Oh, the wonderful world of twins! One baby is a blast. Two babies are a party. Honestly, could you imagine what it must be like growing up in the womb together? It’s even said that twins form an intrauterine bond and often reach out to each other while in your tummy. How magical! If you find yourself expecting multiples, these fun facts about twins are sure to get you excited.
1. You Can Tell Twins Apart By Checking Out Their Bellybuttons
This happens to be one of my favorite fun facts about twins. Who knew their little bellybutton would be so helpful? Many parents happen to leave their babies’ hospital anklets on for several weeks after their multiples come home. However, you can easily distinguish who is who as soon as their naval stump falls off!
As unique as their fingerprints, each twin has their own naval shape. It is one of the few ways to tell your twins apart. It would probably be a bad idea to walk up to adult twins and raise their shirts to see the differences between their bellybuttons. However, this fun fact about twins could be a lifesaver for new parents.
2. Your Diet May Influence the Outcome Of Multiples
Yep, that’s right, what you eat may increase your chances of having twins and multiples. Another one of those fun facts about twins is all about food! Oh, pregnant women, we love food as well. In this case, the focus is on the garden rather than the cookie jar.
White yams contain nutrients that promote the release of hormones that increase ovulation. Increased ovulation means more eggs. Therefore, eating these veggies increases the chances of having multiples while trying to conceive. If you’re ready for a full house and double the fun, head to the farmers market and purchase your produce!
3. Its Unknown Which Baby Will Be Born First
The order of your babies’ births is a mystery until delivery day. Your little ones will wiggle and squirm all over the place before they are born. An ultrasound cannot determine which baby is to be born before the other. Twins change positions frequently in utero before and during labor. Therefore, number one is left to chance, which makes for an exciting surprise on delivery day!
4. Twins Have Different Fingerprints
The same in almost every way, twins do favor all the rest of us. Identical twins have the same DNA, which is the makeup for our looks, eye color, and fingerprints.
However, the fingerprints between the two are completely different. There is no explanation for why this occurs; it is just one of nature’s many mysteries. At the very least, if one was in the cookie jar, a finger-print check could identify the culprit.
5. Mirror Image Identical Twins Have Reverse Features
Imagine your babies having curly hair. However, one child’s hair spirals to the right and the other to the left. These are mirror images of identical twins.
About 25 percent of identical twins develop directly facing each other, meaning they become exact reflections of one another. This can result in one child being right-handed and the other left-handed. Some twins have birthmarks on opposite sides of their bodies, or, like the example above, have curls that swirl in opposite directions. This occurs when the twins split from one fertilized egg more than a week after conception. One of the many interesting facts about twins!
6. Twins Have A Secret Language
A phenomenon known as cryptophasia (from the Greek for “secret” and “speech”) describes a language developed by twins in early childhood that only they understand. Cryptophasia is thought to occur in up to 50% of identical or non-identical twins.
When two very close babies are learning to speak a real language alongside one another and naturally play and communicate with each other, a secret language is formed. As such, it is more common among twins because they are more likely to be around each other and develop at the same rate, although the phenomenon can also sporadically occur between two babies who are not twins. The language consists of inverted words and onomatopoeic expressions and often disappears soon after childhood once the children have learned a real language.
7. Twins Arrive Early
Don’t panic. However, you may want to note that the cribs should be assembled soon. Those hasty babies are ready to enter the world a little sooner than a singleton. Something to consider when planning and scheduling the baby fun to come.
The average length of a twin pregnancy is around 37 weeks. However, it’s not uncommon for twins to arrive around the 35-week mark. That’s a whopping 5 weeks earlier than a single infant pregnancy. The moral of the story is to plan ahead of time.To be safe, schedule the baby shower a little earlier.
8. Tall Women Are More Likely To Have Twins
Gary Steinman, MD, PhD, an attending physician at Long Island Jewish (LIJ) Medical Center, discovered that taller women have more insulin-like growth factor (IGF), a protein that is released from the liver in response to a growth hormone that stimulates growth in the shaft of longer bones. Having higher levels of IGF results in increased sensitivity of the ovaries, thus increasing a woman’s chance of ovulating. According to Steinman, the more IGF a woman has, the greater chance she has of becoming pregnant with twins, because IGF “govern[s] the rate of spontaneous twinning.”
9. Twins Can Have Different Dads
This is one of those facts about twins that is pretty unbelievable. However, it’s a fact. The term “twin” specifically refers to babies that are born at the same time. There is no mention of paternal traits. It is possible for them to have different fathers. This occurs when two eggs are released at the same time but are fertilized with different sperm.
Between one and two percent of twins will have different fathers, and they can be different races.
10. Male Twins Do Not Have The Ability To Produce Twin Children
Yes, it has always been said that twins run in the family. However, it is really only the female side of the family that carries the trait to do so.
Two eggs (or one egg that splits) must occur for twins, and if a woman doesn’t have the genetic predisposition to have twins, then they won’t happen. plain and simple.
To have twins is to open a door into a whole new world. While you’re busy planning for multiples, keep in mind these fun facts and get ready for the ultimate adventure. It will forever be double or triple the fun in your house from this day on!
