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Multiple births

When do you start showing with twins? What is life with twins like? Join the conversation on our Multiple Births forum.

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Original poster

identifying identical twins

24 replies

pop · 07/07/2002 12:08

I have got 4 week old identical twins and so far can only tell them apart by looking at their hospital name tags!!! These are now tight and needing to come off but we are terrified in case we muddle them up. Anyone out there got any tips? I know this is only temporary as they will start to have different personalities etc further down the line.

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

threeangels · 07/07/2002 12:47

Why not do the nail polish thing. Dab a dot of it on the bottom of the foot. Youll have to keep lifting their feet but at least it will help temporarily.

carrieboo · 07/07/2002 14:04

I'm so jealous 4 week old twins - I'd love to have twin girls. Do you have girls or boys?

I don't blame you for being worried I've often wounderd if parents of twins leave the tags on, as it seems to me that this is the only way that you can be 100% sure you don't switch them. The obvious answer wold be to put them in different clothes, but it would be so easy to forget who was wearing what unless you worte it down each day!

If the tag thing is working for you why don't you ask your health visitor if she can put new looser tags on for you.

Failing that make your own tags by wrting on a thick piece of ribbon and then knoting it round their ankles or wrists.

Mopsy · 07/07/2002 14:09

I have cousins who are identical twins - when they were tiny their mum caused much hilarity by writing their first initial on the soles of their feet with indelible black marker pen!

SueDonim · 07/07/2002 16:22

My friend had to take her twins to the Dr, because she'd lost track of which was which! The hospital had noted differences between the girls, in particular that their hair at the crown went in opposite directions and were able to identify them for her. She felt such an idiot, though!

mears · 07/07/2002 17:55

Could you write their names on the labels of their babygros etc. and keep them in separate drawers. It's just like labelling clothes for school. You could then identify them by the clothes they have on.

In my early student midwife days ( many years age), baby's had sticking plasters on their backs to ensure identification.

Alternatively is there a paediatric hospital close by? You could get older baby sized labels from there. Let us know how you get round this interesting problem.

jasper · 07/07/2002 18:34

does it matter if you muddle them up?

robbie · 07/07/2002 20:13

We also did the nail polish thing which worked well - we also had a colour scheme - red/pink for one, blue/ green for the other - to help others and pretty soon we were able to tell them apart because one had a mole. Enjoy!

Mopsy · 07/07/2002 20:40

rofl Jasper

tigermoth · 07/07/2002 20:55

Oh Jasper

WideWebWitch · 07/07/2002 21:15

Jasper

mears · 07/07/2002 22:11

Jasper, Jasper, Jasper

Rhubarb · 08/07/2002 11:35

How about this white couple who have given birth to black babies through an IVF bungle? I wonder if they will keep them or hand them over to their biological parents?

carrieboo · 08/07/2002 16:55

I haven't seen that, what a nightmare, does it mean that someone else is carrying their child?

rozzy · 08/07/2002 19:54

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

batey · 08/07/2002 20:00

I think there's a black family from the same clinic who are saying the babies are theirs. What a nightmare.

janh · 08/07/2002 20:16

I read Jasper's message and it started me wondering if it does matter at this stage - 2 babies, same sex, no visible or character differences - you could just call them 1 and 2 until they start making their personalities felt, at which point there would probably be no problem identifying them...
I think jasper was joking but not sure I am (never had twins myself though!)

cos · 08/07/2002 20:30

As a mother of twins at this age it is actually important for things like who did i feed last..

jasper · 08/07/2002 21:50

jahn I am never quite sure whether or not I am joking

PamT · 08/07/2002 22:29

Do identical twins have the same blood group, DNA etc.? I suppose it might make a difference if a medical problem occurred. I don't know how anyone copes with twins, identical or not, its hard enough with one baby to feed, change, bath etc.

Original poster

pop · 09/07/2002 08:55

thanks for all your comments. We cannot afford to muddle them up as one of them failed a hearing test in the hospital just after birth and it is being followed up so already they have different medical needs etc. So far it has not been a problen as they have been in their moses baskets since they came home (they were 6 weeks early and we haven't really wanted to take them out yet) so we know who is who by which bed they are in!!! Nearly muddled them up when dh put one back in the wrong bed!!

OP posts:

Azzie · 09/07/2002 09:25

Pop, just you wait! My Mum and her sister are identical twins, and they've used this to play tricks all their lives. As schoolgirls, if one had a date and a detention, the other would do the detention for her - at a price, of course! And my aunt tells the tale of waiting for a newly-acquired boyfriend to meet her, only to see him ride past on the bus with my Mum, who was pretending to be her. Even my grandmother used to get fooled if she wasn't paying attention. When they were little and playing in the garden while she was doing housework, one would come in and ask for a sweet. Then the other would come in and ask for one, followed by the first child claiming that her sister had been given 2 sweets - and of course my grandmother didn't know what the truth was. Even now they still fool people sometimes - it took dh about 10 years before he could be sure which one had just walked into the room (he could tell if they were together), and a few months ago my Mum went to work instead of my aunt, and her secretary only realised when Mum didn't know where her coffee cup was kept.

Funnily enough, to me they look and have always looked totally unalike. My kids sometimes call my aunt 'Grandma', but never make the mistake the other way around.

Rhubarb · 09/07/2002 14:33

With the black twins, they are not sure if the egg and sperm came from this black couple and was mistakenly put into the white woman, or if her egg was used with the black man's sperm. Even more traumatic is that the IVF for the black couple did not work.

What a nightmare for the law courts to sort out!

Paula71 · 14/07/2003 23:19

Everyone says my ds twins are identical but I don't see it at all.
When they were just born I could tell them apart as the eldest was slimmer and longer and the younger slightly fatter.
Another girl in a neighbouring town had had triplets several weeks before and for a good few months used little luggage labels tied around their ankles!
Keep them in different clothes is another idea, ds eldest twin wears reds, greens etc and ds youngest twin wears yellows, blues.
If you buy packs of two items you usually find there is a different design on each piece of clothing.

Ghosty · 15/07/2003 02:57

We had friends with identical twins and as the mum came from Scotland and the dad came from Wales they gave one a Scottish name and one a Welsh name then they colour coded them according to each country's rugby team colours!! One boy was called Alasdair and wore blue ... the other was called Gareth and wore red ...
I thought it was rather clever ....

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