Life As We Know It

As I mentioned before, we were beginning to doubt that the twins are fraternal. It is pretty tough to find differences between them besides Claire's little spot on her nose that seems to be fading now (ahh!). Our suspicions were confirmed with the results of the DNA zygosity test. They are, in fact, identical.

I didn't have a preference to what kind of twins they are, but now I can stop feeling guilty about not being able to tell my "fraternal" twins apart. My doctor was almost sure based on their positions and separation of everything in the womb that they were fraternal.

I have included some twin facts now that I am fascinated with the world of multiples!

Roughly 1.9% of the world's population are twins. 8% of all twins are identical. 18-36% of all identical twins have separate sacs and placentas, like ours did. Hmmm... should we be buying lottery tickets?
Fraternal twins are the result of two eggs being fertilized and are genetically alike as much as siblings born at separate times. Identical twins happen when one egg is fertilized and then splits to form two separate embryos. The timing of the split determines whether one or two sacs and/or placentas are present.
Many factors can increase your chances of having fraternal twins such as maternal family history, fertility treatments, maternal age, race, even weight and height. On the other hand, the occurrence of identical twins is completely random and universal. The chances of having identical twins is about 1 in 285 births.
Identical twins have nearly the same DNA. But environmental influences before and after they are born may make them look different. Identical twins tend to look less "identical" over the span of their lives. They have the same blood type, and will most likely be a perfect match for each other for an organ transplant if needed.

Double the smiles, double the love, double the old man hair-do!