Identical twins

Discussion in 'Pregnancy Help' started by christinam, May 7, 2012.

  1. christinam

    christinam Well-Known Member

    My first set were frats. Easy. This set are identical and while I'm not really worried I kinda wondering how we'll tell them apart. So, for those with identicals did you do the matchy matchy thing or similar looking clothes? Did each kid have their own color for bottles and blankets? It's SO early still (i'm 9 weeks) but it's on my mind. I plan to keep their bracelets on for as long as I can and using nail polish. Any other pointers?
     
  2. MusicalAli

    MusicalAli Well-Known Member

    I never dressed my id boys the same. They look enough alike already. They often wore same shirt different colors. It wasn't because I wanted them to "match" but it was just convenient because usually the same thing would be on sale :) When I inherited a bunch of handmedowns, they wore whatever was clean. As far as bottles, cups, etc., they shared all that stuff. I bf-ed primarily and I did have a tricky time remembering who was on what side but in the long run it evened itself out.
     
  3. miss_bossy18

    miss_bossy18 Well-Known Member TS Moderator

    I worried about being able to tell my girls apart as well but there was almost a 1.5 lb difference between them at birth which was very, very noticeable. They've continued to look (to my eye) quite different & easy to tell apart. We do have some colour coding that we do to help others tell them apart. We try to put Riley in Red or failing that Danika in Darker. But it's not a hard & fast rule, especially now that they have an opinion. We have a couple of completely matching outfits that were given as gifts that they wear sometimes but I prefer (especially at their age now) to let them pick what they want to wear (within weather appropriate guidelines).

    I think you'll find it's not as scary once they're here, but if you are concerned (especially for those first few sleep deprived weeks) by all means use whatever tricks you can to make it easy for you. :good:
     
  4. TwinxesMom

    TwinxesMom Well-Known Member

    Mine have different birthmarks plus a good weight difference
     
  5. ECUBitzy

    ECUBitzy Well-Known Member

    Mine had different head shapes at birth, Sam has a scar from surgery, and they just look so different to you (as mom) so quickly. Definitely do your "cheats" to help you feel more confident at first, but don't worry! You'll know who is who!
     
  6. ddancerd1

    ddancerd1 Well-Known Member

    mine still wear matching clothes. it's what they want, and it's easier to just pick out one outfit, and my mom is always buying them new clothes, so...
    they share everything (except toothbrushes)... but as babies/toddlers i didn't mark anything. when i bought them a set of 2 tinkerbell sippies, they just sort of chose their own (marina chose purple, ivana chose green), and that just sort of stuck.
    as for when they were born, they were a pound apart and very easy to tell apart. we were going to get id bracelets, but ended up not needing them.
    nowadays, because they still like to dress alike, if we go somehwere, i will either fix their hair differently or put different colors in their hair so that others can tell them apart.
     
  7. TwinxesMom

    TwinxesMom Well-Known Member

    Mine also still dress alike by their choice. They strip if one is different
     
  8. christinam

    christinam Well-Known Member

    Thanks ladies!
     
  9. monie rose

    monie rose Well-Known Member

    I kept their bands on them till they were too big for them. I'd dress Peyton in Dark blues and greens and Eli in reds and light blues Usually. I only dressed them alike when I wanted to trick someone. We did have a problem once where we didn't know who was who for a bit. It happened when we took them to their 5 day check-up and they only had their diapers on. I had my dh lay the twin he had on the exam table and I layed the other twin down. Good thing Eli had redder skin, was thinner and a bump at the end of his sternum you could visibly see. lol But I still wonder if we are calling them by the right name.
    Peyton on left and Eli on right
    [​IMG]
     
  10. christinam

    christinam Well-Known Member

    I might make little Id bracelets out of some stretchy material. That would be more for middle of the night and family.
     
  11. 3under2!

    3under2! Well-Known Member

    Christina, do you mind if I hack this for a sec and ask all the ID moms a question: How on earth do you decide who to name what if they both look alike?? DH and I were talking about this, our girls are distinctly different, with different coloring and everything, so it was fairly straightforward. But if they both look exactly alike...what cue was there to tell you who should be named what?
     
  12. TwinxesMom

    TwinxesMom Well-Known Member

    Baby a had the alphabetical first name and it was the name I picked out for a singleton and it fits her better. She was always more jazzy in the womb :p
     
  13. miss_bossy18

    miss_bossy18 Well-Known Member TS Moderator

    DH decided that baby A would be Riley & baby B would be Danika so that if Riley ever got uppity about being born first Danika could always crow about being first alphabetically. :pardon: I told him I was reserving the right to change the names until I saw them but he got it right (even if it was arbitrary to start). :laughing:
     
  14. christinam

    christinam Well-Known Member

    We always choose while I am still pregnant When I had my frats I just said baby A is Allie, B is Maddie. This time we have already decided on boys names (hoping for boys. Lol) and A is Joshua and B is Matthew. Why that order? The crazy side of me here. Joshua is an Old Testament name and Matthew is New Testament from the bible. So A would have to be Joshua since A is before B and OT is before NT. Ok I'm crazy I know. Lol
     
  15. cheezewhiz24

    cheezewhiz24 Well-Known Member TS Moderator

    This. Sebastian was our boy name. Originally if it was 2 boys Orion would have been Simon. The day of the u/s my DH vetoed Simon and gave me the choice of Orion or Icarruss. No way was I going to name a baby Icky so A was Sebastian and B was Orion.
     
  16. NINI H

    NINI H Well-Known Member

    I waited until I saw them. As soon as I did I knew which names immediately and just confirmed with DH. The whole rest of the family felt the same way too. It was a bit funny. I also hadn't decided definitely on names particularly middle names. I had 3 first names and a few middle. I wanted to see them first. With my singletons, if one had been born and didn't " match" the name I chose, I would have changed names.

    As to how we were able to tell them apart, Jesse was more pale than Joshua. Jesse weighed less also. It was when they got older that it became more difficult. Jesse was born with a deep dimple in his earlobe. That is always the tell tale sign. They are also mirror twins, so their hair sworls go in opposite directions and are on a slightly different part of the head. I can tell them apart from behind due to this, but no one else can including DH. we kept the ankle bands on for a while after we got home just in case. Also Jesse kept having apnea, so he had to be put on a home monitor for a couple of months. That made it quite easy to know.
     
  17. monie rose

    monie rose Well-Known Member

    For us it was who ever came first would be named Peyton Brady as Peyton Manning is older than Eli.
     
  18. christinam

    christinam Well-Known Member

    Ok, this is my type of thinking! Lol
     
  19. 3under2!

    3under2! Well-Known Member

  20. christinam

    christinam Well-Known Member

    Did anyone ever personalize the kid's clothing? I'm thinking of putting their names on a few sleep sacks and wraps so I know easily middle of the night who's who.
     
  21. monie rose

    monie rose Well-Known Member

    No I have never done that. Now that you mention about putting names on certain things I wish I would have!
     
  22. christinam

    christinam Well-Known Member

    After thinking about it more last night I'm thinking I'll label a few sleep sacs and white onesies. That should help with those middle of the night feedings.
     
  23. SC

    SC Well-Known Member

    Don't do too much planning until they get here and you see them! I have identical boys who are very UN-identical. From day 1, we've never had trouble telling them apart. There may be a handful of times that their backs have been turned to me from afar and I have to take a double take, but that's it. I think identicals are less identical than people think. That said, I have met some pretty identical identicals, but as their Mom, I bet you'll know quickly who is who (and in the middle of the night/dark, you'll remember who you put where). They'll have differences and their own sounds and their own personalities.
    We never did matching clothing. Sometimes people will still buy us matching things and we always use them. But, I largely coordinate their clothes. For example, if a particular shirt comes in two colors, I'll get one of each. As for bottles, we ended up using different brands because my one son needed a gas-reducing bottle which Dr. Brown's supposedly does.
    They had tons of blankets at their disposal and over time they each got attached to a particular one and they're nothing alike.
    Anyway, I bet you'll be surprised how quickly you'll be able to tell who is who, with maybe a handful of exceptions when you don't have a good view of them.
    Good luck!
     
    3 people like this.
  24. twinkler

    twinkler Well-Known Member

    absolutely agree with BOST... My I'D girls are very very different from each other, one has a round face, the other long. I used to have the same worries as you, when I was pregnant and now I just think I'm glad I didn't go to too much trouble because they don't look identical. Although names on sleep sacks is a good idea I think but for different reasons, my girls like to suck on it and it would have been handy to know which one was theirs!
     
  25. 3under2!

    3under2! Well-Known Member

    I've honestly never felt the need/never been able to keep track of who's who in the middle of the night. I'm too tired I guess. If one's crying, I'll stumble over half asleep, pick her up and put a boob in her mouth. No name required lol.
     
  26. twinkler

    twinkler Well-Known Member

    Lol!

    I also wanted to add that my two have very different cries, one you can hear down the road and the other you would be hard pushed, even with the monitor.
     
  27. christinam

    christinam Well-Known Member

    I laughed when I read that. I've relaxed a bit since finding out. I'm still going to make a few shirts with their name on them but it's going to be more for fun.

    I had a friend who doesn't have nor wants children ever tell me to just write their name on them with a sharpie. Um, yea not doing that.
     
  28. 3under2!

    3under2! Well-Known Member

    Always glad to provide entertainment ;). Twinkler, my girls also have two distinctive cries, but I'm seriously not conscious enough to pay attention lol.
     
  29. cheezewhiz24

    cheezewhiz24 Well-Known Member TS Moderator

    So very true. This was something I wouldn't admit to most people as they just don't get it. :)
     
  30. Tamaralynn

    Tamaralynn Well-Known Member

    My baby B was named before my baby A. I just knew he was a William, don't ask me how. :p
     
  31. Tamaralynn

    Tamaralynn Well-Known Member

    So do my boys. William's cry as a newborn was like nails on a chalk board, whereas Nathaniel was more laid back. I think he knew I would go to William first because his cry was excruciating.
     
  32. christinam

    christinam Well-Known Member

    My girls are like that. I could tell their cries apart almost immediately.
     
  33. NINI H

    NINI H Well-Known Member

    I was never able to do that. My boys have sounded alike from the beginning. Now if I listen to What they say I can generally tell them apart, but it isn't how they sound as much as how they put words together. Dh can't even do this, and insists that I cannot either, LOL. I'm jealous of you girls that could tell your identicals apart by their cry!
     
  34. cheezewhiz24

    cheezewhiz24 Well-Known Member TS Moderator


    Mine have different cries, too. S's cry is so loud and grating.
     
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