Fraternal or not fraternal- that is the question
Since the babes hit the great wide web, most people have assumed the boys are identical. We however, consider them to be fraternal. I have often been greeted by arguments from strangers on the street when I explain this. ‘Fraternal?!’ they respond, ‘No, no dear these boys are identical, most definitely’. Sigh. I am only their mother. No one can know for certain without a DNA test, but we have been going on fraternal based upon what we learned at the first pregnancy screening:
After announcing we had twins, and being delighted that we were delighted, the doc went on to show us the the two separate sacs each baby was in. She also pointed out the thick lining between each sac, which would further indicate fraternal in that it means it is less likely the two sacs ever separated from the same original one (this can sometimes happen with identical twins).
Brief twin 411- identical twins share the same DNA because they originate as a single fertilized egg that splits into two separate embryos. Fraternal twins start as two separate eggs that are fertilized separately and simply share the womb. Only 8% of all twins are identical!
I have taken the info the doctor gave us on that first visit as case closed evidence that my boys are fraternal. I have a fraternal twin sister, and we also looked quite a bit alike, so I was convinced.
But after 18 months of being contradicted, and even questioned by fellow twin moms: “Thick lining-who cares- 30% of identicals split into separate sacs”, one fellow twin mama informed me.
After my husband jumped on the identical bandwagon, noting that our boys look more alike than some identical twins we know. After my relatives got them confused for an entire day before figuring out the error when the boys ran to their own cribs for bedtime. After confusing them myself upon my return home from a brief weekend away, I finally caved. I ordered the DNA test and let the cheek swabbing begin.
So far I am the only tick-mark firmly planted in the ‘fraternal’ column of the family pool. Everyone else, including my husband, is leaning identical. It doesn’t really matter to us either way, but it will be interesting to see the results. So place your bets ladies and gents! The result are a few weeks out, but in the mean time I’ll admit to using the ‘Ren in red’ identifying technique for the pic below:
