Every time I go to Walmart, (or Sam's or goodwill or Tio Tacos...you get the gist) I am asked, by at LEAST five different people, "Are they twins?" (but more often, because of my choice of residence,...
..."Son gemelos?") I smile kindly and say "yes" or "si", trying not to divulge through gritting teeth that all I really want to do is take the screaming two-year-old home for a nap. Inevitably, the second question is, "Are they identical? (or "Son Quates?") I then have to go into this litany:
"Well, they were born in separate sacs, but scientists have shown through DNA testing that if the zygote splits before the sac is formed, then they will be identical twins with two separate sacs. However, if two eggs were fertilized, then they would be fraternal. I think they are identical because I think the chances that they would look so similar are too remote, but my husband thinks they are fraternal, even though he can't tell them apart most of the time. It is a big debate in our family. Really the only way to tell is to get DNA testing, which costs, like $600, so I guess we will never really know. But I guess it doesn't really matter anyway, right? Just as long as they're healthy!"
(...when I respond to the spanish-speaking inquiries of whether or not they are identical, the answer is a little different. It goes something like this: "No sabemos" (being translated - "we don't know").
So....I've decided to post this poll (on the right side bar). You, my devoted readers, can vote on whether you think Joseph and Hyrum are identical or fraternal twins. I will post some facts about their births and histories and certain scientifiic studies, peppering the entire post with a variety of photos of them engaged in different activities (mostly just lying around). We will never actually find out whether they are identical or fraternal, unless I come up with an extra $600 to throw away, but I thought this would be fun anyway!
Don't be shy. All you have to do is click a button. (But not this one on the right, like some of you have been doing. That is just for visual stimulation. Go to the top side bar of the blog.)
So, either gather the information you need from this post, or, if you already know the twins and have formed an opinion in your mind...
GO AHEAD AND VOTE on the sidebar above!
FACTS:
-Joseph was born first and weighed 6 lbs and 3 oz.
-Hyrum was born a minute later and weighed 7 lbs and 1 oz.
-Joseph now weighs 15 lbs.
-Hyrum now weighs 16.5 lbs.
-They both have brown hair and blue eyes.
-There are no distinguishing birth marks.
SCIENTIFIC STUDY CITATION:
This is long and potentially boring, but if you really want to know about the biological differences between fraternal and identical twins, click here or here. (Have fun, Robyn.)
ARGUMENTS FOR WHY THEY COULD BE IDENTICAL:
-They look very similar.
-They have the same hair line and hair length.
-They lost their hair in the same male-pattern baldness at at five weeks old.
-It seems as though it is too much of a coincidence that they could look so much like each other and so little like Johnny, their other full biological brother.
-Even though there are slight differences in their features, this can occur in identical twins as they develop in the womb.
ARGUMENTS FOR WHY THEY COULD BE FRATERNAL:
-Hyrum has a bigger forehead than Joseph.
-Hyrum's eyes are more wide-set than Joseph's.
-80% of all double-sac twin births are fraternal.
-Hyrum is quite a bit bigger than Joseph.
-Hyrum looks a little like Johnny and Joseph looks a little like Landon.
Okay, time to vote! (Voting ends on July 17th, so don't miss out! Your vote counts!)
I think they are adorable! I wish I could come examine them in person! And yes I think you and I are both shameless promoters of Wal-Mart without meaning to be and on some level it's probably really really wrong. Oh and I voted. :)
ReplyDeleteThe boys are so cute! This was so much fun but I really want to know now!!!
ReplyDeleteWhat happened??? What kind of comments were you getting?? Were they threatening?
ReplyDeleteI would put money one it that they are identical.
ReplyDeleteJen thanks for commenting on my blog. I've been reading yours for a while now (via The Farmer's Wife)!:) I just never comment...love reading it though. You just never know who's reading do ya?:) In fact, it is through your blog that I was thrilled to find Emily & Elena Spilz, whom I love, but had lost touch with! So, thanks for that and all the great cleaning tips!
ReplyDeleteBrad's parents are Marshall & Ellen but I don't know about any relation to Walt! I miss CJ...wish things had worked out for us to stay & raise the kiddos there! Enjoy it..we think the people there are great! AND, I think the twins are IDENTICAL!:)
I voted.
ReplyDeleteBeing a twin and a faternal twin at that, we looked almost identical until we were about 5 or 6 years old.
I can see a difference in them. Maybe it's a twin's eye! :-)
How fun! I always wished for twins...bet you have heard that before, hehe, I am on my way to vote, I do love your blog thanks for letting me know about the change of address
ReplyDeleteJen, thanks for commenting on my blog! I've been reading your blog for a while now (via the Farmer's Wife)!:)You just never know who's reading, do ya?:) I've loved all the tips...AND I found two of my favorite gals (Elena & Emily Spilz) through you so thank you, thank you!:)
ReplyDeleteAs for the Walt T. question...I don't know about any relation there but Marshall & Ellen are Brad's parents! We miss living down there ...sure wish things would have worked out so we could raise the kiddos in CJ! Enjoy your time there, we think the people are great! AND I think the twins ARE identical!:)
I was going to say they were identical but Cj the purple divas comment changed me to undecided. lol
ReplyDeleteSo, I found your blog through my hubby's cousin Christine's blog. I'm not sure if you're a relative or friend of hers (maybe we're related too?! Jed's my hubby) but I love your blog and I especially love being able to vote about your zygote. ;)
Hello there and thank you for stopping by! Our boys are identical, they had TTTS, so we know for sure. But as you can tell from some of my posts, they look differnt and similar in many differnt ways. Our boys were in separate sacs, but they shared a placenta. You could always do a test to see if they are or not! Again thanks for stopping by, I will add your bog to my list of everyday reading!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment on my blog! So we're totally related. Did you marry John and Louises son? I still can't keep all the kids and parents matched up and I've been a Whetten for over 17 years but I'm getting better! Jed is Glen & Amy's son....and those whetten guys are total keepers if I do say so myself!
ReplyDeleteJen - Johnny is the #1 grandchild, Jed is #20 and I am #21. Jed is Glen's oldest and I am Lina's oldest. It's a big family and don't worry, you'll have lots of notice before we give you the big test! (Just kidding - I guarantee that there are some COUSINS who would fail the test!)
ReplyDeletethanks so much for stopping by. You certainly do have to be creative with your time and organization!
ReplyDeleteI voted saying I wasn't sure. They do look a lot alike, but I think I can see differences- but like you said, identicals can have slight differences. I so know what you mean though. I get this same question every single time too. It goes like this:
ReplyDelete"Are they twins?" I say "Yes"- but I think (no.....they are dressed the same and look the same age- but no not twins....)
Then they say "are they identical?" and I say "no- if you keep looking you will see lots of differences." But I think "Seriously, are you blind- did you even LOOK at them?" Mine do look a lot different!
I would do a how to but everyone uses different editing software and the one I use is a little tricky to explain...but I swear by it! It’s photoshop if you get it I will teach you! You will love it. When I get home you could always use mine to put it on your computer. I got it from Dejah. It really is the best out there.
ReplyDeleteJen! Hello! I am Aunt Amy's daughter, Julia. I am also blessed with a two-for-one! I have boy/girl twins who are 19 months. They are numbers 3 and 4 in my family line-up. Although they sometimes feel like 7 and 8. LOL!
ReplyDeleteAren't twins just the best thing in the world? Is nothing better than sleeping twins? I can't think of anything that could top it!!!
Oh shucks, I missed the voting! I have twins too (now 4), and I was always wondering how I was going to know if they were fraternal or identical too. But, then they came out looking completely different - one has dark, thick, curly hair, the other has blonde, straight, thin hair, different color eyes, different head shapes, etc. So, it was obvious they were fraternal. But, there are still so many similarities too. They have both weighed within a pound of one another since they were born. They are also the EXACT same height as one another, and both quite tall for their age. Interesting.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, the point of my comment is:
I was wondering if your boys have teeth yet. I think that would be one marker to tell if they are identical or fraternal. If they get teeth at the same time as each other, they are certainly most likely identical, and fraternal if the teeth show up at different times. (One of my girls got her first tooth at 6 mos, and the other didn't get hers until 10 mos.)
Anyway, good luck with those twins! They're cuties! (Oh, and I found your blog from Merrianne's - hope it's okay I stopped by).