Two is the new one

Last year alone, celebrities Patrick Dempsey, Sean Combs, Marcia Cross, Dennis Quaid and Nancy Grace announced the birth of twins. And, if Yahoo news alerts are any indication, JLo was apparently naming her own posh pair as I wrote this.

Twins aren’t novel and eerie anymore—no longer Shining spooky but rather as ubiquitous as the merchandise explosion after a Disney release. Consider the staggering 400-percent spike (as confirmed by babycenter.com, the National Center for Health Statistics and myriad other sources): That’s how much multiple births have increased in the last 20-odd years.

But why?

Plenty of moms of all ages are still conceiving twins the old-fashioned way. However, two crucial social shifts have turned the tide. To put it inelegantly, today’s new moms are older than they’ve ever been. And when you’re over 35, your ovaries get in the habit of shooting out extra eggs in preparation for the figurative last hurrah. Drastic increases in the number of women seeking fertility treatments also accounts for our mounting multiples. I have an identical twin sister, and we grew up enjoying our share of extra attention. But when my husband’s sister became the mother of in-vitro fertilization triplets, I found myself wanting to apologize for my own mother’s lack of ambition.

And for 30-something women like me who only managed to come up with one baby after nine months of pregnancy, the “blessed event” may soon become: “Is that the best you could do?”

Seriously, though, it’s time to start recognizing this plethora of pairs. Asheville enjoys its own share of the boom, and Xpress recently met up with two particularly cute sets of local twins. The toddlers showed off their high-fashion status by modeling another charming trend: soft, sweetly hued, guilt-free organic baby clothing and heirloom-quality lead-free toys. The boys’ pictures were taken at Littlest Birds in West Asheville; the girls were photographed at Nest Organics downtown.

Welcome to the jungle: Coleman, left, sports a rock-star stare and a banana hat from Under the Nile. His pants are by Awakening Organics and his shoes are by Bobux. The nearby hippo stuffed animal is also from Under the Nile.

Ahoy, matey! Felix, left, gets nautical in a blue-striped tank from Under the Nile. He also wears pocket shorts from Kate Quinn Organics (visible in the two other shots).

Now hear this: This close-up shows Coleman wearing a “Save Some for Me” T-shirt from enviro-minded kidswear line Circles and Squares, newly relocated to Asheville.

I have an armful of stuffed animals and I know how to use them … : Kate, front, hugs a herd of friends from European company Lana Plush Toys. Brooke, in back, shows off shoes by Bobux.

Sharing is stylish: Both girls wear kimono dresses by Kate Quinn Organics.

Puppy love: Also sporting Bobux shoes, Kate pulls a Bajo wooden dachshund. 

[Melanie McGee Bianchi has an 18-month-old son. She has lived with her twin sister for 37 years.]