We ARE Identical, but We AREN'T Exactly Physically Alike

Why is this, you ask?

Well, young grasshopper, I have a story for you...

After we went to 40 weeks (a story for another post), it was time for Mom to get induced. It was a Wednesday morning, and that evening, Baby A was born first at 6 lbs. 4 oz. I came second at 6 lbs. 6 oz. Within days, Baby A dropped to 4 lbs. 10 oz.

What no parent wants to hear: Failure to Thrive Syndrome.

"This is a general diagnosis, with many possible causes. Common to all cases, though, is the failure to gain weight as expected, which is often accompanied by poor height growth."

Baby A wasn't developed enough, so her digestive system couldn't handle protein. Sounds like tons of fun, right? Not exactly. She lost so much weight, there was no way our parents could NOT tell us apart. She spent a lot of time in the hospital.

The doctors tried all sorts of different formulas. Then they put her on Nutramigen.
She finally started to gain weight, and she came home to be with her other half, who had been happily guzzling milk and putting on the ounces at home.

In baby pictures, sometimes the most reliable way to decide who is who is to look at the size. The slightly smaller one is Baby A. In some of the infancy pictures, there is a drastic difference, but by our first birthday, we were a lot closer in size.

Repercussions? Up through her toddler years, Baby A always had the weaker immune system and spent many nights in the hospital. Now, our immune systems are equal. My parents had to find ways to make eating fun for her, so there were a lot of songs and games and special names for food. Now, our appetites are the same. Our sizes aren't, though. I've always weighed a little more and been a little taller. Even our shoe sizes are different. She wears a 7, whereas I am a 7 1/2. We can still share shoes, like some of our heels and flip flops, though.

People have harassed us, "You guys can't be twins! Why aren't you the same height/same weight/same size/completely identical??" We sometimes reply, "No set of twins has everything exactly the same about them." If we're a little cranky, "Baby A couldn't eat anything for a long time as a newborn and got very, very sick and almost died." It just goes to show you that you never really ever know the whole story.

Sending you health and happiness,
Baby B