Fraternal or Identical

It seems as though we've spent the better part of the pregnacy trying to answer this question.

Fraternal twins occur when the body releases two eggs, both are fertilized, and subsequently implant themselves in your uterus.

Identical twins occur when there is one egg, it's fertilized, and then it splits into two. Because both babies originated from the same egg, they have identical DNA.

So what are our babies?

According to Dr. Harris Finberg of Phoenix Perinatal Associates, we're having dichorionic diamniotic (di/di) twins, which means that the babies are in two sacs and each has their own placenta. This determination was made when I was about 13 weeks pregnant. In terms of risk, this is a good thing as serious complications can arise when babies are in the same sac or if they share a placenta.

Because I saw two different perinatologists at two different points in the pregnancy, there was some confusion as to whether or not our babies shared a placenta. Basically the second perinatologist couldn't find the marker that one looks for to make this kind of determination. This happened at 18 weeks, and again at 22. FINALLY, I went back to Phoenix Perinatal and Dr. Finberg confirmed that the babies were di/di twins and at they were more than likely fraternal. He also kindly pointed out that the marker obstetricians look for to make this determination is a something called a "twin peak." And did I know that he was the one who coined this term? That made me feel like a big ass.

So we think the babies are fraternal. Although because they are both GIRLS the only way to know with absolute 100% certainty is with a DNA test. Which we'll probably do just for kicks.