My 10 year old identical twin boys are mirrored.

They have just had an eye exam at school and guess what ....... mirrored ....... 20/30-20/50 for one and 20/50-20/30 for the other! It always amazes me!

At the dentist...they had exact canker sores in their mouths at the same time........their dentist was dumbfounded........he said he'd never seen such a strong case for a genetic tendency.......lucky him to see them on the same day! We love entertaining others with our little surprises and oddities........they have also had cavities identical to each other.

Jane - mother of twins

I am a mother of 3-year-old identical, mirror-image boys. I've never actually had their zygosity tested, but no one in the family but me can tell them apart - not even their own father. Their crowns (hair swirls) are on opposite sides of their heads and they both have the same odd-shaped feet. One is very slightly smaller than the other, but other than that, it's very hard to tell them apart. If I'm not paying attention, I get them mixed up myself!

I am constantly amazed and astounded at how close they are. Not just in the way they play or interact with each other, but in the ways they care for and protect one another. When my boys were about 10 or 11 months old, one had gotten a couple of splinters in his foot from walking outside barefooted. I had to get them out, so I proceeded to "pin" him down with my own body by leaning across him as lay on his back on the floor. When I went to work trying to get the splinters out of his foot, he got mad at the fact that he couldn't pry himself away from me and he started yelling and crying. His brother, hearing his desperate cries, came to inspect. Upon finding his brother "pinned" beneath me, he started crying and THREW himself across his brother, thus "shielding" him from my evil torment. Only when I finally got the splinters out and let him get up, did his brother quit crying. Then they just went off to play like nothing had happened.

I remember another similar event when they were 6 months old. One of the boys had gas in his tummy and the other got hysterical - crying and twisting around in his crib. I tried to get him calmed down first since I knew "nothing" was wrong with him. He wouldn't settle down, in fact, he only cried louder. I finally gave up and got his brother to burp - and VIOLA! Both hushed like you turned off a switch.

Felicity - mother of twins

My friend told me this about a girl both of us went to school with.

Apparently this girl really felt all her life that she'd love to have a twin. Most people who don't have a twin would think sometimes how great it would be to have a twin - but this girl had a real longing for a twin that went beyond the normal "gee it'd be nice to have a twin" kind of attitude.

One day she said to her mum, "You know, I've always really wanted a twin." And her mum told her that she actually had been a twin but her sister had died at birth! It just goes to show that twins really do have something powerful that connects them.

Claire

When my sister and I were babies my dad always said that we were mirror twins but nobody would listen. As we were growing up it became clear that we were (mirror-image twins); I am right handed and my sister is left handed and our cowlicks go in opposite directions. We can always finish off each others sentences and know what the other is thinking. When we were in school we shared the same classes up until a certain time when the school decided to separate us and we never did any work until they reunited us. When we went to higher school we were in different tutor groups but classes were put in to levels and my sister and I were put in the same leveled classes.

When I was 15 years old I had to have an operation on my tummy, which she (my twin) didn't know about; when my mum called her from the hospital she had the pain too. She had the same operation exactly a year after I had mine and I felt her pain too. We always know when the other is in trouble or hurt and she's the best friend that anyone could have. We worked together a few times as waitresses and she would serve one person and then I would go and ask the same person the same thing and everyone always mistook one for the other.

Sian - 19 year old mirror-image twin from UK

My twin bro and me have just turned 18 and people find it weird because he's a guy and I'm a girl and they are amazed at how close we are. When we were 9 years old my brother went to stay with my grandmother while we stayed in the city for a couple of months. One night my father told me that it was quiet, then suddenly I woke up and I wouldn't stop crying; it looked like I was choking but I wasn't. I wouldn't stop crying and I kept trying to reach over to my brothers cot, then my dad realised that something was up so he told my mum to ring up my grandmother to check on my brother. My mum didn't believe but she rang my grandmother and my gran found that my brother (who has asthma), was in his cot, almost choking to death. They rushed my brother to the hospital and he recovered. According to my father, it wasn't until my gran said the ambulance was there that I stopped crying. My brother and I have a bond so strong that nothing can break it, we know what each other is thinking and we know when the other is in trouble. I wouldn't give up being a twin for the world.

Kyle

When my identical twin girls, Ashley and Rachael, were about a month old, Rachael developed a very high temperature. I took her to the doctor and he immediately admitted her to hospital. As I had another baby and a two year old at home I was unable to stay with Rachael at the hospital. The first night away from home Rachael was very restless and would not settle. Ashley was the same, she just would not settle. The next night was the same.

As Rachael was still unwell the doctor decided to keep her in hospital for another night, but asked if I could take Ashley to the hospital and leave her there the night to see if either of the girls would settle. They both sleep soundly all night! The staff at the hospital were amazed. It appeared that at such a young age the girls knew their sister was not there! The girls slept in separate bassinets on opposite sides of my bed.

My girls are now 16 and are still extremely close. They share the same room still and they have the same group of friends. They sometimes appear to communicate to each other without talking (although they don't realise that they do it) and they often finish each other sentences or answer questions for each other.

Deborah Allen

Me and My twin are both 13 and live in the UK. We have the same friends and have always been in the same class. We are identical an even close family members find it hard to tell us apart. We enjoy the same things and like the same food but still class ourselves as two unique people. Sometimes we completely agree and sometimes we disagree; we have our own views and feelings (for example I'm a lot more sensitive than my twin).

Our story starts last May 2001. I woke up on a Tuesday morning for school, we have separate rooms and I'm always up first. Anyway I went into the bathroom and started up the shower but when I changed I noticed I'd started menstruating (started my periods). I was shocked and went to tell mum. Later that day at school I was sitting in my Spanish class (my sister doesn't take Spanish) and I got a message from the office saying my sister was upset and that she wouldn't say what was wrong. Apparently my sister had just started her periods too! It was on the exact same day which was really strange and on most months we menstruate at the same time :O)

Anon

I remember being around 6 years old when a strange accident happened to my twin and me. I was playing softball at a family gathering, while my sister was playing inside with my other cousins. I was pitcher and I pitched the ball to my cousin. When he hit the ball I saw it come directly at my face but there was not time to react. The ball hit me in the nose and I fell to the ground clutching my nose, but felt no pain. Everyone surrounded me and then we heard my sister come crying from inside. Her head was tilted forwards and blood was dripping from her nose. It was like she had been standing in my place. No-one could explain the accident and since then we have had no other experiences similar to that one.

Sharon

Twin possessiveness!

My twin and I were not separated at school, we went around with each other and were best of friends. When we were about five years old, being the shyer out of the two, I daren't ask the teacher if I could use the toilet and unfortunately I peeped my knickers! My sister and I went into the bathroom together at break time and I told her what had happened and she gave me her nice dry knickers to wear. You can't get closer than that!

Anon

Growing up a twin was uncanny. There were times when my brother John seemed to know what I was thinking and he was always finishing my sentences for me. We still had our own lives though, and at 21 I left home and got married.

Three months later I was rushed into hospital to have my appendix removed. Next morning I was amazed at how little pain I'd felt. "How are you?" John asked when he visited. "I'm fabulous," I said and then I peered at him. He looked pale and drawn. "But you don't look so great. What's up?" "I had awful stomach cramps last night and kept vomiting," he replied. "They only lasted an hour and the doctor said there's nothing wrong. It's a complete mystery."

Suddenly a thought hit me. "What time did you start feeling sick?" I asked him. "Nine o'clock." "But that's the exact time I started my operation," I cried. "And it only lasted one hour." For a moment we were totally spooked. But we shrugged it off as a coincidence and forgot about it.

Then I became pregnant. I didn't suffer morning sickness and the labour was an easy one. John came to visit me in hospital. Again, he looked as sick as a dog and explained that earlier that morning, he'd been struck with terrible back and stomach pains. "It was unbearable," John added. "Then, when I found out you were in labour…" I sat up. "Are you saying that you suffered my labour pains?" He nodded. "Strange, isn't it?"

After that, we read studies about twins and discovered it wasn't unheard of for one twin to feel the other's pain. "Please don't have any more children," John begged me. "I can't go through all that again!" "Sorry," I told him as nature took its course and I fell pregnant twice more. I didn't know whether to feel pleased or sorry when, again, it was a breeze for me, but John suffered terribly.

Twenty years passed and I enjoyed excellent health - much to John's relief. Then, one day, he rang and asked if I was feeling ill. "No," I replied. "Why?" "I've been experiencing hot flushes and nausea," he sighed. "And I'm so moody all the time, I'm driving my mates crazy. The doctors are baffled. Are you sure there's nothing wrong with you?" I burst out laughing. "There's an easy explanation," I said. "You're going through my menopause!" I told him I'd been diagnosed with it the previous month and had been amazed when I'd had only minor symptoms.

For the next few months John's mates had to endure his moods and he had to put up with hot flushes. Fortunately, when I went on hormone replacement therapy, his symptoms eased. Today John lives in Tweed Heads, NSW. He's not married, which is a shame. What other man could understand so well what women have to suffer?

Linda Wilson - fraternal twin

Ever thought how fraternal twins
might view identicals?.......

There are four sets of fraternal twins in our family. Two sets of boy/girl twins and two sets of girl/girl twins. So we grew up being twins who didn't look alike and not realising that some twins do look alike.

When we were little, my twin sister and I rode the bus to school everyday. One day we were riding it and a set of identical twin boys got on the bus. We'd never been around any identical twins before, we were about 5 or 6yrs old at the time.

My sister turned around to where they were sitting and started asking them questions. They told her they were twins and that was why they looked alike. My sister stared at them a long time, looking rather appalled. Finally she announced very loudly to the entire bus,"That boy (pointing to one of the twins) stole his brother's face!" She then looked at me and said,"You better not ever do that to ME!!"

She was convinced there was no way there could be two people who looked exactly the same. I remember feeling the same way after she said that. It's funny because all our lives we've spent listening to people say,"You can't be twins, you don't look the same!" but nobody ever really thinks what identical twins might look like to fraternal twins.

It was weeks before my sister was finally convinced no-one would steal her face and that those twin boys had just been born like that.

Alli - 20yr old fraternal twin

When my twins were very young, about 6 months old, and in a twin pushchair for outings, my wife Barbara and I were in Palmerston North, shopping.

One dear old lady said to us, "What lovely babies! Are they twins?"
"Yes, they are," Barbara replied.
"Are they identical?" went on the dear old lady.
"No," said Barbara, "one's a girl and one's a boy."
"Oh, I can see that," said the dear old lady, "but are they identical?"

Bernie (New Zealand)

The trick question.....
"Do you find my (identical) twin sister attractive?"
As the mother of twin teenage girls I have seen some ugly sights - where poor innocent teenage boys get stumped on the above question. It's a real Catch-22 - they are "damned if they do and damned if they don't", as the saying goes. You can see their brains ticking over as they run through the probable consequences of each answer "No, you are the most beautiful girl in the world but your identical twin is only average" somehow lacks believability. On the other hand, saying "Yes, I find her attractive too" leads to further awkward questions. Some brave boys have battled on, trying to be honest, and damn the consequences. They've found themselves forced to admit that if they had met the other twin first, they may well have become involved with her. The very boldest have conceded that yes, they would like to sleep with her sister as well as herself, and even better if it was both together (the ultimate male fantasy - a pair of beautiful young women devoting themselves to his pleasure!) If the tears and/or tantrums haven't started by now, they are sure to follow. Any devoted young man, trying to please his capricious girlfriend and not mortally offend her twin at the same time, learns to walk the minefield around questions like these, or hits the road. Here's a tip for answering that tricky question - try: "I find your twin attractive because they remind me of you" <grin>

Hints for the partner of a twin
As one pair of married twin sisters said on TV - "You can always get another husband, but you can't ever replace a twin". Their husbands both nodded and agreed with this - at first glance - outrageous statement, and I thought at the time they had grasped the key factor to a happy life with twins. No matter how important an outside person may be, and no matter how much in love the twin may be with you, never forget that their twin comes first, last and in between. If you can cope with this, and many people can't, a life with twins can truly be double the fun. But it's no place for a possessive partner, who is sentencing themselves to a life of misery, as they constantly make tests for 'their' twin, and are forced over and over to the conclusion that coexistence is the only option. I've seen, not only with our daughters, but with twins male and female down the years, a partner that the other twin doesn't like is ultimately destined for disaster.

I have seen a case where a jealous husband managed to geographically separate 'his' twin from the sister he detested. Over a number of years he managed to ban regular phone calls as too costly, and as neither woman was a letter-writer, he was congratulating himself on gradually pulling them apart. But at a crisis in the other sister's life, he came home from work to find that his wife had left, with a brief note, "My sister needs me" being sufficient explanation. She didn't come back. Motto: get used to pleasing two people, and your life with a twin can be very happy.

Anon - mother of twins