To suspect that if I'd had 8 babies - like Octomum

[Salmotrutta]

I'd have to keep their hospital bracelets on them for aaaaages in case I mixed them up . The boys all looked very similar (as did the girls). I'd be the world's worst.
I even thought my DC looked very similar to everyone else's babies in hospital.
I'm a terrible person.................

[squeakytoy]

I am sure this sounds awful.. but it must be like having a litter of puppies.. so YANBU.

[CharleneysWishWellingtons]

YANBU!

[worraliberty]

That's a good point actually

I wonder how many of her kids started off with one name but ended up with another?

Personally I think I'd stick their birth certificates to their heads

[CarnivalBizarre]

Did I see somewhere in the US that parents of identical triplets had their DC tattooed with one baby tattooed with one dot and the next with 2 dots meaning that the one without a tattoo was the first born .... I really hope I dreamed that!!!

[wherearemysocks]

I've always wandered that if when there's a multiple birth that somewhere along the way when they were still small babies they've gotten mixed up and then stayed mixed up forever iygwim

[CarnivalBizarre]

tattooed on the bottom btw - looked like little birth marks

[Salmotrutta]

God - I'm glad it's not just me that had this weird thought!

Maybe I'm not so terrible after all!

[Salmotrutta]

Tattoos!
Why not just a wee dab of a washable marker pen?

[worraliberty]

Oh no it is just you who had this weird thought...we're just agreeing with it

[CarnivalBizarre]

I know the Walton sextuplets and it was never an issue with them as they were soooooo individual from birth - they are all non identical though ...big bonus

[Salmotrutta]

Agreeing in a "Yes dear, that's nice dear" or a "Oh yes, you're right" sort of way??

[blackeyedsusan]

i was thinking sharpie to write name on the sole of the feet myself... I hbet there are birth marks somewhere, though i would have to write a list of which mark belonged to which child just in case.

[worraliberty]

Errrr...agreeing in a "Just nod and make sure you don't make eye contact" kind of way

[Salmotrutta]

Yes but - I was crap at distinguishing my single babies when they were in the nursery at hospital (e.g. during room cleaning time etc.). I had to do a sneaky check of the band.
................ see, I am awful

[CarnivalBizarre]

salmotutta only in the US ...only in the US ....from what I can remember from the docu - the 3 girls where all grown and in there late teens/early 20s - very beautiful with long wavy blonde hair and 2 of them were laughing about only 2 of them having the dots on their arses but the first born sister got away scot free

I totally did not imagine it

[Salmotrutta]

Well, the US doesn't surprise me!!

[kittensliveupstairs]

Proper tatts? That's outrageous.
I have a friend with three identical triplets. She is convinced that the names they were given aren't the names given to that particular child if that makes sense.

[Sonearyetsofar]

I think I'd have to give them all the same nickname such as -

Ty

And name them Tyson, Tylor, Tyler etc

[Finallygotaroundtoit]

Salmotrutta is it only babies you have a problem with? There is something like 'face blindness' where people have difficulty recognising faces

[Tortoiseonthehalfshell]

Do you know what blows my mind? I have a friend with identical triplet boys, and until they were three they couldn't tell each other apart.

Apparently that's really common. But it utterly astounds me. I just always thought they would have a mystical womb-ey bond that would allow them to differentiate from birth. But no, Tom couldn't tell the difference between Jacob and Samuel, etc.

[Chopstheduck]

I do wonder how parents of id multiples manage sometimes. I only once got my non id dts mixed up - had mastitis and was pretty out of it. It was a rather panicky half hour thought, not knowing which was which and who I had fed last! I shout the wrong name at them all the time, the Ty idea is great

[theotherboleyngirl]

nailpolish on a toe (different colours for different baby!) would be less drastic than tattoo!

I have identical twins and to me they've always looked completely different, been able to tell them apart since birth and have no doubt they've ever been mixed up. However it took until they were 4 months for DH to be able to tell them apart with moderate accuracy. And even now at 19 months most people can't tell them apart. But to me they look completely different. So I figure there might be something 'maternal' which goes on there???

[EarthMotherImNot]

Has anyone else had a really "good" baby in hospital who turned into a screaming monster once home. I'm sure I thought about my firstborn "I've brought the wrong baby home

Actually other mums in hospital used to say when the babies were in the nursery that they could pick out their baby crying. I never could

[Chopstheduck]

that is strange tortoise!
I've always found other kids are a lot better at distinguishing the dts than adults, no idea why. Their friends never seem to confuse them, even though teachers struggled through their first term at school.

[Chopstheduck]

earthmother, I found mine completely changed at around 6 weeks. Dp and I took responsibility for a dt each when they came home. He took the easy one, but at 6 weeks they completely changed and he got stuck with the little sod of the two