Can one of a set of ID twins be affected by prematurity but not the other?

[firsttimetwins]

I have 5yo id twin girls. Born at 32+0 after going into labour 31+5. Reason for premature labour was TTTS. Twin 1 2.4 kilos, twin 2 1.6 kilos, so quite small. Both kept in NICU for four weeks, no health probs except size. Fast forward to present. Both seem bright, very different personalities, but DT2 has the shortest attention span ever. She has an incredible memory and is really quick, and can focus on colouring in and on play, but not on things like reading. Or if I am reading a story, she is constantly asking questions. She can't sit still at all. She does take things in though; when we are doing reading lessons, she recognises individual words but is rubbish at whole stories unless I get her to sing them or shout them, then that engages her. Her mental arithmetic is also very good and, weirdly, she often grasps complex instructions quickly. We live in Germany so she hasn't started school, but her Kindergarten teacher has not raised any concerns. DT1 also has her moments, but I just get the impression she is much more balanced, somehow. She isn't quite as quick, but much more focused, good at reading, at drawing. Oh, and tantrums... Are they just different kids or could it be that DT2 has problems leftover from being a bit tiny? Sorry this is so long....

[slightlyinsane]

Hi,
Do you know what type of ttts your los had?
Mine are nearly 7 months and I can very clearly see a difference in personalities and abilities. They were born at 36+2 but quite small.
Yours are at an age where development takes a leap (with school etc) but also at an age where some developmental problems may start being noticed if they were to have any.
In my opinion, as a mother not medical, they are just different children and their qualities are becoming more apparent. I find it fascinating the differences that there can be when essentially they are the same, have been brought up the same yet can be soooooo different.

[firsttimetwins]

I don't know what type of TTTS they had. I am still slightly concerned about DT2, but I mainly find it fascinating that they seem to have taken on the roles of older and younger sibling automatically, even before they knew that one of them was actually born first. I think she may just be a bit less grounded in terms of personality, and she is also quite easily stressed and I think that comes through in her short attention span.

[Jackieharris]

A midwife told me that if babies are of the same gestation but one is 'small for dates' the small for dates' baby will have a higher risk of problems later on.

[firsttimetwins]

Oh really? That is very interesting. DT1 was 5 lbs 2 at birth, so not bad, whereas DT2 was 3lbs 6, so properly preemie-sized.

[Grokette]

So I take it by size your Dt2 was the 'donor' twin? Like others have said she is the one more likely toe counter difficulties later on.

We had TTTs, DT1 was the donor twin, she was a good deal smaller, always sicker (she also had a bleed on her brain), is still titchy and, probably coincidentally, also has an incredibly short attention span and is physically very restless. Interestingly they have also fallen into very clear older sister/ younger sister roles, although I would imagine that's more to do with a subconscious difference in how we treat them.