A Lesson on Twinkies

Since the day we heard two heartbeats instead of one, we have been learning more about twins than we ever imagined. Sure, we knew that identical twins look alike and that twins can run in your family, but what else is there to know? Quite a bit, apparently! Here are some things we have learned about twins.

Fraternal twins occur when two different eggs are fertilized by two different sperm. Fraternal twins can be the same sex or different sexes, and their DNA is no more similar than any other set of siblings. This type of twinning can be genetic and passed down from one generation to the next. To be more specific, the mother's tendency to release two eggs is the genetic trait that is passed from mother to daughter. Fraternal twins can also be the result of fertility treatments, as such treatments often cause more than one egg to be released or more than one embryo to be implanted. Two-thirds of all twins are fraternal, whereas only one-third are identical.

Identical twins occur when one egg is fertilized by one sperm and splits into two separate embryos. Identical twins are always the same sex as they share identical DNA. (There have been a few extremely rare cases where chromosomal changes have resulted in different sex identical twins, but these instances are few and far between). Identical twinning is completely random and occurs in about 1 in 300 pregnancies. Neither genetics nor fertility treatments have an effect on identical twinning... just good luck! In fact, there is no medical explanation as to why identical twinning occurs.

Max and Tyler are identical twins. In other words, we were chosen at random to be blessed with two babies instead of one! This also means that even though my mom's sister had fraternal twins (my cousins April and Jason), the genetic link had nothing to do with the conception of Tyler and Max. Who would have known? (not us at first!)

Over the past several months, we have been researching and preparing for life with twins. Although we are more than thrilled to have twins, the thought of two of everything can get a bit overwhelming sometimes! Luckily there are books, magazines, websites, discussion boards, and organizations designed specifically to support parents of multiple children. In fact, we have already learned a lot from the members of Nashville's Parents Of Twins and Triplets Organization (POTATO).

That being said, our experience in the NICU has put our worries about having twins completely to the wayside. If we can survive this extremely early delivery - including leaving the hospital without our babies, watching our sons fight infections and other daily issues, travelling back and forth to the hospital every day, riding a roller coaster of emotions every hour, and leaving the care of our first children up to doctors, nurses, and God - then we can certainly handle life with twins, right? Just the thought of having Max and Tyler healthy and at home with us makes 2am diaper changes sound like a blessing. Once again, these boys sure do put life into perspective, don't they?

(Note: please remind us of these statements in a few months when we are sleep-deprived and running around like crazy with two babies at home... )