Identical vs. Fraternal.... Now we know!

I have always said from the beginning that my boys were fraternal. There are lots of reasons I felt this way including my Dr. I ovulated twice(2 eggs dropped), they had 2 sacs and 2 placentas, and they measured several days apart in our first ultrasound. 

 To me they are so different. In looks and personality. But, anytime we go out people ask or assume they are identical. To the point of people arguing with me when I say fraternal. Finally I decided to find out for sure. I wanted to be able to say without any reservation, Yes I am sure. 

I got some Christmas money and ordered a test online from a site a friend used with her twins.
You can get it here... www.proactivegenetics.com

 They send you some swabs. I collected 8 in total from each boy. They were not thrilled with the idea but I got it done. Then  I shipped them off to wait for 2 weeks.

Yesterday I got the results by email. So what do you think? Identical or Fraternal?

 

 

   

 

 

I started reading the results to Matt : We are pleased to report to you the results of the twin zygosity test that you requested. Analysis of the DNA indicates that Micah John Marteney and Mason Russell Marteney are... as my eyes read ahead of what my mouth was saying it literally fell open.

monozygotic, or more commonly referred to as IDENTICAL TWINS.

I could not believe what I was reading. I  know this sounds crazy like it shouldn't really matter, but I was shaken. Somehow everything I had thought was wrong. Of course nothing has really changed. They are still 2 very different (and very different looking to me) individuals. But now they are not just 2 siblings who happened to occupy my belly at the same time but TWINS! Yes I know they are twins either way. haha! But the same DNA. 1 egg split into 2 babies inside of me. Wow! So crazy. I started to wonder if somehow it would be different than I had thought when I look forward to what they might be like later in life. Will they start to look more alike? Will they have more of that "twin" connection somehow? Where they know how the other is feeling, or live together and work together, and have the same interests? Or will it be like I pictured with them looking less alike as they grow and having opposite interests but still having a connection because no matter what at some point they shared a space inside of me? No matter what that is pretty special.

Madison's response was kind of funny. She was in the room when I was reading it to Matt. She said, "No, I thought they were normal. They are different Mom! Micah has a circle face and Mason has an oval face. " haha! To her she never had any idea that they could be the same as twins like most people think. I had to explain that they are still different.

Overall it is just kind of surreal. I am going back through their newborn pictures looking at them kind of differently than before I guess. I can still tell them apart. Now I find myself looking more for the similarities than the differences though.

I am a mom to identical twin boys. I love them and cannot wait to see what God has in store for each of them.

Finally 8 months later... An update!

Holy cow! How has 8 months gone by without a post. I will tell you how...5M Creations. Yep it has kind of taken over my computer blogging time. I have of course taken thousands of photos of my kids since May but unfortunately I will never catch up here. So instead I will just start from now. Here are a few fun pics of my kids from the last couple of weeks.

Here is Goofy Mason. He is always making silly faces. He gives the best sweetest hugs and kisses. Although lately he uses them to get out of trouble. Stinker!
The boys are now 2yrs and 8 months. WOW! How did that happen. They are registered for preschool for next fall. EEK! I will have 3 in school. They are mostly potty trained. FINALLY!

They are obsessed with anything Toy Story. It is a really good thing there are 3 movies. They got a collection of figurines for Christmas and they almost always have Buzz and Woody in hand.  

I love that they are so verbal now. The talk to each other all the time. I love listening to their conversations. Seriously LOVE! They are so funny. That is the other fun thing about them right now. They are hysterical and they know it. They know how to make you laugh with faces or funny sayings. When did they get so big.

 This would be Micah doing his Buzz Lightyear to the RESCUE pose. He is so funny and he knows it. Madison will tell you he is the funny brother.

Miss Madison is such the big kid now. She turned 5 in December and this girl cannot get enough schoolwork. She loves school, workbooks, and most of all her friends. It has been fun having a girly girl to do activities with. She loves to shop with me.  This weekend we went with her 2 friends Sydney and Ella to see Beauty & the Beast in the theaters. They were giggling and chatting away. For a moment they were 16. I love this girl and cannot wait to see what God has planned for her.

My kiddos all got sick at once last week. One with a fever, one with a stomach flu, and one with a cold/cough. Poor things. They LOVE each other so much. They all snuggle up together all the time. Aren't they cute.

They randomly just stop running for a hug!  I hope it lasts forever.

This picture cracks me up. (Sorry its fuzzy-from my phone) Madison was not happy that the boys got to ride in the cart. Sometimes being a big sister is not so fun!

Micah

Mason

Madison

And the latest news in our house... we got a new puppy. The kids are having lots of fun with Lily. She is a King Charles Cavalier Spaniel and such a cutie. We have downsized a bit in the dog department. We have a black lab(actually we have her til Saturday). A family member is super exited to take her. And we feel so blessed that they are giving her a great home. She is just to big for the kids. So Lily is here. She should only be 15-25lbs at most. So little.

Well there is my update. Maybe I will get back here sooner than 8 more months. If you want to see more regular updates you can find us on facebook. :) Thanks for coming by.