ID or Frat? Or, "don't know"

I got curious as to the numbers of ID vs. Frats here on the first year board. I wonder if the odds that the experts cite are true here as well.

Sorry if someone has asked this as a poll previously!

I added "don't know" so anyone can participate.

 

I got curious as to the numbers of ID vs. Frats here on the first year board. I wonder if the odds that the experts cite are true here as well.

Sorry if someone has asked this as a poll previously!

I added "don't know" so anyone can participate.

 

I almost forgot to go back in and vote myself!

 

my husband and i probably won't know for sure until around the last part of february. My Dr. will be doing an u/s to check sexes, frat/id, and all the measurements. i will post what we find out then!
thanks for the post!
lots of love!
meshell

 

my dr will only say highly suspicious for identical.

 

I understand if they are in the same sac it's identical, but how could you know for sure if they are fraternal?

I have a "very thing septum" and two placentas so the doctor said she really doesn't know. they are both girls so it could be identical I suppose!

 

Mods--Can you link this to the "First Year" board? That's where I intended it to be.....I have no idea how I ended up in "Expecting"!

Thanks,

Robynn

 

I voted I dont know. We were told by the peri that they are Identical but I dont know if the placenta was sent off to pathology to find out or now. He said ID because there was only 1 placenta seen very early on and a very, very thin membrane

 

As far as we know they are saying fraternal for us...two sacs, two separate placentas...two girls!

 

2 sacs, 2 placentas, conceived on clomid cycle, so assuming fraternal...

 

2 sacs, 2 placentas, IVF babies so we are assuming fraternal
2 girls -

 

Ours are fraternal.

There are 2 sacs and 2 placentas, and my dr also pointed out the membrane seperating the 2 sacs very early on, and told us that that meant they are fraternal. That was confirmed at the gender u/s - b/g twins!

 

quote:
I understand if they are in the same sac it's identical, but how could you know for sure if they are fraternal?


Boy/girl twins are almost always fraternal.

One placenta/one sac (mo/mo) are identical.
One placenta/2 sacs (mo/di) are identical.
2 placentas/2 sacs (di/di) same sex can be either identical or fraternal. About 1/3 of di/di same sex twins are identical.

I'm a bit of a strange case. My twins were detected only at 22 weeks. I was told mo/di identical twins as there was 1 placenta with a verrrry thin dividing membrane. At birth, the OB said it was 1 placenta. However the pathology report came back as 2 placentas. My boys are in fact fraternal - different blood types. Apparently the placentas had fused by the time the ultrasound was done at 22 weeks.

 

We don't know. Our girls had 2 placentas and 2 seperate sacks. However my OB, their NICU doctor's and their ped. all think they are identical. We are waiting to see before we get the DNA test. I would love to be able to answer people when they ask me.

 

I asked this question throughout my pregnancy but no one could tell us the answer. The ultrasound person kept saying they weren't qualified and my OB couldn't tell from the results (we do know their were two separate placentas but are unsure of the sac). Even after I had my girls, she still wasn't sure. I definitely am not in the financial position to pay for DNA testing, so I guess we just will never know.

 

quote:
I definitely am not in the financial position to pay for DNA testing, so I guess we just will never know.



Ditto!!!

We found out at 15 weeks that there was only one pacenta, with a very thin membrane. Our girls have the same blood type and have always been close in size(I dont know if that matters, but..). The sad part of the situation is having to explain it to strangers "Well they look alot alike but we dont know if they are identical because the cost of testing is expensive"

 

Ours were di/di and both girls, so we assumed they were fraternal but knew there was still a chance they could be identical. Once they were born, there was no need for DNA tests to know they are certainly fraternal.

Angela

 

Fraternals here! Different blood types confirmed in the NICU.

 

Identical here. One placenta, one sac w/ membrane seperating them. They are also the same blood type. They also had TTTS, it only affects identical twins. We never had blood work done though.

 

They were di/di, so we were pretty sure they were fraternal from the get-go. Now that they're here, they look nothing alike, so definitely fraternal!

 

I have ID girls, at my 22 week U/S they said that I had one placents and a very thin membrane. When I delivered they sent my placenta out for testing and the pathology came back as one. I still didn't beleive so I got a DNA testing done and it also came back ID. So now I know for 100% my girls are ID.

 

The doctor swore they showed every sign of being identical. When they were born we weren't sure. After a week, we were positive they were fraternal. They sent a portion of the placenta out to be tested. By the time the results were in they didn't even look like sisters, let alone ID twins! The results were "inconclusive." Kelsey is big, dark, brown hair, brown eyes. Sam has no hair, gray eyes, she is petite and very fair.- I think my insurance company wasted a little money on this test.

 

2 sacs and 2 placentas could still be ID. Really there is no way of knowing for sure if twins are fraternal unless they are boy/girl. (Or unless you do IVF, but even then there is a chance of an egg splitting! I know someone this happened to) Of course after birth if they look nothing alike that could answer your question, but my twins are 100% ID and they look nothing alike to me! I only had one placenta and a thin membrane and after they were born the placenta determined they were ID also. If you have the money (I think the average cost is $150) and you really want to know then do the DNA test.

 

quote:
As far as we know they are saying fraternal for us...two sacs, two separate placentas...two girls!


If that were the case, mine would be fraternal. They are ID. You never know until they are born.

 

I was sure they were fraternal - two sacs, two placentas, and I was always able to tell them apart. But we did the DNA test and they are very much so identical, which explains how they're always the exact same size and almost exact weights. Crazy, they so don't look ID to me!

 

I have 2 boys from follistim cycle, but early on deteceted 2 sacs and 2 placentas. But there is no doubt that they are fraternal, while in the nursery it was discovered that they each have a different blood type. Drew is 0+ and Brendan is AB+

 

I posted a rant on this a few weeks ago. Don't let them tell you just b/c there are two placentas and two sacs they are fraternal. Every Dr. told me it was IMPOSSIBLE my boys are ID based on the ultrasound showing I had two of everything and a thick membrane. Even the pediatrician, who can't tell them apart until they have been weighed, told me they are frat based on the placentas. I know it is expensive, but a DNA test confirmed what I knew all along, they came from one egg. Dr's don't know everything...

 

They thought ID since the beginning, then weren't sure due to size discrepency during pregnancy, then after birth the pathology report said ID! It's so fun; they really do look just alike, except when their hats are off and the size difference is apparant, and Ainsley has more hair.

 

My boys were di/di but they look so similar that we arent sure if they are frat or ID...sometimes i think def. frat...other days I cant tell them apart. They have same eye colors, hair, cow licks....the problem we have is that our first DS looks IDENTICAL to what they look like now when he was a baby too so we just may be a cookie cutter family the way our genes mix so they might just be frat because of that...All our friends call our three boys the Triplets with our oldest DS being born 3 years too early.
We'll be doing the mail in DNA test in Feb....I can't wait to see!!!

 

My girls had two sacs and two placentas. My husband was convinced fraternal, but, even though they look different, I just didn't understand how they could have all the same parts -- eyes, ears, noses, toes, fingers, eyelashes -- and developmentally be so similar -- laughed for the first time on the same day and got the same two teeth at the exact same time (3.5 months) -- and not be identical. What makes them look different is their head shapes, face shapes, and that half pound weight difference that they've had since birth. Finally, at 6 months, my parents gave us the DNA test for Christmas. Guess what... Identical! I feel vindicated for my months and months of doubting that they were fraternal and for the money my parents spent on the test. I'm so relieved to finally know for sure!

 

My boys are fraternal no doubt about it.

 

quote:
Originally posted by Mellizos:
Boy/girl twins are almost always fraternal.



There is no "almost" always with b/g - they are ALWAYS fraternal! Sorry - but that just made me laugh.

Mine are definately Fraternal - they don't even look related

 

quote:
There is no "almost" always with b/g - they are ALWAYS fraternal! Sorry - but that just made me laugh.


Actually, there are cases that boy/girl are monozygotic. Here is an article:

http://www.twinsmagazine.com/images/zygosityMA03.pdf

 

It's funny - I was convinced that our boys were fraternal and that everyone else (including dh) was crazy for mixing them up, but now I'm not so sure. As they grow, they're looking more alike instead of less! I know they've got the same blood type, and their hair & eyes are the same colour... the main differences are that Will has a slightly wider face, with eyes a bit wider apart - but he's also 1/2 a pound heavier than Eli, so maybe it's just a weight thing. For what it's worth, I never mix them up!

We don't have any plans to do the genetic testing - we're just going to wait and see.

 

We haven't had them tested so I cannot say for certain but I think they're ID.

My boys implanted as far apart as is physically possible so there was no doubt at birth that there were two placentas. At first, we thought they were fraternal because one had more hair than the other which made it look darker, one was jaundiced, and the other had a misshapen head from months of resting on my pelvic bones. Gradually, though, they started to look more and more alike.

Same blood type and same gender so we took the "wait and see" approach (which is about as inconclusive as it gets!)

If you can look beyond the difference in their head shape, they have exactly the same features (right down to belly buttons) and have grown at exactly the same rate. They hit milestones within days of each other, have the same sleep needs, and have the same reactions to shots. I have trouble telling their voices apart unless one is making a sound I associate with a particular boy (even then they sometimes fool me).

It is important to note that parents can tell their twins apart better than anyone else because they notice the most subtle of differences and so we are poor judges of zygosity based upon appearance. If everyone else is telling you they can't tell them apart, chances are good they are ID.