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Identical or Fraternal? - Page 2

post #21 of 43
1/28/10 at 2:23pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Intertwined View Post
Karen, same thing here. I hear all about how much they look alike. They look NOTHING alike:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pi...00000172637746

I usually take pity on them and just smile and nod.
Love the hats. They definitely look different to me. Here's my two:

http://i575.photobucket.com/albums/s...iaSamLarge.jpg

My eldest dd is in the picture too and her and Sam are very, very similar (we have trouble telling their baby pictures apart). My eldest ds has the same family resemblance. Claire is just so different than the rest of them.

Sorry, OP, I'll let this thread get back to your question .

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post #22 of 43
1/28/10 at 8:27pm
we always say our twins are fraternal, but there is just a touch of uncertainty. strangers tend to think they are identical, probably because they are same height, build, coloring. they did have all their baby milestones together- teeth erupted on the same day, they walked on the same day, all that. but i have always, since they were 2 days old, been able to instantly tell them apart. i think if you sometimes can't tell them apart, especially if they are asleep or if they are in the tub, say, with wet hair, there is a very good chance they are identical.
post #23 of 43
1/28/10 at 8:31pm
oh, d'oh! i just now looked at your babies pic. adorable. i vote identical! that was the other thing i meant to say - if you sometimes can't tell who's who in pictures, they are probably identical.

here are mine- the two handsome 21 year olds! their hair is cut differently now, so that helps them look less alike. this is at my recent wedding, which is why im back on a mothering forum..

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pi...8&id=677615850
post #24 of 43
1/29/10 at 1:46am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by 4Marmalade View Post
Love the hats. They definitely look different to me. Here's my two:

http://i575.photobucket.com/albums/s...iaSamLarge.jpg

My eldest dd is in the picture too and her and Sam are very, very similar (we have trouble telling their baby pictures apart). My eldest ds has the same family resemblance. Claire is just so different than the rest of them.

Sorry, OP, I'll let this thread get back to your question .
Oh you guys are fine...this is fun!
post #25 of 43
1/29/10 at 12:56pm
Wow Karmab! Look at those handsome boys. Different haircuts or not they for sure look MZ! What a handsome family. I love the choice of colors for the dress/ties. NICE!

Oh Karen, I am cracking up. Now I could see people confusing your oldest and SAM for twins when he's older....
post #26 of 43
1/29/10 at 6:44pm
thank ya very much, intertwined!

mom o steele- have to ask- what do you know (or anyone else here, too) about this possible third type of twin? when my twins were babies, there was a research team at duke university studying 'polar body twinning,' where one egg divides and is then fertilized by two sperm, giving an average of 75% of the same dna to this type of twins. i spoke to the lead guy at the time, he was doing a study and was recruiting subjects- i saw it advertised in twin magazine (not sure if that publication is still around.) anyway, my boys were too young to take part in the study, which required bloodwork. the guy said that they knew this happened in other mammals, like cows, but had not seen it in humans. i am a nurse, my specialty is high risk ob although i now work in radiology, but i never heard anything about polar body twinning after that even while in ob, so i thought they must not have found evidence. now, ive been out of the twin loop for a while- when my sons were little i did the moms of twins club and all that, but havent done anything like that for 15 years. what have you heard about this third type of twinning? do they still think it can happen?
post #27 of 43
1/29/10 at 8:48pm
Thread Starter 
Karmab...Okay, here is what I found: "Polar Body Twinning is distinguished from semi-identical twinning in that the egg splits before fertilization. Although a case of semi-identical twinning has been confirmed, polar body twinning remains a theory." (http://multiples.about.com/cs/glossa...arbody_def.htm). And yes, twins magazine is still around "Semi-identical" twins (reported in 2007 I believe) where they are identical on the mothers side but share only half their fathers genes or something. "...the rare twins developed when two sperm fertilized a single egg, forming a triploid, which then split." (http://multiples.about.com/od/glossa...iidentical.htm) I don't know...I'm not really very good at all this DNA stuff. But I saw a place that offered a "semi-identical" twin zygosity test that would tell you which of the three it is. This test requires dna samples from both parents as well I believe. I just decided to order a regular identical/fraternal twin zygosity test today since the third type seems to be very very rare and the price difference for the test is several hundred dollars. I just decided I had to do the test cause even though the results of the test will make no difference to me or the boys...the unknown just bothers me too much. It will make for easier conversation to just be able to give people an answer...so many people just don't know how it works anyway so it's just easier to give them one of the answers they are looking for rather than explain the whole reason why you don't know LOL.
post #28 of 43
1/29/10 at 9:07pm
huh. that's very interesting!

now you will have to let us all know what the test says!
post #29 of 43
1/30/10 at 2:50am
Thread Starter 
For sure I kinda have an inkling that they are MZ. They don't look and act TOTALLY identical...but since DZ would be no more alike than any other sibling...they are way more alike than that. I just always thought you couldn't tell identical twins apart LOL...again...shows how much the rest of the world who doesn't have twins know about it huh?
post #30 of 43
1/31/10 at 12:28pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by SuzyQ2+2 View Post
...and sadly, I seem to be one of those people who can't tell twins apart, because to this day, a 1 year old, I still struggle to tell them apart I feel horrible about it, but for some reason my brain doesn't seem to register any subtle differences. Pretty much no one can tell ours apart if they don't have clothes on.
That is how I feel! I feel like the worst mother because I can't tell my babies apart!
post #31 of 43
1/31/10 at 3:23pm
I've been wondering about my boys too. Just waiting to have a little extra cash to order the cheek swab test.

Here is a recent pic:

Trouble-Trouble

They seem to be getting MORE alike as time goes on!
post #32 of 43
2/1/10 at 3:48am
Thread Starter 
MamaChicken....see, your boys totally look identical to me!
post #33 of 43
2/11/10 at 3:13am
Thread Starter 

Identical!

So we just got the test results back...they are IDENTICAL! How funny...I guess I just always thought that identical twins are clones of each other. Yet without looking at them I can tell which one is which because they each have a different cry. I'm glad I got the test done. I even just had another person in the store ask me tonight like an hour ago and I had to say "well we'll find out in a few days". It's just nice to know.
post #34 of 43
2/11/10 at 1:34pm
LOL told ya so
post #35 of 43
2/11/10 at 2:56pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by SuzyQ2+2 View Post
LOL told ya so
I know...I should have just saved my money ha? LOL...well I wanted proof to prove my MIL wrong anyway. She kept telling me there was no way they could be identical since they were in two sacks. And she has consistently told me how they don't look alike at all to her!:nana
post #36 of 43
2/11/10 at 4:00pm
Well, that's worth it right there!
post #37 of 43
2/11/10 at 4:27pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by mom_of_steele View Post
I know...I should have just saved my money ha? LOL...well I wanted proof to prove my MIL wrong anyway. She kept telling me there was no way they could be identical since they were in two sacks. And she has consistently told me how they don't look alike at all to her!:nana
My brother's MIL always swore that her MZ granddaughter's couldn't be identical because she could tell them apart.
post #38 of 43
2/11/10 at 5:41pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by hergrace View Post
My brother's MIL always swore that her MZ granddaughter's couldn't be identical because she could tell them apart.
LOL yeah...sounds just like my MIL!
post #39 of 43
2/14/10 at 5:17pm
YAY glad you got the results back and now can say definitely either way. Maybe some day when we have the extra cash we may do it too.
post #40 of 43
2/14/10 at 10:44pm
So you got a definitive answer AND you got to stick it a tiny bit to your MIL? Well worth the money!
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