovulation is the release of more than one egg during a single menstrual cycle. The increased use of fertility drugs and in vitro fertilization also greatly contributes to the increased rate of twinning currently observed.
While there are no factors that seem to increase your chance of having identical (maternal or monozygotic) twins — those conceived from one fertilized egg which splits into two embryos – your chance of conceiving non-identical (fraternal) twins is increased if there is a history of fraternal twins among women in your family. Twins are also more common in black women than white women, and less common among Asian and Hispanic women.
Some research indicates that folic acid supplementation — which is currently recommended for all women of childbearing age — may contribute to an increased chance for twins.
Exaggerated Pregnancy Symptoms May Suggest a Multiples PregnancyMothers of multiples may find that they experience increased or exaggerated early signs of pregnancy such as more severe morning sickness, indigestion, edema, increased weight gain, and large-for-date uterine size. However, these symptoms can all occur in a normal, healthy, singleton (one fetus) pregnancy.
Blood Tests May Suggest Twin or Triplet PregnancyAbnormal prenatal AFP (Alphafetoprotein) screening blood tests may also suggest a multiples pregnancy, as can elevated HcG (Human Chorionic Gonadotrophin) levels in blood or urine tests very early in pregnancy.
More Than One HeartbeatIf your doctor or midwife suspects you may be carrying more than one baby, she or he may look for and detect more than one fetal heartbeat using a fetal doppler machine. Keep in mind, however, that the heartbeat of a single fetus can be heard from more than one location, meaning that this method only confirms twins, triplets (or more) if the heartbeats detected differ in rate. For this reason, the auditory detection of “multiple” heartbeats alone is rarely used to diagnose a multiples pregnancy.
Ultrasound Tests Can Confirm Multiple GestationsWith the advent of modern technology and prenatal care that includes ultrasounds, nowadays twins are rarely a birth day surprise and are almost always diagnosed well before delivery, during the first or second trimester of pregnancy; a multiples pregnancy is definitively confirmed with ultrasound, where sound waves are used to create actual images and/or video of the uterus, placenta, and baby or babies.
All of us are really small space lovers. While McMansions rule the suburbs, and those with means build estates and ranches, us city folk aspire to the perfect perch. Why? Because we are drawn to the warmth and buzz of urban life.
We are cliff dwellers. We long to be close to one another and feel the rhythm of the streets. We want to be right on top of it all, close to our friends, near the energy.
If anything, we want a view, we want sunlight, and we want location, location, location. Space, we are willing to give away. But because perches are short on space we are all — both high and low – forced to be creative when building our nests. Here then, is our starter list for our fellow cliff dwellers. Feel free to add your own.
Remove your interior doors (use curtains instead on closets and doors).
Replace your big refrigerator with a smaller, undercounter model. It’s more than enough room.
Treat yourself to a really good, sturdy small vacuum (we love Meilé).
Use track lighting aimed at walls to free up floor space and create an expansive feeling.
Install lighting inside closets so you can see what’s in there. They will be easier to maintain and you will gain the feeling of more space.
Clean your windows often so that more light comes in and your view is not blocked.
Buy quality cookware, tableware, and linens. Small luxuries go a long way.
Go wireless, transfer all your music to your computer and sell your CDs!
Use full spectrum light bulbs to energize and enliven your home.
Have lots of dinner parties. People actually socialize better in small spaces. And, as an added bonus, apartment dwellers who entertain take better care of their homes.
Getting married? Before you get to choosing the color of the table napkins, here’s a basic guide to the different levels of formality you can choose from when planning your wedding.
Learn how to figure out how grand (or casual) the big (or small) event on the happy day will be.
The Ultraformal Wedding decks out the ceremony in flowers and bows. Almost always held in a church, this wedding includes a whopping six to 12 bridal attendants and just as many groomsmen. Each detail is supervised by proficient florists and decorators and the gargantuan dinner reception is prepared by expert chefs. The bridesmaids’ dresses are long, the bride’s is longer, and the men might even wear opera hats.
One step down brings us the Formal Wedding. Such ceremonies are usually held in a church, but a home, garden, ballroom or private club can also prove to be the right location. You’ll find just as many bridesmaids and groomsmen surrounding the happy couple at this wedding, but the formality of dress has fallen down a notch, but is still fabulous.
No need to book the church for a Semiformal Wedding. Your home, your garden, a hotel or a club will do just fine. You can cut back on the wedding party (unless you’re filling up the garden), decorations and number of guests, if you’d like, making the planning process a wee bit easier. The ceremony can be followed by a small reception, often organized by the bride’s mother and her relatives.
Just like Fridays, weddings can go casual, too. These daytime ceremonies welcome just one maid of honor and the best man up front, and decorations are optional and minimal. Guests are whittled down to relatives and close friends and the event is usually held just about anywhere you’d like, although beach and outdoor weddings are popular, budget-friendly options for casual weddings. The reception afterward is also up to the couple, but if the wedding is held at home, a small gathering is usually expected to follow the ceremony.
Ask a man to slip into a leather pump or a brassier; not too comfortable, is he?
That’s because these items have been specifically designed for the average physical proportions of a woman.
Similarly, it’s no surprise than many women feel awkward or uncomfortable using many home repair tools which have traditionally been designed for use by men. Finally, a line of home repair and improvement tools and products designed specifically for women.
Barbara Kavovit (aka Barbara K!) is a young New York City businesswoman/entrepreneur, and CEO of Barbara K! Enterprises, Inc., a comprehensive lifestyle brand that offers solutions for women through innovative home repair and improvement products, including an extensive line of high-quality, do-it-yourself toolkits, tools and accessories.
In addition to providing a line of tools designed to encourage women to feel confident about their ability to perform what have been considered (traditionally) male tasks, Barbara K! also provides an excellent role model for both female and male entrepreneurs.
Barbara K! launched her extensive line of home repair and improvement products, designed exclusively for women, with the mission of instilling in women the self-confidence achieved in doing-it-yourself, and eliminating the fear factor of home repair. For today’s busy contemporary women, the kits are intended to save them both time and money.
Barbara k! entered the home improvement business by literally pounding the pavement – going door-to-door with fliers advertising her services and, later, donning a business suit and distributing her business cards, “Don’t’ Fuss Call Us,” outside a Gristedes in Westchester, NY. Her diligence worked: she received dozens of calls from women requesting her home repair services. Knowing nothing about the construction business, barbara k! learned from her subcontractors as well as from classes at a local technical college.
By 1990, the demand for Barbara K!’s services increased enough for her to officially start “Stand-Ins,” a small home improvement business. But, now she was targeting more than just home repair. After aggressively soliciting IBM for six months, she won a two-year contract for interior renovation. Later, she became intricately involved in developing River Point, a condominium complex in New Jersey.
In 1995, Barbara K! formed Anchor Construction, taking on larger projects, including a 50,000-square-foot renovation for Women.com and renovation work for Carnegie Hall. Meanwhile, she also built townhouses for models Amber Valetta and Linda Evangelista (she also built her own 6,000 square foot, post-modern traditional home in the Hamptons). In 2002, Barbara K! focused on a new mission with a new company: Barbara K! Enterpri
ses.
Among barbara k!’s products is her signature 30-piece Toolkit , which contains everything a woman needs to tackle the most common home improvement projects, from fixing a leaky faucet to hanging curtains. The tools are ergonomically designed for women: they are shaped to fit smaller hands, boast spring-assist technology to accommodate a woman’s grip, and are guaranteed forever. Reinforcing Barbara K!’s mission to educate women, the Toolkit also includes Barbara K!’s exclusive how-to booklet which provides step-by-step instructions for accomplishing a variety of common home repair projects using the Barbara K! tools, from changing a showerhead to hanging pictures.
The latest addition to the Barbara K! product line is designed to ensure potential inclement weather doesn’t interfere with your travel plans this winter (or any other time of year). Women should equip their cars with the proper tools to battle another powerful lady, Mother Nature. Last fall, Barbara K! will launch the Roadside Safety Kit.
The kit contains everything a woman needs to manage the unexpected glitches of road travel: jumper cables, a batter-operated lantern, glow sticks, a tire gauge, a funnel, an ice scraper, gloves, rags, a poncho, and an S.O.S banner. It also features something other car kits don’t; Barbara K!’s exclusive How-To Guide to Roadside Safety. This booklet includes instructions on basic car repairs, maintenance, identifying problems on the road, and emergency contact information.
Barbara Kavovit, creator of Barbara K!
Beyond the retailing success of her products, Barbara K! is establishing herself as today’s Do-It-Yourself expert for women and is considering a variety of potential television opportunities.
With over 70 percent of all female home owners doing minor home repairs themselves, and 37 percent of women saying they would prefer to spend their leisure time working on a home improvement project than shopping or cooking, Barbara K! is evidently fulfilling a need and has clearly found her niche. And, with her revolutionary new product line, Barbara K! is bringing new meaning to the phrase “power women.”
Early signs of pregnancy vary from woman to woman and even pregnancy to pregnancy. If you’re particularly tuned in to your body’s rhythms, you may begin to suspect you’re pregnant soon after conception.
Most women won’t experience any early signs of pregnancy until the fertilized egg implants into the uterine wall, on average six to twelve days after ovulation. Other women may notice no signs of pregnancy until a delayed or missed menstrual cycle, one of the most pronounced and significant symptoms of pregnancy.
Whether you’re trying to get pregnant, or trying not to, it’s important to understand indicators of pregnancy because each symptom may be related to something other than pregnancy.
Below is a list of some of the most common first signs of pregnancy — some of which may occur before a home pregnancy test can be used — letting you know that you may be on your way to becoming a mother. You may experience all, some, or none of these signs that you could be prego:
Admittedly it’s a cliché, but food cravings sometimes can be early signs of pregnancy. Don’t rely on a hankering for pickles and ice cream as a sure symptom of pregnancy – it may be all in your head, or even a sign that your body is deficient in certain nutrients – however, if cravings are accompanied by some of the other symptoms on this list, it could mean that you might be eating for two.
What else it could mean: Poor diet, nutritional deficiency, stress, depression, or impending menstruation.
If the skin around your nipples darkens, you may be pregnant, though this may also mark a hormonal imbalance unrelated to pregnancy or be a leftover effect from a previous pregnancy.
What else it could mean: Hormonal imbalance unrelated to pregnancy or may be a leftover effect from a previous pregnancy.
Implantation bleeding can be one of the earliest signs of pregnancy when, about six to twelve days after conception, the embryo burrows into the uterine wall. As a result of this, some women will experience implantation spotting – a slight staining of a pink or brown color – as well as some cramping.
You might mistake implantation bleeding for a very light period, as spotting can occur around the time you expect your period.
What else it could mean: Actual menstruation, altered menstruation, changes in birth control pill, infection, or abrasion from intercourse.
Once the embryo implants and begins producing the hormone human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG), the pregnancy-sustaining hormone secreted by the embryo soon after conception (usually around six to eight weeks after conception) you may find yourself running to the bathroom more often.
What else it could mean: Urinary tract infection, diabetes, increasing liquid intake, or taking excessive diuretics.
Feeling drowsy? No, make that absolutely wiped. High levels of the hormone progesterone experienced during pregnancy can make you feel as if you’ve run a marathon when all you’ve done is put in a normal day’s work. This hallmark of early pregnancy can appear as soon as the first week after conception (before a positive pregnancy test can be performed), but don’t necessarily assume you’re pregnant just because you’re feeling exhausted.
What else it could mean: Stress, exhaustion, depression, common cold or flu, or other illnesses can also leave you feeling drained.
If you’re pregnant, your breasts will probably become fuller and increasingly tender to the touch, similar to the way they may feel before your period, but more pronounced. These changes may begin as early as one to two weeks after conception.
What else it could mean: Hormonal imbalance, birth control pills, impending menstruation (PMS) can also cause your breasts to swell and become more sensitive.
As early as a couple of days following conception, you may begin feeling nauseated and queasy; it will often show up between two to eight weeks after conception. Despite the common name of this well-known sign of pregnancy (morning sickness) it doesn’t only kick in during the morning hours: pregnancy-related nausea can be present any time of day or night.
If you’re lucky, morning sickness won’t hit you until a few weeks after conception, and some women are lucky enough to escape it altogether.
What else it could mean: Food poisoning, stress, or other stomach disorders can also cause you to feel queasy.
Lower backaches and headaches may appear as early signs of pregnancy as a result of the sudden rise of hormones.
What else it could mean: Impending menstruation, stress, back problems, and physical or mental strains, dehydration, caffeine withdrawal, eye strain.
When you become pregnant, your next period should be missed, and a missing period is often one of the first signs of pregnancy experienced by women. Many women experience bleeding while they are pregnant, but usually the bleeding will be shorter or lighter than a normal period. If you have been sexually active, are late and usually experience clockwork visits from Aunt Flo, it’s worth trying a pregnancy test.
What else it could mean: Excessive weight gain/loss, fatigue, hormonal imbalance, tension, stress, stopping birth control pill, or breast-feeding.
A positive pregnancy test is the most definitive sign that you’re in the family way. You get a blood pregnancy test from online services such as JustGetTested.com or from your physician. And of course home (urine) pregnancy tests are available at most drug stores; there are early home pregnancy tests such as E.P.T Digital Early Pregnancy Tests
, which can give results as early as five days before a missed period, as well as traditional home pregnancy tests which recommend waiting to test until at least the first date of a missed period to ensure that adequate amounts of hCG.
Learn about when to take home pregnancy tests and false negative pregnancy tests >>
Find out how to create a functional, well-designed space you both can enjoy now that you'll be living together.
Moving in together is at once exciting and stressful; we all have our own way of doing things and decorating our homes is no different.
Imagining his football posters along side your Georgia O’Keefe print can make even the strongest of us cringe.
Consider a few strategies before the big move-in and at least your shared home’s decor will be less likely to butt heads:
You both need to take stock of the furniture and accessories that you own. Get rid of what you have too many of and keep what is functional. Allow that each of you will probably have something of sentimental value. These items will add an eclectic feel to your home.
Chances are that each of you will have different interests. For example, he may love car racing and you may be inspired by anything to do with cows. Mixing two or more different interests into a decor can be challenging. The better option is to designate specific areas for the display of memorabilia or collections. Whether it is a specific room or a wall, keeping everything together will provide a better display and not look cluttered.
It is important to remember that some things are not decorating items and although they have a sense of meaning, they should be kept in storage or put away for personal viewing. A few items that top this list are garters from weddings, beer labels pulled from bottles, flags, and stuffed animals.
Having an area in the home that is comfortable for each of you as individuals is a consideration that is often overlooked. Whether you live in a one bedroom apartment or three bedroom house, a sense of individual space is important. In a large home, this can be accomplished by having rooms for each person to “hide-away” or chairs that are specific to each person.
In a small space, this can be achieved simply by having a special blanket or throw on the sofa for yourself and maybe a table to the side which holds all of his books. It is important that these things stay distinct and thus reflect the style of the individual owners. By doing this, your home will also look less cluttered and feel like it has more focus and purpose.
It is a good idea to keep a consistent color scheme throughout your space. If you like pink and he likes black, try to find a way for the two to work together. Remember that these should be used as accent colors and that the background colors should be kept neutral.
Living with someone will certainly bring along a lot of changes. Try to keep an open mind and be willing to compromise, especially on the smaller things. Although you may love your fluffy pink sofa cushions, consider something a little less girly such as ultrasuede which can be accommodating to both of you. You can still have fun with the color but the fabric is better suited to the both of you.
Of course, getting rid of everything old and buying new for the two of you is always a great option, if you can afford to do so. The two of you can decide on your style together and create your new space that compliments both of you, thus providing both a sense of the individual and a harmonious feel to your home.
Despite its kinky rep, Tantric sex is about learning to channel orgasmic energies so as to raise your level of consciousness and transform the act of sex into a sacrament of love.
If a guy says he can go for hours, he’s probably fibbing. Unless he’s a Tantra.
Eastern culture has been hitting North America in recent decades: from anime, to sushi, and yoga… and now even sex. Not that Hentai stuff. Tantric sex which, when mastered, can last for upwards of eight hours per session.
Tantra is part of a series of ancient Hindu spiritual texts written more than two thousand years ago, the most famous being The Kama Sutra. It’s made a big hit with celebrities: most notably Sting, who has been an advocate of Tantric sex for many years, and to this day maintains that “normal” sex doesn’t even hold his interest anymore.
What makes Tantric sex different from conventional Western sex is that physical intimacy is a part of spirituality, not divorced from it. The Kama Sutra and other Tantric texts cover a breadth of subjects, ranging from how to hold back an orgasm, arousing a partner without touching as well as how to spot a deadbeat partner.
The actual practice of Tantra involves numerous esoteric rituals and formulas designed to help practitioners, called Tantras, to understand the true nature of reality. Despite its kinky rep, Tantric sex is about learning to channel orgasmic energies so as to raise your level of consciousness and transform the act of sex into a sacrament of love. To do this, Tantras learn a variety of techniques including specialized breathing techniques, visualization and the erotic stare.
Andrea Marion Pinkney, author of The Kama Sutra Illustrated, insists that students of Tantra gain many powerful abilities and transcendent insight by deviating from sexual boundaries associated with orthodox traditions. Tantric sex was considered an unorthodox religious practice even when it was created more than two millennia ago. This made it available to women and low-ranking men, since only high caste men were allowed to practical all of the orthodox religious rituals.
Since Tantric sex takes so many forms and can takes years to learn, chances are you won’t have much luck with a one-night-stand or a gut full of beer. However, if you’re sober, have some time and a good, giving and game partner, Tantric sex can offer many benefits to an otherwise conventional love life.
First, there is great respect for one’s one body. Tantras revere both male and female parts. That’s evident in Tantric names for human anatomy: in the Kama Sutra, the term for vagina is “yoni”, commonly translated as “sacred place”. The penis or “lingam” technically means wand of light. Tantras were also well aware of the G-spot long before its so-called discovery in the 1950s by Western sexologist Dr. Gräfenberg (for whom the spot is named).
For Tantras, sex is not an act for pleasure alone, but something spiritual. This is in stark contrast to general attitudes toward intercourse in the West, where sex is usually all about achieving orgasm. If you get it, the sex was good. If you don’t, what’s the point?
But by holding back their orgasms, Tantras are not only able to have sex for hours, but it also turns sex into more than self-gratification (the “I come, I’m done” attitude). In the process of being with someone for such a long time, Tantras cannot help but become more aware of how their partners moves and how they can respond, thus increasing intimacy between couples.
Learning to hold in your orgasm is one of the most difficult parts of Tantric sex. An orgasm consists of a series of involuntary muscular contractions, usually between 8 to 25. This is true for both women and men. So not only are Tantras resisting their own biological urges, they could hurt themselves if they try too hard. Beginners often fail and climax after a certain point.
Eventually though, with patience and practice Tantras learn to bring each other right to the edge of an orgasm, then draw back, and ride the ‘wave of bliss’ together. If all goes well, both the man and woman should achieve multiple orgasms without coming and, if they’re lucky, bring about the legendary “amrita” also known as female ejaculation.
Even with the many physical pleasures brought about by Tantric lovemaking, here is no ultimate goal, no limit of climaxes, only the celebration of the present moment and harmonious union.
Empty nesters? Think again.
Life is full of surprises. When I originally left home at 18, like most recent evacuees, I thought that was it. I would go to school, get a job and get to work building my life as an independent woman.
Not in my wildest dreams could I imagine a future that saw me filling a storage space with my personal treasures and moving back in with good old ma and pa.
I imagine they had a different vision of this time in their lives too; one of an empty house, increased leisure time and a chance to burn through some of that disposable income boomers are rumored to possess. Well, so much for that, instead of enjoying the fruits of their labor they get to watch as their children devour piece after piece of the proverbial pie.
And they’re not alone. According to a recent study published in Canadian Social Trends, based on Statistics Canada’s 2001 General Social Survey, youth from Generation X, in some cases more aptly known as the Boomerang Generation, are three times as likely to return to live in their parent’s homes than their counterparts in previous generations.
But why the significant change? What factors are contributing to the delayed dependency of adult children on their parents? Are we simply a generation of spoiled, fiscally irresponsible lolly-gaggers unwilling to take charge of our own lives, or is something else at work?
“Some of the reasons for this change have to do with the changing labor market, and the fact that despite our prosperity, it appears that at least a large segment of the population are having trouble finding jobs that are economically rewarding enough so that they can actually live independently,” says Chris Murphy, Chair of the Sociology and Social Anthropology Department at Dalhousie University.
“The notion that a working class person could go to work and if they were modest and frugal could buy a house and raise a family is a thing of the past,” says Murphy.
He adds, “The other part of this is that student debt and student loans were not an issue [in the past]. Now we have student debt and student loans, a BA whose value has depreciated over the last 10 years and a higher cost of living. It’s a combination that’s pretty powerful.”
While the opportunity to live free and easy while preparing to leave the nest for good is appreciated by many of the “adultescents” that find themselves back in their parents’ homes, it is not a situation they would choose if their circumstances were different.
Sherry Benteau, 30, a single mother close to completing her second degree, has been living with her parents while attending university – although initially that wasn’t the plan.
“The first year and a half I was in school my parents babysat Toby before he got a space in daycare, and I was living off of meagre assistance and student loans,” she recalls “once I graduated from my first degree I was no longer allowed to be on assistance and so I lived off student loans, and a person can’t actually live off of those.”
So while living with her parents has allowed her to pursue a more prosperous future, the shared living arrangements have added tension to their relationship.
“We’re adversaries more than anything else I would say….they consistently undermine my authority with my child,” she says, “half the time I don’t even feel like I’m his mother… I resent it [the opportunity] more than I appreciate it probably.”
The circumstances surrounding my return to my family home are strikingly similar. My partner and I moved back to Nova Scotia in 2004, with baby on the way. Initially we intended to move into own place once we found employment that could support our family. The lack of good jobs forced us to stay put and return to school in order to build a better future.
Life has a funny way of complicating things, and the stress of a new baby with no space to call our own put tension on the relationship. After we split it became obvious I wouldn’t be able to stay in school and get my own place, so I stayed with my parents. Not only does living with them make school possible but they contribute invaluable amounts of free and immediate childcare.
Without their support I know I wouldn’t have the option to be back in school making a better life for me and my son, still I regularly wish we had different options.
Although my parents say they like having us around, they definitely agree.
“We love having you and Phoenyx here but we would also like to be grandparents to him instead of part-time caregivers,” says my mom, Nancy McNeil.
She smiles, her voice hopeful, “You can’t live with your parents forever.”
I couldn’t agree more. I hope that on the other side of this degree I am able to take care of my family, and that my son won’t have to face the same financial challenges as he moves toward his own independence. But, considering the economic outlook for the next generation that may be exactly what happens.
“Will it change in the future? If the economy shifts it will,” says Murphy, “but I don’t see that happening.”
So with that happy thought I’ll cross my fingers that hard work will pay off. But, when we finally move into our own place I’ll be sure to keep my son’s room ready for him, just in case.
“I moved back into my parents house for one month, until I could find a new apartment, and that was eight years ago, it’s been the longest month of my life,” says Benteau of her living situation.
