Essays by Ellen Nordberg, Author

The Movie “Three Identical Strangers” Changed How I Parent

The trauma and heartbreak of the triplet boys in the movie “Three Identical Strangers,” who were separated at six months and adopted into different families, made me reconsider how my husband and I are parenting our identical twin boys, Axel and Aidan.

Telling My Twins Their Birth Story Changed Their Relationship

For the first five years of my identical twin boys’ lives, I couldn’t tell another adult their birth story without crying. How could I begin to share it with them?

Surviving the Twinning Reaction

The intense bonding connection between twins is called “the Twinning Reaction,” by psychologists and researchers. My neighbor the dog trainer says, “Don’t adopt two puppies from the same litter because they’ll never obey you.” Same concept. The obstetrician did not hear the second heartbeat until 18 weeks. I was already panicking about motherhood – now […]

Advice to your Daughters: Don’t Waste Your Time on My Boys

When I was twelve, my middle school girlfriends and I called boys on the phone, hovered by the fence at Pop Warner football practice, and sat around at slumber parties speculating on which boys might ride past on their bikes or try to peek in the windows.

What Rock Climbing Taught Me About Love

“I’d been divorced in my twenties, and later dumped by a longtime boyfriend. I was 37, living in a “boy-free zone,” and doubtful I had any more chances at love….”

Smooth Operators or Wild Animals?

FROM COLORADO BABIES MAGAZINE, FALL 2015 My twin boys have been fascinated by pretty girls since they could wave from their double stroller. But as a mom who grew up with only one sister, I have zero experience with handling little boys who notice females and recruit their own babysitters.