Need creative ideas for identifying my twins to friends

[Anonymous]

I know the babies are really little and don't have much hair, but once they are a little older you can cut/trim their hair (or part it differently). So, X is the one with the shorter hair and Y is the one with longer hair.

[Anonymous]

I guess piercing their ears would be too tacky, right?

[Anonymous]

chadandjake.com have cute personalized bibs and burp clothes.
i just got some for my 8 week old - my only complaint is that they took 3 weeks.

[Anonymous]

We just used physical characterisitcs with our twins. "F has a freckle on her ear" - ours didn't look anything alike, but people could never remember who was who.

[Anonymous]

I went to college with twinds that were so identical it was nuts! Never met twins more identical than these two. But one of them did have a small mole by her eye. So the way everyone remembered was "Dana dot, Leslie not". It's stuck with me to this day. Is there any characteristic that you can make up a catchy little rhyme like this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have to say, I don't understand this at all. Even identical twins don't ever look identical. I can always, always tell them apart.

I think the point is that even when they look slightly different people still just jumble them up. There are two babies born at the same time and they are the same sex = confusion. Unless you're in their company a lot you just can't remember which is which. Hell, I'm a twin and I get confused.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have to say, I don't understand this at all. Even identical twins don't ever look identical. I can always, always tell them apart.

I think the point is that even when they look slightly different people still just jumble them up. There are two babies born at the same time and they are the same sex = confusion. Unless you're in their company a lot you just can't remember which is which. Hell, I'm a twin and I get confused.

Also, some people are just more visually astute and can spot the differences that others of us miss. My DD, who's in middle school, has a friend with younger twin brothers. I can never tell these boys apart, but when I asked DD how to identify them she reeled off a list of 10 differences, all very subtle -- "S has pointier ears; M has a toothier smile; S's right eyebrow arches just above the middle of his iris . . . " I would never have noticed any of these characteristics, but DD is a visual learner and an artist, so to her they were very obvious clues.

[Anonymous]

I have 11 month old twins and people who don't see them often always say they look exactly alike (they don't, they're fraternal) and even if they can tell there is a difference, they don't know which one goes with which features.

The only time it matters is when there is a new teacher at daycare and we need them to not mix up bottles, etc. Then we just put masking tape with their name on their back.

[Anonymous]

Just let them guess and then go with whatever they guess. Does it really matter if your friends know who is who at this age?

[Anonymous]

also, how about different pacifiers and clips?

[Anonymous]

I watched lots of Full House as a kid...

MK is left handed, A is right.
MK has pointed ears, A has curved.
MK has a stronger jaw line, A is softer.
MK does the "shake dance."
A had clearer speech early on.
MK always had slightly darker hair, A had a pure blonde.
A has wide set eyes with big cheeks.
MK has a narrow upper lip, A has full lips.

I had no problem telling them apart based on those things. You could do the monogram bit, but at some point, putting letters on your kids isn't going to be "cute" anymore and you'll have to train people in other ways.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I had no problem telling them apart based on those things. You could do the monogram bit, but at some point, putting letters on your kids isn't going to be "cute" anymore and you'll have to train people in other ways.

Once her children can speak, it doesn't matter. Her children will correct people. But I do think OP has a fair point that all children deserve to be called by their names and not feel that people don't know who they are... I like the idea of bibs or paci clips, bracelets might be another choice, or maybe sippicup/bottle tethers in different colors or that are personalized.

[Anonymous]

How about pretty ID bracelets? Classier than a bib, and the girls will treasure them when they are older.

[Anonymous]

My DH has a childhood friend who has twin younger brothers, Dan and David. At the friend's wedding 20 years ago, their mom told me that when they were little she color-coded their clothes for easy i.d. -- "Dan in tan and Davy in navy." Recently I saw them at the friend's 50th b-day party, and, of course, my first thought was "Why the heck is Dan wearing navy?"

LOL!! This made my night! Did she pick their names with those colors in mind?

[Anonymous]

OP here, and thanks to 13:51 for articulating what I didn't very well:

"Once her children can speak, it doesn't matter. Her children will correct people. But I do think OP has a fair point that all children deserve to be called by their names and not feel that people don't know who they are..."

I'm not a twin but was constantly called by my younger (!) sister's name ... even though it seems like people usually call younger kids by their older sibling's name rather than the other way around.

I love the bracelet suggestions, so I'll be looking for those longer term, but will work on some bibs in the short term. As far as the "dressing in the same color" thing, there aren't colors that rhyme with their names like Dan and Davy, so I'd probably confuse them myself. Initials/names will be much easier to keep track of.

Thanks again!