Sat, Apr 27, 2013 page11

• Sexagenarian gives birth to fraternal twins 六十多歲生下雙胞胎

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  Chao Hsiang-chen, a 63-year-old employee at the Taipei Water Department’s Customer Service Center, and her 64-year-old husband never planned on having children. After family and friends suggested it to them two years ago, they decided to give it a shot, but never expected to she would actually get pregnant. At the ripe old age of 62, Chao gave birth to twins — a boy and a girl (dragon-and-pheonix twins in Chinese) — at the end of last year. With a smile on her face she says, “They are the most precious gift that God has ever given me.” She does, however, regret having kids so late in life and would like to encourage women to have children earlier in life.

  “I just couldn’t believe it when the doctor told me that I was pregnant,” Chao says. Her husband had never really been fond of children and often said that having kids was unnecessary, which was why they still had no children after so many years of marriage. That all changed two years ago when they went on a trip to China and family and friends began encouragingly telling them that they were in great shape and healthy enough to have kids. Without actually trying very hard, nature took its course after they returned to Taiwan, but instead of merely becoming an expectant mother, Chao became pregnant with twins.

  Chao attributes her lack of discomfort during birth to hiking in the mountains every day with her mother when she was young. She was able to get out of bed and start doing stretches using a towel the day after giving birth and was released from the hospital by the fifth day. On that day, Chao was immediately able to go to the market to buy food and life pretty much returned to normal. Her doctor has even encouraged her to have yet another baby next year to help increase the country’s birthrate.

  

  Sexagenarian Chao Hsiang-chen poses with her twins in Taipei on April 21. 六十多歲的趙祥珍四月二十一日於台北抱著她的雙胞胎孩子留影。

  Photo: Chen Wei-tzu, Liberty Times
  照片：自由時報記者陳慰慈

  Holding the twins — Chen Fong (girl) and Chen Lung (boy) — in her arms, Chao says that she never fathomed something like this would happen. When the babies were born they weighed 2,600g and 1,800g, but now at three months they weigh 7kg and 6kg. They do not cry much, only gurgling and babbling a bit when they are hungry, and spend most of their time sleeping. The twins are not shy with strangers either. As soon as they were brought into this world, they became the objects of doting and adoration among family members. “It turns out that kids are fairly easy to raise,” Chao says.

  Ridiculing herself for being a mother who does not use her brain much, Chao has not read any magazines or books on parenting because she believes that children should be free to grow up naturally. Her octogenarian parents, on the other hand, are typically the ones who keep nagging her about how to raise the children.

  (Liberty Times, Translated by Kyle Jeffcoat)

  六十三歲台北自來水事業處客服中心員工趙祥珍，與六十四歲老公一直都沒打算生孩子，直至前年在親友勸說下，夫妻才決定「試試看」，沒想到如願懷孕，去年底以六十二歲高齡生下一對龍鳳胎，老來得子的她笑盈盈地說：「他們是老天爺賜給我最珍貴的禮物。」後悔太晚生孩子，鼓勵女性早點生育。

  「當醫生告訴我懷孕的當下，我簡直不敢置信。」趙祥珍表示，老公不喜歡孩子，常說「養孩子幹嘛？多此一舉！」因此兩人結褵多年始終膝下無子，前年夫妻去了一趟中國旅遊，親友覺得兩人體格、體力狀態維持佳，鼓勵、勸說他們生孩子。回台後，夫妻倆沒有刻意強求，一切順其自然，沒想到不但順利懷孕，還懷了龍鳳胎。

  趙祥珍說，可能因為年輕時天天陪媽媽爬山，所以懷孕時完全沒有任何不舒服症狀，生產手術後第二天就下床做毛巾操，第五天出院回家，甚至還上菜市場買菜，生活一切如常，醫生還鼓勵她明年再生一個，增產報國。

  一手抱起龍鳳胎陳鳳（女）、陳龍（男），趙祥珍直言不可思議，寶寶出生時一個兩千六百克、一個近一千八百克，如今三個月大，體重也來到七公斤與六公斤。寶寶不愛哭鬧，頂多餓了會咿咿呀呀叫兩聲要奶喝，其他時間都在睡覺，而且不怕生，一出生就成為家族成員爭相寵愛的寶貝，趙祥珍笑說：「原來小孩這麼好帶。」

  自嘲是不用大腦的新手媽媽，趙祥珍至今仍未看過任何育嬰雜誌與書籍，認為小孩隨便養隨便大，反倒是八十多歲的老爸爸、媽媽看不過去，常叮嚀她該怎麼帶小孩。

  （自由時報記者陳慰慈）

  For your information

  TODAY’S WORDS 今日單字

  1. babble v. 牙牙學語 (ya2 ya2 xue2 yu3) 例: The babbling babies played in the kitchen while their father cooked dinner. (爸爸煮晚餐時，牙牙學語的嬰兒在廚房玩耍。) 2. dote v. 寵愛；溺愛 (chong3 ai4; ni4 ai4) 例: The grandmother loves doting on her grandchildren. (奶奶很溺愛其孫子。) 3. parenting n. 育嬰；養育子女 (yu4 ying1; yang3 yu4 zi2 nu3) 例: Researchers say that warm, responsive parenting can offset the painful effects of strict discipline. (研究者指出充滿愛且多回應的養育風格，可以補償嚴厲紀律的痛苦。)
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