For those whose identical twins had TTTS, do your twins look exactly alike?

I posted this on CafeMoms, but I decided to post this here because I know there's a larger population of twins here.

I'm trying to figure out if their differences are due to the slight TTTS that they had in the womb. Mine have the same teeth, but not exactly the same shape or size of head. Their noses and eyes are expressed differently. There has always been a difference in their sizes. Baby A has always been bigger than Baby B. Right now, there is a 2 lb. weight difference between them.

Thanks in advance for taking this poll.

 

I think you're going to see that with any identical twins, especially as their mom. Strangers probably won't notice if their eyes are expressed differently like you would and placement in the womb of course plays a huge role in headshape.

 

Ours are at least 3 lbs different in weight and are easily distinguished by that. However when I look at them their features are shaped exactly the same and alot of their facial expressions are the same.

 

Mine didn't have TTTS and weigh exactly the same but they still have differences in the shape of their heads and faces. If they aren't together, other people have a hard time telling who is whom but most everyone can see the differences if they're side by side. We thought they were fraternal at first but they tested ID.

 

Hope, my boys had TTTS and are exactly as you said. Strangers tell us they look exactly alike, but to family they look completely differant. (Although we do have a picture taken at 8 months and if I didn't know who was sitting where I wouldn't be able to tell them apart).

Caleb just got glasses and they will barely stay on his nose, but they'll stay on Connors. Caleb has always been a bit tinier as well.

As for the head shape, I have been told that that is due to the position in the womb

 

Mine were not TTTS but are Mono Mono twins -

They are about 4 pounds difference and about 1 inch in size.

I don't think mine look alike but others do

 

mine had TTTS and there are the same differences that you pointed out. head shape, eyes, there is about a 3 lb diff.

 

Mine did not have TTTS, but there are differences as well (such as slight difference in head shape, etc) and one is still a hlf pound to a pound larger than the other.

 

Mine were born at 32 weeks with a 1 1/2 pound weight difference (2 1/2 pounds vs. 4). The receiver has recently almost got up to the donor in both size and weight. I do think their facial structure and eyes especially look very different but most strangers who meet them now think they look identical. The funny thing is that once people spend some time with them they will say the one of them looks more like me and the other one looks more like my husband!

 

QUOTE(hope26 @ Apr 14 2008, 06:21 AM) [snapback]720286[/snapback]
I'm trying to figure out if their differences are due to the slight TTTS that they had in the womb. Mine have the same teeth, but not exactly the same shape or size of head. Their noses and eyes are expressed differently. There has always been a difference in their sizes. Baby A has always been bigger than Baby B. Right now, there is a 2 lb. weight difference between them.


I did not vote in the poll because my twins did not have TTTS, at least not to my knowledge, but looking back very very slight TTTS would explain the skin tone differences.

On birth, my girls looked so different that I laughed off the attending pediatrians assertations that they were identical. My family is full of faternal twins, so all through pregnancy I just assumed.

There was only a very slight difference in their weights, but there was a very noticable difference in their skin tones, and DH and I have very different skin tones, so everyone just jumped on that, But by 8 weeks they had the same skin tone.

They had VERY different head shapes, but Bianca was enganged and in the birth cannal by the time I had my c/s. So she had the conehead, typical of a vaginal birth. Gabby had a perfectly round head.

At three months of age they started looking alike. By 6 months most people couldn't tell them apart, by 9 months I couldn't tell them apart when they were sleeping if they had the same pijamas on and I hadn't put them down (to know who was were). By 1 year I dediced I'd save the money on a test, it's obvious they are ID.

It's perfectly normal for newborns to NOT look alike.

 

My girls do look exactly alike. My husband still can't tell them apart without checking their earrings....one wears red, the other wears blue.

 

Mine had TTTS that went undiagnosed until they were born - and one had a transfusion. The receiving twin was very hyper-pigmented from all the extra hemoglobin but after a week under those awful lights in the NICU and then a few more months their skin tone is pretty similar now. (ugh, it makes me shudder to think of them in their isolettes, alone under those lights and with those horrid little eye masks on - THAT'S a memory i'm glad not to dwell on!!!) They were only 3oz different in size, but had, and still have, VERY different head shapes. The donor twin also looks also significantly smaller; there is probably a one lb. difference but she has much less rounded cheeks than her sister, her eyes are slightly smaller and less round as well.

I too was told that head shape is very womb position dependant - they were both breech. They are starting to look more and more alike as they get older (they're almost 13 months) but they still look completely different to me. one also has a lot more hair, and darker hair, than the other.

It will sure be interesting to see if they look more alike as they get older. I often wonder if they would have been more similar w/out the TTTS.....

 

my guys had ttts - 3.8 and 4.2 at birth and my little one is STAYS smaller. Their faces tend to look different because my bigger one has fatter cheeks. They are ID, so of course they resemble each other, but i never have a hard time telling them apart since their weight stays different. I'm guessing that as the biger they get, the weight wont be as noticeable.. although if you look at Zack and Cody from the suite life, one of them is heavier than the other still! lol..

 

Mine had Acute TTTS and came out Sam=red, Syd=white and smaller. So in the beginning, I couldn't have mixed them up at all. Syd is now actually bigger than her sis.

I do NOT thing their looks are different bcuz of ttts. I think their differences are because of head shape. And I've heard this from other ID moms (ttts or not). If baby A is head down, he/she often has a narrower head and eyes closer together. Basically her head was more squished because of where she was for months in my pelvis. Syd's head is wider, her eyes further apart. They have the same features, but different head shapes, so I think it's really easy to tell them apart.

Some people see these differences immediately, others have to be told, but once told, they can see exactly what I mean and then know how to tell the difference.

You might want to check out tttsfoundation website msg boards if you want to talk to more ttts families, some post here, some don't.

 

I didn't answer because it's only in the last year that they've started to look really alike. They are quite identical now. As babies & toddler though they looked very different. Their weight difference from birth quickly grew to 3 lbs and it tended to stay in that range. They are about 2 lbs different now but it's a much smaller percentage of their total weight so you can't see the weight difference anymore. When they were newborns, people actually asked me how many months old Ainsley was compared to Sierra. There were quite a few surprised looks when I told them they were twins.

 

My boys had slight ttts and were born at 34 weeks. Jesse was 7.3 and Jayden was 5.5. I voted that they look alike even though some days I dont see it but their teachers at school cant tell them apart even after a year of going there.