Thursday 23 August 2007

How alike are your twins ?

Multiple Round Robin August Question: How Alike Are Your Twins

If your babes are identical - how similar do you think they are vs what other people think? If they are fraternal - are they very different or do you find it difficult to differentiate?

S & J are fraternal so of course very different in looks and temperaments -yet many people ask me are they identical. Some can see a difference but a lot can't remember who is who. I guess if one was a girl it would be easier.

S is determined and strong willed.He likes to close doors and bang things. He doesn't get into much mischief yet mainly for lack of chance.Unless you count a bin and beer bottle facination. He gets upset more easily and is less easily distracted when he wants milk he means 'right now' ! S eats very little and loves booby juice. S is determined not to wear hat, bibs and sunglasses and was first to take them off . He likes to crawl into cupboards and squeeze through tight spaces. He was first to sit and roll but is now happy to sit back and watch his brother leap ahead.

J is much more placid, eats everything in sight and then his brothers leftovers. He started 800gm lighter and is now 800gm heavier. J likes to bang things too- (their big brother plays drums).He is slightly shorter and has big round head. He smiles more too. He is more easy going, more patient and will happily wait his turn (most of the time). He lets his brother steal his dummy but now steals it back just as quick.Before he would wait for me to help him. He was first to crawl, first to stand, first to cruise and first to start taking steps.J can ride the baby bike and lift his leg to get on/off. Yet he was one who spent 2 month flat on his back (from almost 4-6months) is a semi rigid Pavlik Harness .So he wasn't first to roll but once it came off didn't take him long. He didn't start breastfeeding till 5 months old (had EBM) but was first to take solids.

Both are very smiley babies and engage smiles of others wherever we go, they high 5 each other now and others. They do really play with each other and follow each other around the house.Stacie (a twin mum) wrote

Supposedly children of this age don’t play with one another, instead they parallel play. That does not appear to be true of my children. I’m assuming it’s a twin thing.


I have to agree sometimes they do parallel play but more often they are playing together, talking (baby talk), squealing and laughing together.Even now 'tugging' the same toy of course when we have others similar nearby but they both want that one. They like to get each others attention as well as mine.

S got his top right tooth first and J his top left . I don't know why this is.

I found this very interesting article on identical twins and another twin mum wrote to me her favourite quote was

“The thing that attracts our curiosity to identical twins is obvious. There is an attraction to seeing life in duplicate and we marvel in how “alike” they are. But the thing that is probably even more amazing is, given the fact that they started life’s journey as a single being, how different they can become.”