When you initially think about identical twins, you probably envision that everything about them is the exact same.
And, at first glance, it might look that way.
While identical twins share a large portion of their DNA, they're not carbon copies of each other, meaning that their DNA has slight differences that makes each individual genetically distinguishable.
About 15 percent of identical twins exhibit genetic variations from their counterparts.
The earlier a twinning pair splits, the more time each zygote has to form its DNA independently.
While most twins share nearly identical DNA, some genes or traits can be suppressed during pregnancy, which can cause one twin to look slightly different, be slightly taller or thinner or have a different hair color than their identical twin.
Newborn identical twins can also have different physical appearances in cases where one twin receives more nutrition in the womb, which leads us to our first way you might be able to quickly tell your identical newborn twins apart, even if they do look almost identical.
1. Size them up, literally
While in the womb, twins will receive different amounts of nutrition…maybe only slightly different, or, in the case of Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome, maybe significantly different amounts of nutrition.
Take a look at your twins to see if their weights are noticeably different. On a full-grown person, one or 1.5 pounds' difference won't be noticeable, but on a teeny-tiny newborn, that weight difference is enough to easily distinguish one from the other. You can easily tell them apart just by looking at them, as was the case with our identical twins. One was born weighing 4 lbs., 13 oz.; the other was only 3 lbs., 7 oz. You could easily glance and tell who was Baby A and who was Baby B.
2. Look for distinguishable marks
Give them a once-over. One of your twins might have a unique birthmark, like a mole, stork bite, salmon patch, or hemangioma, that can give you a quick and easy way to tell them apart. One of our twins now has a freckle on the palm of his hand—but that didn't show up until they were one year old. In the early days with our newborn twins, we used the visibility of their veins to tell them apart. They each had veins that were more visible on one side of their head than the other. One twin's were more prominent on the left side of his nose, while the other's were more obvious on the right side of his nose, so that's how we could easily tell who was who at a glance.
3. Assign them a specific car seat
Assigning each twin a specific car seat and always making sure they're loaded into the same spot in the car is a quick and easy way to know who's who whenever you're traveling somewhere together. Aside from differentiating between your identicals, putting them in the same seat every time means you'll always know that Baby A is always behind the driver, in case you're ever in an accident (hopefully, you won't be). Plus, as your kids grow, their car seats will need to be sized slightly differently, depending on their heights, so if you always put them in the same seat instead of switching it up each time, then you won't have to be constantly adjusting the specific fit. You'll still have to check the straps and general fit when you buckle them in, but you won't have to constantly be adjusting the finer points of the car seat each time.
There you have it, three tips to tell your twins apart.
Want more ways to tell your twins apart?
Still have people doing a double-take when it comes to telling your twins apart?
If you're looking for even more tricks to help people (or you, as parents—we won't judge!) tell your identical twins apart, here are three quick ways to easily determine who's who when it comes to identifying your newborn twins.
As your twins grow, you'll easily be able to tell them apart. Their personalities will pop and you'll be able to tell them apart just by observing their mannerisms, hearing their voice, or peeking at how they interact with one another.
In the meantime, hopefully these tips and tricks will help you be able to quickly identify the difference between your identical babies, so you'll be ready to rock if anybody tries to pop-quiz you and see if you can tell them apart.
How did you tell your identical twins apart when you first brought them home? Did you have any specific tricks that worked wonders for you or your family? Let us know in the Comments section below or connect with us on Instagram to share your thoughts!
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