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| Friday, December 29, 2006 |
| Mirror Image? |
I will post more about Christmas later, but right now I am fixated on researching something and would like to hear anyone's input.
It has been suggested by several people that the bwins might be mirror image twins. The first suggestion came from my mom's doctor who met them just briefly in October at my parent's church. He off-handedly questioned my mother at a later date as to whether we knew if they were mirror image twins. I didn't pay much attention, it kind of slipped my mind, until the other day.
Last Sunday at church, we were talking to a group of people and a lady asked if they were mirror image twins. I told her we didn't know and she said, "Well, their cowlicks are on different sides of their head." I was kind of embarassed because we've had them home for 5 months and had never noticed. My dh even gives them their haircuts. She said this was a classic sign of mirror image twins.
This got me to thinking and I decided to research. I really can't find out too much. All the info seems to be the same and is very little. Mirror image twins are monozygotic, one egg, identical twins. Basically, the egg divides extremely late, at 9-12 days, so late that they are almost cojoined. It divides straight down the middle so one becomes the left half and the other the right half. They share not only the same sack but also the same placenta, which is extremely rare. Only 25% of identical twins are mirror image. The biggest marker is the hair swirls on the back of their head. In addition, one is usually left handed and one right handed. Birthmarks are in the same place, opposite sides. They sometimes have one eye that is thinner in appearance than the other. Basically, one's left side is like the other's right side and vice versa.
To us, the boys look different, but the orphanage insisted they were identical. We always said we thought they were fraternal because they had slight differences. We have had some suggest that even identical twins have some differences. Now, there have been times I've been pretty freaked with the boys because they looked so alike each other. I would see the other one even though I knew which one I was looking at. Each of those times, it was when I saw them from the side. If you take the pic below from the 5 month update and cover up the middle, they look like one face. BTW, El is right handed and L is ambidextrous, usually favoring his left hand. I have also noticed a smaller eye, especially on L, since the first referral picture. We can find no birthmarks.
Okay, what do you know? What do you think? Am I just seeing things? Is there any way to really know? Let me know what you know or even what you think. It's got my curiosity up.
(BTW: A little piece of side info just because it is on my heart today and I need to tell someone: Today is I and B's 3rd birthday. They are our first Russian sons, the ones we originally thought would be home with us for their 3rd birthday. Say a little prayer for them and the grandma who is caring for them if you think about it. Thanks.) |
posted by 6blessings @ 1:59 PM  |
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| 13 Comments: |
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the most famous mirrior image twins I can think of off the top of my head are the Olsen twins. Mary Kate is left handed, Ashley right, and the mirror continues down to their birthmarks on their back.
That said, your boys look like they could be mirror boys. It would be one more step to identical, and many identical twins CAN have slight differences.
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I've never heard of that. How interesting. At first I couldn't tell the bwins apart from photos unless they were smiling. But even just through photos, I can tell them apart. They do look incredibly like one another, though.
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I think they're mirror image twins. I'm not an expert, but I look for them in twins. I have some cousins that are mirror image twins. I see it in your bwins.
Thinking of your boys with their grandma.
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I've never heard of mirror image twins, but I can definitely see it in the picture where they have their arms around each others' neck. If I block out one side of each of their faces, it looks like 1/2 of the other! Very interesting!
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That's fascinating! Keep us posted on what you learn. I will pray that all is well with your first boys and their grandmother. They never leave your heart, do they?
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I have heard of mirror image twins and even went to school with a pair (we had 5 sets of twins in my highschool class, including my brother and me). Another set of twins were identical boys who had some slight difference, like you see in your bwins. One's eyes were slightly narrower looking than the other (although, he was the more cynical of the two, so maybe his eyes were like that because of the way he viewed the world). Being a fraternal twin, identical twins have always fascinated me. It would be interesting to see if your bwins are mirror-image or not.
Happy 3rd birthday to I and B. I'm hoping they are having a good one with their grandmother. I imagine it must be a bittersweet day for you, so I'm keeping you guys in my thoughts as well.
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I haven't heard of the mirror image thing, but they sure are cute!! :)
A good friend of mine has a identical twin girls but they are quite different because they were born 10 weeks premature yet only one of them really had the features of a premature baby. Her hair is lighter, she has always been smaller and they just don't quite look the same because of it. They were both really small but the one was much smaller than the other.
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Wishing you and your family all joy in 2007!
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I had never heard of mirror image twins before. Sorry.
I just have to say that you have the most beautiful family.
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The orphanage told us that our twins were identical, too. Even though they are both left-handed and look alike, I don't think they are.
Check out my photos and let me know what you think.
www.raisingromulus.blogspot.com
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Twins Magazine has experts you can read about and/or contact. There are tests that can be run. Ours are fraternal. You have a gorgeous family!
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Hi, I happened onto your blog while looking for info on mirror image twins. I'm the Mom to identical twin girls, almost 4. One is left handed and one is right handed. I don't see other mirroring though so maybe that is just due to another factor. BTW, identical twins can look very different, especially to their mother. Another commentor mentioned the Olsen twins...I saw an interview where they swore up and down that they are fraternal twins! They don't look like it do they? And if they are mirrored, they must be identical. It really is a fascinating subject and it just goes to show how "fearfully and wonderfully" we are made, doesn't it? National Geographic channel had a special on today but I think it runs several times. It is called In the Womb: Multiples and follows three pgs with in utero cameras and 3 D and 4 D ultrasounds and explains a lot of things. You might be interested in watching that if you get that channel. I wanted to watch it because I wanted to see what I was feeling during my twin pg. I'm glad you adopted your children. You are so blessed! Sorry this is so long. I am going to bookmark you so I can come back and read more about your twin journey! :o)
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I am a mirror image identical twin and according to statistics, 1 out of 4 sets are mirror image. You are right about the swirls in the boys hair. The other identifying traits is identical birthmarks on opposite sides, one is right handed and the other is left handed or possibly ambidextrous like myself, and my sister and I have identical teeth on the opposite sides. The next time you bring them to the dentist, ask him / her to compare their teeth. Some twins are more mirror image than others. With that being said, in extreme cases, organs in one child will be on the opposite side. The other thing that might strike you as odd but is very common with mirror image identical twins is that if one of the boys do not realize that they are looking in a mirror from a distace such as in a store and thinks that he sees his twin and goes to talk or reach out to him. The reason is that when you look in the mirror, everything is reverse or mirror image. Mirror image identical twins are identical twins as you describe but what makes us mirror image is that the egg splits completely at the latest possible time which forms the sidedness in twins and we see our twins reflection when we look in the mirror. If the egg does not split completely, then you have conjoined twins. Allow them to develop their own personalities and interest. When they are old enough, let them pick out their clothes, so they can establish their own identity. Often times, they will pick out identical outfits or same style of clothes but different colors. I hope this helps.
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the most famous mirrior image twins I can think of off the top of my head are the Olsen twins. Mary Kate is left handed, Ashley right, and the mirror continues down to their birthmarks on their back.
That said, your boys look like they could be mirror boys. It would be one more step to identical, and many identical twins CAN have slight differences.