Twins begin interacting as early as the 14th week of gestation.
It is likely that twins' awareness of one another starts sooner than seven or eight months of age. An article by the late doctor, T. Berry Brazelton, observed that at age three to four months, an infant identical female twin seemed disoriented when her sister was removed from the room.
Overview. For the most part, twins and multiples probably enjoy being together, but there will also be times of tension. Often, it begins in toddlerhood, when young children lack the communication skills to express their feelings and desires and instead lash out physically.
Even before very young twins learn language, they can and will communicate non-verbally by looking at each other, staying close together, or hitting each other—and of course playing with each other. It is common to see twins walking hand in hand to school or when shopping with their parents.
A few said that the first two months with twins are easy (being in the rose-colored glasses phase), then reality hits from months 3-6 (when the sleep deprivation catches up), then it can get easier again.
The hardest thing about having twins is...
“Managing the movement of two babies. Carrying them both up and down the stairs, getting them into the car, etc.” —Simeon R. “Often having to make one baby wait!” —Catharine D. “Being outnumbered—the logistics of two on one is definitely the hardest.
According to Guinness World Records, the longest confirmed interval between the birth of twins is 90 days. Fraternal twins Molly and Benjamin West were born on Jan. 1 and March 30, 1996, in Baltimore.
Fraternal twins, however, are particularly competitive and sometimes given to intense jealousy. Their rivalry is intensified because each twin has entirely different poten tials and abilities. The I.Q. span of fraternal twins is similar to that of any two children in the same family.
They may struggle in social situations or have difficulty with friendships. Some twins are even victims of teasing or bullying. These difficult issues are one of the many challenges in parenting twins.
Maureen Healy, an expert on sensitive children and author of Growing Happy Kids, tells Romper that twins have a bond that is oftentimes unexplainable and are closer than typical siblings — whether they're fraternal or identical. Healy says a lot of experts believe it's because this closeness is rooted in genetics.
Estrangement—serious avoidance of each other—between twins can be permanent depending on what triggered the anger and resentment. For example, if one twin sleeps with the brother's or sister's sexual partner, this could lead to longstanding problems reuniting.
You Can Only Control the Things Within Your Control
“Having twins is not twice as hard—it's exponentially more difficult,” says Natalie Diaz, author of What To Do When You're Having Two and CEO of Twiniversity, a global support network for parents of twins.
You shouldn't share the same bed with your twins because it increases the risk of SIDS. But the AAP does recommend that you room-share — having your twins sleep in your room, each in their own bassinet or crib — ideally for the first six months.
Similarities of Twins
Fraternal twins can still look very similar, just as siblings can. With distinctive features—eye color, hair color, facial features, body size, or head shape—fraternal twins are usually pretty easy to tell apart. For boy/girl twins, that only requires a quick check of the diaper area to confirm.
Numerous studies have established that twins, triplets and other sets of multiples have a higher likelihood of speech delays. (It's also more common in identical twins and multiples than in fraternal.)
Twins are more likely to have delayed speech and language skills than single children. The good news? It's usually pretty easy for twins to catch up. If you're a parent of twins, this post is for you.
Some twin researchers believe that a tightly bonded, close relationship between twins can actually impede their ability to develop outside friendships since peers have a harder time breaking the “twin code.” Since twins spend more time with each other than with their parents, siblings, and other peers, they often ...
Bonding with twins or multiple babies can be even harder than with just one baby, which may be because: You may have had a difficult birth and are recovering from surgery. One or more of your babies may have gone straight into the neonatal intensive care unit.
Multiples are about twice as likely as singleton babies to have birth defects, including neural tube defects (such as spina bifida), cerebral palsy, congenital heart defects and birth defects that affect the digestive system. Growth problems. Multiples are usually smaller than singleton babies.
Identical twins may say that they are not attracted to the same people. However, researcher Nancy Segal surmises that twins actually feel the same attractions, but as soon as one twin makes her interest known, the second twin will not pursue the other's object of interest.
Twinship can easily become toxic when clear boundaries between twins are seriously confused and the unique individuality of each member of the pair is not respected. Twins can feel betrayed by one another, ignored (even invisible), or deeply disappointed in their sister or brother.
According to Some Twin Insight, it's not uncommon for twins to gang up on a singleton sibling. (After all, there's strength in numbers.) When that's not a problem, a sibling can still feel left out of the tight-knit relationship, and parents only have so much time to spend with each child to begin with.
Fraternal twins live longer than singletons and identical twins longer still. Male identical twins on average, saw the most benefit. The rarity of twins has inspired many myths about them.
As a parent of twins, I'm pretty sure that you know the answer to the question “which twin is older?” It is, of course, the child that was born first.
You're 35 or older
As you age, your chance of conceiving twins increases. Researchers have found that women over 35 produce more follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) than younger women, which may cause more than one egg to drop at ovulation.