This blog post could also be entitled...how the heck did I get to be a mother of two 7 year olds?!?!
I know mothers always say this, but ... wow, it goes by fast.
7 is such a cool age. These boys are full of big questions lately.
Huge questions about the world and space and creation. They are completely aware that they are small and the world is huge. They are beginning to navigating that age old question of who am I, what are my gifts and what will I do when I get big. I have to say, I'm still asking those same questions at almost 36.
Earlier this Spring, when the ducks were all laying eggs and the boys were studying the differences between the different types of animals in school, one of the boys asked if all animals come from eggs.
No all. You can cut a worm in half and make new worms. But most of the time...yes, animals come from eggs. Sometimes the eggs are in the mamas body and you never see them, and sometimes they are outside the mama's body like ducks for example. The egg is the mamas contribution to the new baby. (At that moment, I said a little prayer that I could answer any questions that followed) But luckily I have science minded little men like their mother. So, they followed with questions about whether people come from eggs. Yes, I answered again. People start out as eggs inside the mama's body.
"So you had two eggs in your body when you had us, right mama?"
Well, this is where I had to stop what I was doing in the kitchen. Turn and look at them. And explain something I wasn't sure they would get.
You see, we don't really know for sure.
Identical twins come from one fertile egg splitting into two. This produces two babies with the exact same DNA.
And fraternal twins come from a mother releasing two eggs at once and both eggs being fertilized separately. This produces two separate babies with separate DNA.
They got it...you could see the little synapses being formed in their brains as they wrapped their little minds around this huge concept.
When I was pregnant, we were told the boys were fraternal because they had separate amniotic sacs and separate placentas. But now there is evidence that if the egg splits early enough in development, identical twins can have this separation in utero.
Our pediatrician thinks they are identical because of their similar growth patterns. For example they walked within a few days of each other, they got teeth in the same order withing a few days of each other, etc.
The only way to know for sure is to have their zygosity tested.
We have never really cared either way, so we have never had their DNA formally tested.
But at 7 years old, you are able grasp how cool it is to have a brother the exact same age, a brother that looks so much like you that people get you confused. And they would like to know if they are identical or fraternal. Like I said, when you are 7, you are full of big questions. And those questions require answers.
They are really starting to become their own little people, each with their own tastes and preferences. And I can imagine to them this means something. Whether they really are their own people and exactly how similar and different they are to their brother.
They are very similar: both friendly and outgoing, both athletic and coordinated with a love of the outdoors.
But there are many differences: one is very nurturing and a peacekeeper, the other has an amazing sense of right and wrong and cares a great deal about the concept of justice.
It really is amazing.
We won't know for several weeks whether they came from one egg or two, but for sure we will be checking the mail every day for the big news.
So, now's your chance. Take a guess. And I'll let you know when the results come in.
Identical or fraternal?
Happy birthday my big boys!!! Im looking forward to the years to come and watching each of you grow into the amazingly talented, individual people you are.