Friday, June 27, 2008

Identicalness of Identicals

I always find it interesting to read when other parents of identical triplets shell out a few hundred dollars for DNA testing only to hear what they knew. Their triplets ARE identical.

During that first ultrasound where the girls were discovered, I was told that they were identical and that they shared a placenta. The placenta was tested after their birth as there are cases where two placentas fuse together and resemble one. There's never been any doubt in my mind that the girls are identical.

The girls have slight differences but for the most part have the same faces and body characteristics. Here's the infamous Easter Bunny picture. (Yes, they were in a state of shock.) You can really see how much they look alike - Em is in the middle and about to blink so her eyes look a little different.



What makes the girls most definitely identical are their right kidneys. Anna had some tests completed while she was still in the NICU due to the condition of her bladder. She was diagnosed as having reflux in her right kidney. Basically, the flap between her kidney and bladder doesn't work correctly and urine can back up into her kidney causing infections. She is on medication daily to prevent an infection. This can be corrected with surgery when she is older.

Emily developed a urinary tract infection (UTI) when she was about 5 months old. Diagnosing a UTI in an infant is not a pleasant process. You have to take her to the emergency room. The nurses have to draw blood. The baby is screaming her head off. After all was said and done, she had to have additional testing to ensure that she didn't have kidney reflux as well. No reflux but the opening to her right kidney is misshaped. It will hopefully correct itself with age.

Within six weeks, Allie develops the same symptoms that Em had with her UTI. When we bring her to the ER, I explain that her sister just had a UTI and I believe that this is what Allie has. I'm told that UTI's aren't contagious. Duh!!! I was just trying to speed up the process. And guess what? She had a UTI. After additional testing, we discover that the opening to her right kidney is also misshaped.

I really don't need DNA testing to know that my girls are identical.

2 comments:

pyjammy pam said...

for some reason, no one would tell us before they were born that the boys were identical - even though there was one gestational sac, v thin membranes, one placenta, etc. even after they tested the placenta, they wouldn't tell me!

thank goodness someone did our dna testing for free. i wouldn't have paid for it. someone said (on TC) to check their ears, and sure enough all three boys have the weirdest little quirk on their ears.

Sarah said...

I know where you are coming from, Pam. I had the same thing - 1 sac w/ very tine membranes and 1 placenta and no one even questioned that they were identical. I don't know why some doctors are reluctant to give out this info. Esp. when your trio look exactly alike!! I'm glad you could have someone do your testing for free.