When I was pregnant with the girls, we were told the entire pregnancy that the girls were fraternal. They were in 2 separate sacs and majority of the time, that means not identical. It wasn't until after they were born and after they tested the placenta that we found out they were actually identical. Turns out my egg just split very early on in the pregnancy that they were able to form their own sacs. They were still only 1 egg at 5 weeks (my 1st ultrasound) but by 8 weeks, they were 2.
When I found out I was having twins, I figured it would probably be a good idea to start doing some research since I knew NOTHING about twins. Sure, I grew up with a set of twins that I was super close with, but asides from them looking kind of similar, I didn't know much about them.
So, what I know so far.
- My girls are indeed identical. They are from the same egg. We were very fortunate they split early and developed 2 separate sacs because it lowered the risk of twin-twin transfusion.
- They have identical DNA. Because of that, they were actually fingerprinted at the hospital (yes, they are already in a file) The reasoning is because, down the road if something were to happen, they can't be identified by DNA alone. Their fingerprints though are SLIGHTLY different
- They will have difficulties their entire life with important documentation because, their genius mother named them so similarly.
We had a HUGE mix up when they were born. There were obviously 2 birth confirmations that needed filled out. However, the hospital only sent 1 in to the social security office and then a few days later sent in the other one. When their numbers got issued, we noticed they were both issued the exact same number!! After speaking with the social security office, we found out that as a safety precaution, any identification system can only keep 1 person of the same gender with the exact same birthday, same last name, and same first 3 letters of their name in the system at once. So what happened was, the hospital sent Braycee's confirmation 1st. She got issued a number. Then a couple days later they sent in Braylees and the system overwrote Braycee's and issued Braylee her number instead. It took MONTHS to figure this out. So, for the 1st 6 month of her life, legally Braycee didn't exist. We were also issued 2 birth certificates with the same name so that had to be corrected as well. The s.s. office HIGHLY suggested that we have their s.s. # written down in numerous locations because if one of them ever loses it and needs a new card, this whole mess will start all over again.
-Twins can be creepy. I had read stories about identical twins sharing a very strange connection but I never bought it. Until the girls were about 6 months old. Braycee was laying on the floor and Braylee was in the other room. Brad accidently stepped on Braycee and INSTANTLY Braylee started screaming in pain. It was weird!! And I would love to say it was just a coincidence but it has happened several times since. They even seem to share nightmares. They will both start screaming in the middle of the night at the exact same time.
-They are on the same schedule. That is totally our doing but its so nice! They get hungry at the exact same time and they have to use the bathroom at the exact same time.
-They have to be near each other. We have yet to try to see what it will be like with them away from each other for a long period of time. We have done out in public for about an hr and that doesn't go over well. They long to be together.
-They have their own language. It was very obvious when they were a bit younger. It was pretty creepy! Now they use more actual words though so that's nice!
So far, that's all I know!
I still have SO many questions and SO much research to do!
Will they be the same height?
Will their hair be the same color/thickness when it grows back in?
Will they share the same athletic/academic abilities?
Will they have the same allergies?
Twins are the true test of nature vs nurture. This is gonna be a pretty cool lifelong research project!!
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