Mom Gives Birth to Rare Second Set of Identical Twins

on July 12, 2011 at 2:20 PM

baby What's more incredible than beating the slim odds to produce identical twins? Having it happen twice over. The result for Michele and James Dawson may be the cutest thing I've ever seen -- 6-year-old identical twins holding their infant sisters who are themselves a matched set.

The couple are now the proud parents of Lilly and Sophie, 6, and Isabella and Chloe, born this past May. The pictures of the four kids captured by British press are historical and absolutely adorable. But can we talk about how miraculous this really is?

Twins are being trumped as the "in" thing with the likes of Sarah Jessica Parker, Jennifer Lopez, and Neil Patrick Harris parenting their doubles. But fraternal twins -- babies born from two different eggs -- were never that uncommon. Heck, with fraternal twin uncles, my chances of giving birth to fraternal twins myself was upped because my grandmother's body naturally dropped two eggs at the same time. It's a fluke of the menstrual cycle, but it's one that can be passed down from generation to generation. Throw in fertility treatments, in which more than one fertilized egg is implanted in a mom's uterus to try to up her chances of a successful pregnancy, and it's no wonder we're seeing double all the time.

But identical twins are a whole different animal. There's no menstrual cycle issue. Identical twins don't run in families. And fertility treatments don't result in identical twins. The only way it can happen is if the fertilized egg splits in half in the uterus, by itself, creating two babies from the same zygote.

Traditionally, identical twins made up about one third of all twin births. With the jump in fertility treatments in recent years, now it's more like 12 percent. And the Dawsons had it happen not just once, but twice.

Do you know any identical twins?

Image via sabian maggy/Flickr

About the author Jeanne Sager

writes articles for The Stir by day, slays closet monsters and bounds through bedtime stories with her elementary schooler by night. Diet Pepsi courses through her veins. The Phineas and Ferb soundtrack reverberates through her brain.

Filed Under: multiples

Comments (44)

sweetmom1007

on Jul 12, 2011 at 2:32 PM

Nope but I'm a twin with a boy! We're almost 42 now.

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Nonmember comment from Eva

on Jul 12, 2011 at 2:46 PM

My father is an identical twin. They're 62 years old now. Caused quite a stir in their small town when they were young. That's amazing that one family has two sets of identical twins!

GlowWorm889

on Jul 12, 2011 at 2:56 PM

I know a pair of identical twins; they were in my kindergarten class last year. They were so identical that even after months in the classroom, none of the teachers (including me) could really tell them apart--and we felt terrible about it! They even had similar personalities, temperments, and liked a lot of the same things. Luckily, their Mom thought that might happen, so when she found out all the kids have to wear indoor shoes, she bought them in different colors for the boys. Also lucky, they weren't the type to switch them on us! They were really good natured about mix-ups, too. One of them told me that being mixed-up with your brother was all part of being an identical twin. They were awesome, I loved them! I also have a pair of identical twin cousins, though they're not so identical that I can't tell them apart. I also have a few pairs of fraternal twin cousins.

amandasmomma

on Jul 12, 2011 at 3:09 PM

They are soooo cute!!!!

Nonmember comment from Cynthia

on Jul 12, 2011 at 3:17 PM

My maternal aunt's are identical twins at 57yrs old now and a good friend of mine has a set of identical twin boys and a neighbor has a set of identical twin boys. I also know a few sets of fraternal as well.

Facebook comment from Courtney Paige Neale

on Jul 12, 2011 at 4:51 PM

Thats crazy! Whats crazier is I JUST met a set of identical twin boys this past saturday(THE most well behaved 2 year olds in the world!) and was talking to their parents about how rare identical twins are. I met them at a birthday party for my best friends daughter that is 1. She too is a twin. Nature is so cool :)

on Jul 12, 2011 at 4:55 PM

GlowWorm - don't feel bad. The father of the identical twins I met said even after like 6 months he still couldn't tell them apart and felt so bad. What I really like about this couples parenting style is ever since the day after they got home from the hospital they NEVER dressed them a like. That helps other people out a lot as well as I think it gives them more of a sense of individuality.

Nonmember comment from Sara

on Jul 12, 2011 at 7:38 PM

I know a few sets, and one set of identical TRIPLETS! I have a set of identical twins in my class this year, and if one of them didn't have a scar on his forehead, I'd have quite a time telling them apart. In the morning, I have to make a mental note of who is wearing what color so I can tell from a distance.

Facebook comment from Allison Priest Leonard

on Jul 12, 2011 at 8:29 PM

That picture is so cute! And my next door neighbors growing up are identical twin girls.

bether89

on Jul 13, 2011 at 12:14 PM

I knew a set of identical twins from church when I was growing up. The only way I could tell them apart was that one's face was a little fuller than the other.