Can identical twins look different at birth?

My husband and I have twing daughters, born 8/24/03.We were shocked when we learned we were having twins, being that this was our very first attempt at starting our family. Neither of us have twins in our family, so I assumed the girls were identical. There was no true clues as to whether they were identical or fraternal (placenta was one large mass, 2 separate sacs, etc). The nurses from the nicu said that they thought the girls might be identical, but they look sooo different to me. It may just be the differenc in their weight - Meaghan weighed 3 lbs 8 oz at birth and Eireann weighed 3 lbs 13 oz - they are now 16 weeks and Eireann continues to be 18 oz larger than her sister - anyone have any info they can share on the topic???

You might want to do a search on Google for past postings on this subject.
I asked the same thing when I gave birth to Emma and Aislyn. We were in the
same boat, two separate sacs and two different placentas. But, on the other
hand our girls look very similar. You can follow the link to our site and see
for yourself. The only way to know for sure is to have them tested. I can't
tell you how different it is possible for identical twins to look. But I can
tell you that it is possible for fraternal twins to look very much alike, even
physically "identical" because our oldest daughter looks as much like our twin
girls as they do one another.




~Kimberly
Mommy to Alexis Iliana 07/17/99 and
Emma Elidia & Aislyn Gabriela 10/01/02
come see us...
http://www.babiesonline.com/babies/a/aislynemma/

You might want to do a search on Google for past postings on this subject.
I asked the same thing when I gave birth to Emma and Aislyn. We were in the
same boat, two separate sacs and two different placentas. But, on the other
hand our girls look very similar. You can follow the link to our site and see
for yourself. The only way to know for sure is to have them tested. I can't
tell you how different it is possible for identical twins to look. But I can
tell you that it is possible for fraternal twins to look very much alike, even
physically "identical" because our oldest daughter looks as much like our twin
girls as they do one another.




~Kimberly
Mommy to Alexis Iliana 07/17/99 and
Emma Elidia & Aislyn Gabriela 10/01/02
come see us...
http://www.babiesonline.com/babies/a/aislynemma/

Our girls are identical, but did look different when they were smaller
because of a 1lb weight difference. They also had different shaped heads
(because of the way they were lying before birth). We know they are
identical because of DNA testing. An older nurse told me that before DNA,
they looked at certain pointers to see if twins were identical.
1. hair colour 2. ear shape 3. eye colour. I'm sure that there were
more, but I've forgotten. Ears can be slightly different, but not
drastically, but the other two should be exactly the same.
My girls do look very like their older sister too. It is hard to work out
who is who in photos. I have to look at the clothes. My son also is very
like the girls. They all look like their dad. If I hadn't given birth to
them, I'd have doubts that they were mine!!

Alison
Mother of Kirsty (17) John (15) Brodie (7) Heather (7)

"irishtwinsmom" wrote in message
lkaboutparenting.com...
My husband and I have twing daughters, born 8/24/03.We were shocked when
we learned we were having twins, being that this was our very first attempt
at starting our family. Neither of us have twins in our family, so I assumed
the girls were identical. There was no true clues as to whether they were
identical or fraternal (placenta was one large mass, 2 separate sacs, etc).
The nurses from the nicu said that they thought the girls might be
identical, but they look sooo different to me. It may just be the differenc
in their weight - Meaghan weighed 3 lbs 8 oz at birth and Eireann weighed 3
lbs 13 oz - they are now 16 weeks and Eireann continues to be 18 oz larger
than her sister - anyone have any info they can share on the topic???

Our girls are identical, but did look different when they were smaller
because of a 1lb weight difference. They also had different shaped heads
(because of the way they were lying before birth). We know they are
identical because of DNA testing. An older nurse told me that before DNA,
they looked at certain pointers to see if twins were identical.
1. hair colour 2. ear shape 3. eye colour. I'm sure that there were
more, but I've forgotten. Ears can be slightly different, but not
drastically, but the other two should be exactly the same.
My girls do look very like their older sister too. It is hard to work out
who is who in photos. I have to look at the clothes. My son also is very
like the girls. They all look like their dad. If I hadn't given birth to
them, I'd have doubts that they were mine!!

Alison
Mother of Kirsty (17) John (15) Brodie (7) Heather (7)

"irishtwinsmom" wrote in message
lkaboutparenting.com...
My husband and I have twing daughters, born 8/24/03.We were shocked when
we learned we were having twins, being that this was our very first attempt
at starting our family. Neither of us have twins in our family, so I assumed
the girls were identical. There was no true clues as to whether they were
identical or fraternal (placenta was one large mass, 2 separate sacs, etc).
The nurses from the nicu said that they thought the girls might be
identical, but they look sooo different to me. It may just be the differenc
in their weight - Meaghan weighed 3 lbs 8 oz at birth and Eireann weighed 3
lbs 13 oz - they are now 16 weeks and Eireann continues to be 18 oz larger
than her sister - anyone have any info they can share on the topic???

Hi --

As others have said, it depends on the differences. If they're
weight-related, sure. If they're gene-related (eye color, hair color),
then no. Blood types also can't be different.

I was in the same boat as you -- no fertility drugs, no twins in the
family, but twins nonetheless. Mine are boy/girl, so there is no
question about them being fraternal. Last year, my mother did some
genealogical research and learned that her great-great grandmother had
had two sets of twins (and four singletons). I'm not sure whether that
qualifies for "twins running in the family", being so many generations
ago, but it makes for a quick, easy answer when the question comes up.

Julie
Mom to Erica & Chris, 07/97

irishtwinsmom wrote:

My husband and I have twing daughters, born 8/24/03.We were shocked when we learned we were having twins, being that this was our very first attempt at starting our family. Neither of us have twins in our family, so I assumed the girls were identical. There was no true clues as to whether they were identical or fraternal (placenta was one large mass, 2 separate sacs, etc). The nurses from the nicu said that they thought the girls might be identical, but they look sooo different to me. It may just be the differenc in their weight - Meaghan weighed 3 lbs 8 oz at birth and Eireann weighed 3 lbs 13 oz - they are now 16 weeks and Eireann continues to be 18 oz larger than her sister - anyone have any info they can share on the topic???

Hi --

As others have said, it depends on the differences. If they're
weight-related, sure. If they're gene-related (eye color, hair color),
then no. Blood types also can't be different.

I was in the same boat as you -- no fertility drugs, no twins in the
family, but twins nonetheless. Mine are boy/girl, so there is no
question about them being fraternal. Last year, my mother did some
genealogical research and learned that her great-great grandmother had
had two sets of twins (and four singletons). I'm not sure whether that
qualifies for "twins running in the family", being so many generations
ago, but it makes for a quick, easy answer when the question comes up.

Julie
Mom to Erica & Chris, 07/97

irishtwinsmom wrote:

My husband and I have twing daughters, born 8/24/03.We were shocked when we learned we were having twins, being that this was our very first attempt at starting our family. Neither of us have twins in our family, so I assumed the girls were identical. There was no true clues as to whether they were identical or fraternal (placenta was one large mass, 2 separate sacs, etc). The nurses from the nicu said that they thought the girls might be identical, but they look sooo different to me. It may just be the differenc in their weight - Meaghan weighed 3 lbs 8 oz at birth and Eireann weighed 3 lbs 13 oz - they are now 16 weeks and Eireann continues to be 18 oz larger than her sister - anyone have any info they can share on the topic???

wrote:

The nurses from the nicu said that they thought the girls might be
identical, but they look sooo different to me. It may just be the differenc
in their weight - Meaghan weighed 3 lbs 8 oz at birth and Eireann weighed 3
lbs 13 oz - they are now 16 weeks and Eireann continues to be 18 oz larger
than her sister - anyone have any info they can share on the topic???

They could still be fraternal, since the placentas could have merged. I have a
lab report saying that my girl/girl twins shared a placenta and outer membrane,
which is simply not true -- they have different blood types, different
coloring, there is just NO way they could NOT be fraternal.

Weight differences are fairly common in ID twins -- in fact, I think I remember
reading that due to differences in nutrition levels when placentas are shared,
ID twins often have *greater* differences in birthweight than fraternal twins.
Five ounces is not such a huge difference, though.

--Helen

wrote:

The nurses from the nicu said that they thought the girls might be
identical, but they look sooo different to me. It may just be the differenc
in their weight - Meaghan weighed 3 lbs 8 oz at birth and Eireann weighed 3
lbs 13 oz - they are now 16 weeks and Eireann continues to be 18 oz larger
than her sister - anyone have any info they can share on the topic???

They could still be fraternal, since the placentas could have merged. I have a
lab report saying that my girl/girl twins shared a placenta and outer membrane,
which is simply not true -- they have different blood types, different
coloring, there is just NO way they could NOT be fraternal.

Weight differences are fairly common in ID twins -- in fact, I think I remember
reading that due to differences in nutrition levels when placentas are shared,
ID twins often have *greater* differences in birthweight than fraternal twins.
Five ounces is not such a huge difference, though.

--Helen

"irishtwinsmom" wrote in message
My husband and I have twing daughters, born 8/24/03.We were shocked when
we learned we were having twins, being that this was our very first attempt
at starting our family. Neither of us have twins in our family, so I assumed
the girls were identical. There was no true clues as to whether they were
identical or fraternal (placenta was one large mass, 2 separate sacs, etc).
The nurses from the nicu said that they thought the girls might be
identical, but they look sooo different to me. It may just be the differenc
in their weight - Meaghan weighed 3 lbs 8 oz at birth and Eireann weighed 3
lbs 13 oz - they are now 16 weeks and Eireann continues to be 18 oz larger
than her sister - anyone have any info they can share on the topic???

My ID girls looked very different at birth as well. They had a 24 oz.
weight difference but only 1/2 inch difference in length. Also, Chelsea
(the larger twin) had a great deal more hair than her sister which appeared
darker at first. We were certain at birth they were identical
(monoamniotic), but if we had not had such a clear indication of zygosity,
I'm not sure I would have been able to tell until they were nearly a year
old and the weight difference had resolved. At nearly 13 years old, they
have a 10 lb weight difference which makes them look less alike. So, in my
experience significant weight differences make a marked change in appearing
alike.
HTH,
Kim
Chelsea and Courtney 12/27/90