The Incredible Identical Fraternal Twins

April 16, 2008 by traceys

We like to push the envelope around here. Really shake things up. Keep people on their toes. Our boys are a new breed of twin - the identical fraternal variety. Technically dizygotic (or so we were told), but for all intent and purpose, identical in looks and shape. See Exhibit A (3 months):

Our friends and family are in disbelief. “Surely, surely, they must be identical.” No, they are fraternal. “But they look exactly the same!” Yes. They do look a lot alike. But they are not identical. “But how do you tell them apart?” Well, Abel has a rounder face and head. And his eyes are set a little bit wider. Oskar’s face is narrower. And he has less hair. “Is that all?” Well, if I take their shirts off, Oskar has a strawberry on his shoulder and Abel has a freckle on his chest. Is that enough?

Sarcasm aside, I’ll admit it, there was a time when even J and I had a hard time telling them apart. From birth to about 4 months, they truly looked identical. We mixed them up at the doctor’s office…several times. J even mixed them up for 3 hours while I was out one afternoon. He was mortified to find out he thought he was holding Abel when he was really cooing to Oskar the whole time. But as they have grown to the ripe old age of 14 months, their fraternal-ness has become more evident. Well, to us at least. Face shape aside, they just look different from one another. Note Exhibit B (8 months):

But we continue to get barraged by the identical comments. Sure, my fraternal (same and different gender alike) mamas know all to well the public’s funny, “Are they identical?” question, when they are clearly not. But in our case, I don’t begrudge strangers when they ask. It’s when our good friends continue to ask that I start to get slightly impatient, and to be honest, second-guess the DNA status of my sons. What if they really are identical? After all, they could be part of the small percentage of identical twins who have separate sacs and placentas. And then there is the story of our friend’s twins, where doctors swore they were fraternal in utero and upon birth, but after DNA testing turned out to be identical. Could this be us, too?

The other night, I finally worked up the gumption to ask J if he was, without-a-doubt, sure that the boys were NOT identical. Without any hesitation, he proclaimed “they are absolutely not identical. Without question.” Phew! But then I start to wonder if we see such distinction between them because their personalities and mannerisms are so individual and different. They are like night and day in the way they move, talk, hug and play. So I think to myself, maybe we should just solve this dilemma once and for all with a DNA test. Two simple cheek swabs and $160 plus shipping and…whaalaa! We’d have our definitive answer once and for all.

Or more likely we’ll just sit back, relax, and relish in the stunning similarities and the obvious differences that make these two boys the twin brothers that they are. And why would we waste the 160 bucks plus shipping when we never mix them up anymore?! Okay, so there was that one time last month…

Posted in Family, Other people, Products | 17 Comments

17 Responses to “The Incredible Identical Fraternal Twins”

on April 16, 2008 at 2:25 pm1 Becky

I remember how shocked I was when I learned that MaryKate and Ashley Olsen are fraternal and not identical - and they played the same character on Full House for years! I have to admit, I would probably be a sucker for the DNA test
on April 16, 2008 at 2:35 pm2 carrieinak

Grrrrrrr….
on April 16, 2008 at 4:34 pm3 carrieinak

I might just have to put some of my camera money into a seperate fund, so at least I can quell my curiousity!

It’s THAT important.
on April 16, 2008 at 7:17 pm4 Lena

Someday, you’ll get the test and you’ll know for sure. I’m in the same boat with my 12 month old girls. They were Di-Di, (but had a fused placenta) so we assume they are fraternal. But oh! the questions/comments we get! I think people forget that fraternal twins are no more alike than siblings with different birthdays and if we could bend time and compare non-twin siblings (ie. make them the same age), I think a lot of people would swear they were identical! Until you un-bend time and say “HA! Little Sally is 3 and her sister Sissy is 5″. It’s all about perception. You see 2 babies of the same age with the same hair color and face shape (or whatever) and people immediately think they are identical! Oh, and BTW, according to what I’ve read, you have between an 8% and 11% chance that they _are_ identical…..
on April 17, 2008 at 7:41 am5 LauraC

We sprung for the DNA test even though we knew they had to be fraternal. They didn’t look alike at all EVER. At the time, it was worth it to me to have scientific evidence just so we didn’t have to have that conversation anymore. Plus it was pretty fun playing CSI.

Imagine my lack of delight when Nate’s baby hair fell out and grew back in blond. Then Alex’s eyes changed color at a year old and turned brown. I now have one blond hair blue eyed boy and one brown hair brown eyed boy. I could have saved myself the money if I had just waited!!!
on April 17, 2008 at 8:31 am6 Sadia

My girls had a single outer sac and a shared placenta; no question of their monozygosity. However, had we not had the ultrasound that made that so clear to us that they were, in fact, identical, we might have assumed otherwise. One of our daughters has a developmental facial abnormality (frontonasal dysplasia) that her sister doesn’t have. It’s minor, and correctable if it causes her any grief, but we would have never dreamed that the girls were identical had we not known it for a fact. A pair of fraternal twins I went to college with look FAR more alike than my identical girls.
on April 17, 2008 at 10:59 am7 Trisa

A friend was doing a college research project on family dna and found out that adult twin sisters, whom had always thought they were fraternal, were actually identical!
on April 17, 2008 at 11:03 am8 craftylissa

Get the DNA test!! I’m planning to get it done one of these days too. I’ve seen the “test results” that my doctor used to tell me our boys were identical and it is inconclusive at best. She admitted she is guessing and recommended we do the DNA test. Maybe we should all do it together!

The articles from the TWINS magazine about DZ/MZ genetics say that unless you do the test, you just can’t be sure. I know I need to do it!
on April 17, 2008 at 11:49 am9 HeatherH

I’m so glad I found this blog! I’m laughing quietly to myself. I can’t tell you the number of times we still hear, “Are they identical? Are you sure they’re not identical?” We have 15 month old b/g twins. They look nothing alike. Ellie has a full head of beautiful hair that curls in the back. Ethan has hardly any hair. His eyes are almond shaped and hers are big and round. In the beginning, when I was really suffering from lack of sleep and on the edge of sanity, I would respond, “Yes. I’m sure.” Then, I’d hear, “Oh, no! I don’t believe it. How do you tell them apart? I’m sure they must be identical.” I’d respond, “Well. This one has a penis and this one doesn’t.” Then, I’d walk away content with the fact that I had schooled them in the differences between a boy and a girl. Of course, that was before I knew there was such a thing as b/g identical twins.

It’s so nice to know I’m not the only one who hears this ALL THE TIME!
on April 17, 2008 at 12:00 pm10 Goddess in Progress

I wonder if they’d give a promotional rate if we said we’d review their services on the blog?
on April 17, 2008 at 12:16 pm11 Krissy

When your boys were younger, I thought they looked more alike…now, they look very different to me. But they are both VERY cute!
on April 17, 2008 at 1:24 pm12 Pamela Prindle Fierro

Hi Tracy - loved your post on this topic. I think a lot of parents wonder the same thing about their twins.

I tried to contact you through your website but can’t find an email address. Would you email me? I have a proposal for you.

Pamela Fierro
Guide to Twins and Multiples
About.com
http://multiples.about.com
email=multiples.guide@about.com
on April 18, 2008 at 11:09 am13 Michele

They’ve told me my girls are monozygotic, but they don’t look anything alike to me. Total strangers feel the need to argue with me too, so I feel like I need a piece of paper to show them.
on April 20, 2008 at 2:45 pm14 Betsy

We have identical twins who are in the rare percent you’re talking about: two sacs and two placentas. Doc swore they’d be fraternal. DNA test: 99.99% same. Hmmm… Pretty conclusive. We can tell them apart, but most people can’t. (Actually, I can’t tell them apart in the pictures from their 2-4month ages.) I have a really good friend who has identical girls. She knows because she, too, sprung for the test (her girls were di/di as well). Get the test! I’m so glad we did–we’d always wonder otherwise.
on April 20, 2008 at 10:45 pm15 Susan

I think it is very clear that they are not identical. Each has his very own face. Truly.
on May 22, 2008 at 10:34 am16 jenn mark

whats wrong with doing the test? that way you can be sure and won’t have to wonder anymore! stop torturing yourself, embrace the fact that this science is now a fairly affordable thing to do and have peace of mind.
on June 17, 2008 at 6:23 pm17 Amanda

OMG…I can’t believe this other people being tortured just like me..lol these strangers are just arguementative totally I have twin girls who are about to turn two july 7th and I was told they are identical and totally agreed until they turned one then everything changed there faces are shaped different and one of my girls eyes are wider and a little more father apart than my other daughters and they differ in weight one is more petite than the other I tell them they are identical and they say NO ones smaller than the other so I dunno but I think Im gonna stop my curiosity and get a dna test so i tell these annoying stangers that constantly have to argue with me everywhere I go but deff good luck to you and hope get the dna test too so u don’t have to think or wonder if ur twins are identical or fraternal