Skip to content
Search AI Powered

Latest Stories

Parents Of Twins Share Tips For Not Mixing Up Their Babies

How do people tell their baby twins apart? Parents have many strategies. Some of them are pretty funny.


laughingjackals98 asked: Parents of twins, how did you make sure you didn't mix your kids up when they were babies and if you did how did you figure out which was which?

Submissions have been edited for clarity, context, and profanity.

ID bracelets.

Giphy

My parents made a little purple bracelet that said my name on it and a pink one for my sister until they could tell the difference without it. Sometimes I wonder if the bracelets ever got switched by mistake though...

tmsdnr

This just made me realize that humans can't be identified like a car or anything with a serial number. People don't have bar codes and stuff.

I think I may be really dumb

etheran123

DNA, fingerprints?

MiFengNoMai

Identical twins have identical DNA. Also I can't imagine parents taking fingerprints from their babies when they're born, so I doubt that would work in these scenarios.

sleepyseaslug

Size matters, but so does personality.

When my identical Daughters where still in hospital they wore hospital tags. When we finally got them out of ICU, we were carefully monitoring their weight by weighing them daily. they had a 200g difference in weight consistently for the first many months, (which is fairly significant when you arent much over 1kg) so we always knew.

After the first few months we just knew them, and it has never been hard for my wife or myself to tell them apart, despite being able to confuse most people with ease. The most obvious physical difference we know of is that the one's earlobe is shaped slightly differently, but their personalities are very distinct.

Kyratic

I know of several twins who have anxiety about the possibility of being 'the fat twin'. Now I kind of hope they never read this someday, and realize that you could mainly tell them apart in their infancy because one of them was definitely 'the fat twin.'

garbagecompressor

This should be obvious.

Giphy

My friend has boy/girl twins. She still gets asked how she tells them apart. Ummmmm.....

marythelpc

"Well this one has a small freckle near her ear, and this one has a penis."

robhawt

"This one will have breasts in about 15 years"

MysteriousPlatypus

"And so will the other."

"You gotta stop feeding them junk food, Fran."

stratosfearinggas

Sometimes mothers always know... or do they?

I'm a preschool teacher. One year, I had 3 pairs of twins in the same class, but only one pair was identical. One of the boys was named Drew, so his mother usually dressed him in blue. "Drew wears blue." His twin wore any other color, but most often red. I was grateful as I could not tell them apart otherwise.

I asked their mother how she told them apart. "They just look different to me."

Mysid

This would take one heck of a steady hand. They're tiny!

My boss had twins, and when they were born, she painted their toenails different colors so she could tell them apart.

carly-rae_sremmurd

Baby toenails are f*cking tiny. I'm impressed she could even do that successfully.

to_the_tenth_power

When everything is identical, even the clothes, it gets confusing.

Giphy

Aunt of twins here. Babysat them once when they were newborns. My sister brings them over and I had to ask her which twin was which. Keeping Baby A on the left of the living area and Baby B on the right, I had to figure out how to tell them apart because my sister dressed them the exact same, packed the exact same blankets, extra clothes, socks, burp clothes, etc. (evil witch)...I immediately went into panic mode. BUT then I realized I did have a way to tell them apart. I used nail polish to mark X's on their socks. Blue for Baby A and Orange for Baby B (then I wrote it down in case I forgot LOL).

redink85

I feel like parents of multiples are playing on hard anyway, but why do so many whack the difficulty up to insane by putting the infants in matching clothes?

It's cute, but surely it causes some headaches? It's probably easier once they can talk properly though

ChrissiTea

Ohhhkay then.

My parents circumcised me, but not my twin.

Toggafasi

Do you have strong opinions about that now?

Merry_Pippins

A bit jealous of my twin. I wouldn't have chosen to be circumcised given the option, but my parents did their best..

My personal belief is the decision shouldn't have been made for me without medical necessity. Like I shower once or twice a day so it's no benefit because to be circumcised all it would have been is an additional thing to wash.

Toggafasi

What birthmark?

My brothers are identical twins but one of them had the consideration to be born with a bright red, circular birthmark in the middle of his forehead. Very handy.

But I could always tell them apart anyway, even when the mark was covered. They look different to me and always did. Mom used to get me to tell her which was which in pictures where you couldn't see the birthmark.

Katt7594

This parent avoided the problem entirely.

Giphy

I gave them both the same name so it never mattered.

kirkyesshatnerno

This guy twins.

workedSilly

Why not?

My parents just said whomever started responding to the name they said, that was the kid whose name it was. Hell I could have originally been my brothers name.

Therahl1

That's so chill. Love it.

wheresmypurplekitten

More from Trending

Jared Moskowitz; Screenshots of Donald Trump and Kristi Noem from "Apprentice" edit
Heather Diehl/Getty Images; @JaredEMoskowitz/X

Dem Rep. Shares Perfectly Edited Clip From 'The Apprentice' After Trump Fires Kristi Noem

Florida Democratic Representative Jared Moskowitz joined his fellow Democrats in mocking Kristi Noem after President Donald Trump announced he will replace Kristi Noem as Homeland Security Secretary with Oklahoma Republican Representative Markwayne Mullin—by posting a perfectly edited clip from The Apprentice.

Trump said Noem will instead take on the role of Special Envoy to the Shield of the Americas, a newly-created organization intended to foster a right-wing alliance across South America.

Keep Reading Show less
Jenna Bush Hager (left) became emotional while discussing Savannah Guthrie's (right) returning to visit the Today show set.
Michael Loccisano/Getty Images

Jenna Bush Hager Fights Back Tears After Savannah Guthrie Visits 'Today' Show Set For First Time Since Mom's Kidnapping

It was an emotional reunion on the set of Today when Savannah Guthrie visited Studio 1A more than a month after her mother, Nancy Guthrie, disappeared under circumstances authorities believe may involve kidnapping.

The 54-year-old anchor stopped by NBC’s New York studios Thursday to spend time with colleagues, including Jenna Bush Hager and Sheinelle Jones. During the fourth hour of the show, Today with Jenna & Sheinelle, Bush Hager grew visibly emotional while describing the moment Guthrie returned to the set.

Keep Reading Show less
Jamie Lee Curtis and Daniel Radcliffe
TODAY Show/YouTube

Jamie Lee Curtis Reveals She Predicted Daniel Radcliffe Would Be Harry Potter Before He Got The Part

Jamie Lee Curtis recently appeared on the Today show to talk about her role in the upcoming psychological thriller Sender opposite Severance's Britt Lower.

Curtis is known for sharing stories about-fellow actors, often moving the focus away from herself. This interview was no different, as Curtis spoke about her experiences on various projects. She even invited Harry Potter's Daniel Radcliffe, who was set to appear in the next segment, to share the stage with her.

Keep Reading Show less
JB Pritzker; Kristi Noem
Scott Olson/Getty Images; Al Drago/Getty Images

JB Pritzker Epically Trolls Kristi Noem With Fake LinkedIn Profile After Trump Fires Her As Homeland Secretary

After President Donald Trump announced he will replace Kristi Noem as Homeland Security Secretary with Oklahoma Republican Representative Markwayne Mullin, Illinois Governor JB Pritzker mocked her with a fake LinkedIn profile.

Trump said Noem will instead take on the role of Special Envoy to the Shield of the Americas, a newly created organization intended to foster a right-wing alliance across South America.

Keep Reading Show less
Jake Shane; Hugh Jackman
ABC News; Aurore Marechal/Getty Images

Podcaster Jake Shane Gets Bleeped On Live TV After Making Hilariously NSFW Comment About Hugh Jackman

Most of us, if we were asked on the news what we'd do if we could be an A-list celeb for a day, would say something boring like "buy a yacht" or "go on a shopping spree."

Podcaster and actor Jake Shane is not most of us!

Keep Reading Show less