No Ankle Tags Needed

Leah and Riley are not identical twins, which we're pretty happy about at this point. On the day they were born, though, they looked pretty darn identical to me. Truthfully, I have to admit that most newborns look pretty much interchangeable to me. So, when Leah and Riley were born, there were some physical differences, but it wasn't really easy for me to tell them apart. Not knowing for sure which daughter was which without consulting the little tag on their ankle was pretty disheartening for a new dad. I had assumed that I would have an instant paternal connection to each baby and that I would "just know" intuitively which one was which. Nope.

Now, of course, I find it pretty easy to tell them apart:


So, that's Leah on the left with the hat and the zen expression and that's Riley on the right. Kathy and I have this weird obsessive-compulsive disorder that makes us usually lay down Leah on the left and Riley on the right (L on the left and R on the right -- get it?), so if you're ever at our house visiting the babies and have no idea which one's which, you might as well guess that Leah's the one the left. Chances are, you'll be right.

Some other ways to tell them apart -- Leah's the one with the chubbier cheeks and has a dimple on one of them. Riley has the bigger eyes and the more alert expression most of the time. Leah spits up more and also has an adorable smile that she shows off from time to time (which I've yet to capture on camera). Riley can go from totally happy to monumentally pissed-off hysterical and then back to totally happy in about half a second.

I think having fraternal twins means constantly comparing the two kids and looking for distinguishing characteristics. Kathy and I are constantly pointing out our daughters' differences to each other and to visitors. I think if we had identical twins, we would constantly be celebrating their similarities rather than their differences. And I like having two different daughters, especially since it means that I don't have to make sure that Leah stays on the left and Riley stays on the right for the rest of their lives, just to tell them apart.

Not that there'd be anything wrong with that.