The Twin Connection

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Categories Parenting Twins, Relationships

Around the time I discovered that I was expecting twins, that Talking Twin Babies video was viral. Nearly a dozen people sent it to me as part of their congratulations on our impending bundles of joy! The twin connection that my two babies would have with each other was exciting and novel to us. Our children would have The Shining with each other and that was pretty cool.

Growing up I was told a lot of stories about my grandmother Mabel and her twin sister Madelaine and their strong twinnection. Some stories were about how they tricked people into thinking they were their sister, basically anything you’d see in those low budget Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen movies from the nineties. Except oddly my grandmother and her sister, who were also fraternal twins, didn’t look much alike no matter how many identical haircuts or matching embroidered “M” sweaters their mother dressed them in, so I’m guessing people around were either playing along or a little slow on the uptake. One of my favourite stories about them is from when one twin had a sore arm all weekend and later discovered that her sister had broken the same arm skiing hundreds of miles away.


Molly and Jack are almost two years old and I’m a little sad to admit that I’ve rarely noticed their Wonder Twins Powers Activate. Maybe some of it has to do with how I’ve never really embraced traditional ways of celebrating their twinness. Sure they share a birthday, toys, clothes and a nursery, but I rarely (maybe 3-4 times) dress them in matching clothes. Molly (twin A) is and acts like the oldest and Jackie (twin B) embraces his role of the baby. Molly and Jack both love each other’s company, they’ve moved past parallel play and sometimes play together chasing each other around the house squealing. The way they interact reminds me a lot of me and my younger brother. They are both crazy about each other, love to fight and tease their sibling, but share a loyalty with their sibling akin to a mama bear.

About two or three months ago I noticed a big shift in their relationship. Molly will ask for milk both for her and her brother and they will actively (and a little creepily) feed one another snacks. They hold hands more often, they’ll share toys, even if sharing means passing something back and forth 20 times so someone doesn’t have it too long. This could be normal development, or the start of The Twinning.

I thought I was grasping at straws. Then on Sunday when I was at my parent’s house something funny happened. Molly was playing with the dolls and pushing them around the house in a toy stroller. My mother and I noticed that Miss Molly makes sure that there are ALWAYS two babies in her stroller, or by her side. Because babies always come in pairs, right?

This is an excerpt from a post on my blog.  Read the entire post here

SaraBeth is a Toronto based writer.  Her blog Multiple Momstrosity was named one on Toronto Mom Now’s 2012 Top 30 Mom Blogs.  She is a two-time veteran of the Three Day Novel Writing Contest.  She lives in The Junction with her husband and fraternal toddler twins (Molly & Jack).


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3 thoughts on “The Twin Connection”

  1. I try not to over-romanticize our girls’ twinship, but it does thrill me to see them looking out for each other.

    Their preschool teacher told me how one would “babysit” the other’s doll if she went to the bathroom, for example. And they talk all the time about when they’re grown, how they will live together and take care of each others’ babies while they work alternate schedules in their shared vet’s office. Hee hee!

    Just last night, I accidentally aroused my A when I went to check on them before I went to bed. The first thing she said, still mostly asleep, was, “Where’s B?” How sweet it was to know that was her first thought. :) :)

  2. The twin bond was something I scoffed about until recently. My boys, now 3 years 3 months, spent their first three years showing no evidence of a bond. If anything they spent all their time fighting with each other! Then, little by little, over the last few months they have become BEST BEST BEST friends. They spend all day playing together (with only a few squabbles here and there). I LOVE it and hope that they continue to be close!

    1. I used to think the whole twin bond thing was hogwash. My daughters showed me otherwise. I’ve learned to embrace their closeness instead of fighting it. It *is* special!

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