Two of a kind
Lydia and Lincoln are Pictou County's first babies of 2020
Twins born to New Glasgow’s Sonia Joy Crim and Justin Holman were Pictou County’s first babies of 2020.
NEW GLASGOW, N.S. — Their New Glasgow house just got more crowded.
Pictou County’s population grew by two on Jan. 2 when twins Lydia and Lincoln arrived just after 9 a.m. — the first babies of 2020 born at the Aberdeen Hospital.
“It’s still kind of settling in,” Sonia Joy Crim said, a day after giving birth, her C-section taking about 90 minutes in duration. “There’s a lot of mixed emotions. I’m happy and nervous, and excited.”
The twins — both of whom were sleeping comfortably on Friday afternoon — will join Izabella, 7, and four-year-old Zachary to make for what should be a lively household.
Lydia was born at 9:03 a.m. and Lincoln arrived just one minute later.
Lincoln came in weighing five pounds, 11 ounces, and Lydia was four pounds, 12 ounces.
“I was excited,” Justin said of when he found out they were having twins. “I love it.”
In addition to having Justin around to help out, Sonia also has grandparents Don and Alex Crim to pitch in.
“Grandma and grandpa are close by on speed dial.”
The auxiliary at Aberdeen Hospital provided some gifts for the babies and the Northumberland Quilt Guild donated quilts, as well.
FUN FACTS ABOUT TWINS
■ Each year, more than 6,000 sets of twins are born in Canada.
■ Twins may begin interacting in the womb as early as 14 weeks into a pregnancy.
■ When a fertilized egg splits later than usual, identical twins’ appearance and other traits can mirror each other. For example, one twin may have a birthmark on her left arm, while the other twin has a birthmark on her right, or one twin may be right-handed and the other lefthanded.
■ Research published in the journal Institute of General Linguistics found that twin babies often use each other to learn vocabulary. The research estimates that up to 40 per cent of twins create a private language.
■ A Long Island Jewish Medical Center study found that women who birth twins or other multiples were, on average, more than an inch taller than women who only birthed one child at a time.
■ To tell twins apart, look at their belly buttons. Navels are scars from the detachment of the umbilical cord after birth, so they aren’t caused by genetics. Another way to determine who’s who: take fingerprints. Identical twins may share DNA, but exposure to different areas of the womb during development affects the fingertips’ ridges and whorls.