Identical. No, fraternal. No identical...No...wait...

We found out we were having twins when I was sick as a dog and about to be admitted to the hospital at 9 weeks pregnant. At the time, we knew they had separate placentas (diachorionic) and separate amniotic sacs (diamniotic) so it was assumed that they were most likely fraternal. But when we later found out they were both girls, we discovered that identical still wasn't totally ruled out. Apparently a relatively small portion of di/di twins are actual monozygotic (identical).

When they were born, Alice was head first and had the typical head shape of a babe that had just been squeezed through the birth canal head first. Lilah, on the other hand, was breech and her head shape was completely different. It led to them looking totally different from one another, thus seemingly confirming the fraternal guess. By about two-months-old, I started to question it. It was like over night the girls started morphing into the same face. I distinctly remember having a conversation with my friend Maura about how different they looked one week and then the very next being like, "Uh...do you see what I see?" It was about that time that I made us buy matching (but different colored) amber necklaces for quick reference. ;)

Lilah left, Alice right. Day 1 of life. :)

Five days old. Alice left, Lilah right. See the head shape difference?

hmmm...

I took these pictures the exact same day I was chatting with my friend about how different they looked.

And then this happened the next week (just shy of 2 months)...This SERIOUSLY got me thinking... Lilah left (I mostly know this now as I almost always put her in the yellow and Alice in the pink jammies).

Throughout the better portion of the next 10 months, I waffled. Identical. Totally identical. Same eye color, which is blue with a little ring of golden brown around the pupil - how random considering Anthony's dark, dark dominate genes, right? Same widow's peak hair line despite the fact that neither A or I have one. Their measurements at well visits were always very similar and actually EXACTLY the same (head, weight and length) at their 1 year visit. Same tooth alignment. Same this. Same that. You get it. But...then I would look at them and say to myself, "No, no, no. Totally different. Totally fraternal". Lilah's eyes are a little farther a part and a little deeper set in her face. Alice's face is a little longer and her head more oval while Lilah's is a little squarer. Rather different personalities. Totally different (yet equally sweet) voices. Different this. Different that. Identical. No, fraternal. No identical.

The day we moved to Oregon - July 7th, 2013 - just shy of 3 months...thinking even more...haha. Alice left, Lilah right. You can see the slight difference in eyes.

Just over 4 months. Alice left, Lilah right.

This probably should have been the convincer, but I still waffled. Ha. Alice left, Lilah right. Just shy of 6 months.

Just about 7 months. I actually think they look quite different here. Lilah left, Alice right. See? Confusing, right!?

8 months and change. Lilah left, Alice right...again, pretty different, no?

9 months. Lilah left, Alice right.

10 months and a few days. Subtle, but I can see the eye difference. I've always thought they looked more alike with hats on though. Lilah left, Alice right.

First bday. I can really see the differences here.

I CANNOT BELIEVE that I have analyzed this over and over again for as long as I have. Haha. It is really silly when you think about it. Why should it matter? Either way, I love them the same amazingly huge amount. But for some reason, I needed to know. When I really search through my heart, here is why. There is apparently no scientific explanation for why identical twins happen. Fraternal twins, I could totally chalk up to the fact that I was still nursing my (then) 2.5-year-old and my cycle was wacky and just released multiple eggs. But identical...no random cycle, just the Universe's awesome power. Identical? That just had to be my Sofia. So...I kept going back to it and convincing myself that they were ID. Call me crazy, if you'd like...but in my heart, I kinda hoped they were ID.

Finally, I convinced Anthony that we should order the test. It was only $100, but there are a lot of things in our world right now that are more important to spend a hundred dollars on, you know? So, it was my Mother's Day gift. ;) We ordered the test online through a company called Proactive Genetics that had been recommended to me from some other mommas of multiples. They sent us the kit, we did the cheek swabbing, sent it back in and they tested it. Today we got those results...

Well, there you have it!

And this was taken mere moments after reading the results email. Very appropriately, looking exactly alike. ;) Alice left, Lilah right.

Congratulations, all of FB and pretty much every other friend we have, you were right on! :) And for the record, it was a very well spent $100 in my opinion. And yes, I'm super excited. :)