Family Forum / Parenting / Twins / December 2004

You might want to do a search on Google for past postings on this subject.
I asked the same thing when I gave birth to Emma and Aislyn.  We were in the
same boat, two separate sacs and two different placentas.  But, on the other
hand our girls look very similar.  You can follow the link to our site and see
for yourself.  The only way to know for sure is to have them tested.  I can't
tell you how different it is possible for identical twins to look.  But I can
tell you that it is possible for fraternal twins to look very much alike, even
physically "identical" because our oldest daughter looks as much like our twin
girls as they do one another.

 

~Kimberly
Mommy to Alexis Iliana 07/17/99 and
Emma Elidia & Aislyn Gabriela 10/01/02
come see us...
http://www.babiesonline.com/babies/a/aislynemma/

Our girls are identical, but did look different when they were smaller
because of a 1lb weight difference.  They also had  different shaped heads
(because of the way they were lying before birth).  We know they are
identical because of DNA testing.  An older nurse told me that before DNA,
they looked at certain pointers to see if twins were identical.
1. hair colour    2. ear shape   3. eye colour.   I'm sure that there were
more, but I've forgotten.  Ears can be slightly different, but not
drastically, but the other two should be exactly the same.
My girls do look very like their older sister too.  It is hard to work out
who is who in photos.  I have to look at the clothes.  My son also is very
like the girls.  They all look like their dad.  If I hadn't given birth to
them, I'd have doubts that they were mine!!

Alison
Mother of Kirsty (17)  John (15)  Brodie (7)  Heather (7)

at starting our family. Neither of us have twins in our family, so I assumed
the girls were identical.  There was no true clues as to whether they were
identical or fraternal (placenta was one large mass, 2 separate sacs, etc).
The nurses from the nicu said that they thought the girls might be
identical, but they look sooo different to me.  It may just be the differenc
in their weight - Meaghan weighed 3 lbs 8 oz at birth and Eireann weighed 3
lbs 13 oz - they are now 16 weeks and Eireann continues to be 18 oz larger
than her sister - anyone have any info they can share on the topic???

Hi --

As others have said, it depends on the differences.  If they're
weight-related, sure.  If they're gene-related (eye color, hair color),
then no.  Blood types also can't be different.

I was in the same boat as you -- no fertility drugs, no twins in the
family, but twins nonetheless.  Mine are boy/girl, so there is no
question about them being fraternal.  Last year, my mother did some
genealogical research and learned that her great-great grandmother had
had two sets of twins (and four singletons).  I'm not sure whether that
qualifies for "twins running in the family", being so many generations
ago, but it makes for a quick, easy answer when the question comes up.

Julie
Mom to Erica & Chris, 07/97

glsrmcnlty@aol.com wrote:

They could still be fraternal, since the placentas could have merged. I have a
lab report saying that my girl/girl twins shared a placenta and outer membrane,
which is simply not true -- they have different blood types, different
coloring, there is just NO way they could NOT be fraternal.

Weight differences are fairly common in ID twins -- in fact, I think I remember
reading that due to differences in nutrition levels when placentas are shared,
ID twins often have *greater* differences in birthweight than fraternal twins.
Five ounces is not such a huge difference, though.

--Helen

"irishtwinsmom"  wrote in message

at starting our family. Neither of us have twins in our family, so I assumed
the girls were identical.  There was no true clues as to whether they were
identical or fraternal (placenta was one large mass, 2 separate sacs, etc).
The nurses from the nicu said that they thought the girls might be
identical, but they look sooo different to me.  It may just be the differenc
in their weight - Meaghan weighed 3 lbs 8 oz at birth and Eireann weighed 3
lbs 13 oz - they are now 16 weeks and Eireann continues to be 18 oz larger
than her sister - anyone have any info they can share on the topic???

My ID girls looked very different at birth as well.  They had a 24 oz.
weight difference but only 1/2 inch difference in length.  Also, Chelsea
(the larger twin) had a great deal more hair than her sister which appeared
darker at first.   We were certain at birth they were identical
(monoamniotic), but if we had not had such a clear indication of zygosity,
I'm not sure I would have been able to tell until they were nearly a year
old and the weight difference had resolved.  At nearly 13 years old, they
have a 10 lb weight difference which makes them look less alike.   So, in my
experience significant weight differences make a marked change in appearing
alike.
HTH,
Kim
Chelsea and Courtney 12/27/90

Well, my boys are fraternal, (or so we think) so I can't help there, but I
did read an interesting fact when I was PG with twins. Apparently, we IRISH
have the highest rate of twin births among the Caucasian peoples. I can't
remember the exact numbers, but they were noticeably higher than other fair
skin peoples. There is a tribe in Africa where they have a multiple birth
almost every time, or 2 out of 3, or something, but the Irish are next in
line. At least, that's what I read about 8 years ago. Just one of those "ah
ha" moments. 50% here.

Kinda not an answer to your question, but when my best friend came into the
hospitcal room, the day they were born, he noticed that one was a boy, one
was a girl, and they already didn't look anything alike, and he said:

(no, I'm not making this up)

he said:  "So, James, are they technically twins?"

at starting our family. Neither of us have twins in our family, so I assumed
the girls were identical.  There was no true clues as to whether they were
identical or fraternal (placenta was one large mass, 2 separate sacs, etc).
The nurses from the nicu said that they thought the girls might be
identical, but they look sooo different to me.  It may just be the differenc
in their weight - Meaghan weighed 3 lbs 8 oz at birth and Eireann weighed 3
lbs 13 oz - they are now 16 weeks and Eireann continues to be 18 oz larger
than her sister - anyone have any info they can share on the topic???

differenc in their weight - Meaghan weighed 3 lbs 8 oz at birth and
Eireann weighed 3 lbs 13 oz - they are now 16 weeks and Eireann
continues to be 18 oz larger than her sister - anyone have any info
they can share on the topic???

My boys are different sizes and they were identical. In our case, it
was due to twin-to-twin transfusion (one little fellow got more blood
than the other). So they were born at 34 weeks at 3.5 and 4.5 pounds.
Now at 2 years they are still pretty different in size. To some degree
because the larger little guy just seems to be a bigger little piggy
compared to his smaller brother. People still have difficulty telling
them apart.

Quite frankly I don't worry about it. I more worry about them being
jealous of each other and being able to find their own individual space
and identity.

differenc in their weight - Meaghan weighed 3 lbs 8 oz at birth and
Eireann weighed 3 lbs 13 oz - they are now 16 weeks and Eireann
continues to be 18 oz larger than her sister - anyone have any info
they can share on the topic???

My boys are different sizes and they were identical. In our case, it
was due to twin-to-twin transfusion (one little fellow got more blood
than the other). So they were born at 34 weeks at 3.5 and 4.5 pounds.
Now at 2 years they are still pretty different in size. To some degree
because the larger little guy just seems to be a bigger little piggy
compared to his smaller brother. People still have difficulty telling
them apart.

Quite frankly I don't worry about it. I more worry about them being
jealous of each other and being able to find their own individual space
and identity.

differenc in their weight - Meaghan weighed 3 lbs 8 oz at birth and
Eireann weighed 3 lbs 13 oz - they are now 16 weeks and Eireann
continues to be 18 oz larger than her sister - anyone have any info
they can share on the topic???

My boys are different sizes and they were identical. In our case, it
was due to twin-to-twin transfusion (one little fellow got more blood
than the other). So they were born at 34 weeks at 3.5 and 4.5 pounds.
Now at 2 years they are still pretty different in size. To some degree
because the larger little guy just seems to be a bigger little piggy
compared to his smaller brother. People still have difficulty telling
them apart.

Quite frankly I don't worry about it. I more worry about them being
jealous of each other and being able to find their own individual space
and identity.