Twins in the family
Twins are a common occurrence throughout the world, but three sets of twins is truly remarkable and very unusual. I will share a little about how twins run in the family heavily, looking at the timeline and which relatives carry twins. Looking at the biology of fraternal twins to see what could have caused such an unexpected outcome has been a passion of mine since my first double pregnancy. It may seem impossible that one family could have three sets of twins, but it is something that can occur—and has occurred—to our family and a few others around the world.
When people first find out that I have three sets of twins… if they aren’t speechless or shocked to disbelief, or as some have responded just laughing hysterically, the question I get more than any other is, “Do twins run in your family?” which at this point is almost a little too obvious to answer.
Here is the LONG answer to this question. The short answer is, of course, yes, on both of my parents’ sides.
So why was I so surprised when I found out I was having twins? Nobody in my family who I knew of had twins or was a twin, or so I thought. I didn’t know of any twins because there were so many uncles for my parent’s generation. The men only carry the twin gene but their daughters can have the twin gene and drop two eggs.
When people first find out that I have three sets of twins… if they aren’t speechless or shocked to disbelief, or as some have responded just laughing hysterically, the question I get more than any other is, “Do twins run in your family?” which at this point is almost a little too obvious to answer.
Here is the LONG answer to this question. The short answer is, of course, yes, on both of my parents’ sides.
So why was I so surprised when I found out I was having twins? Nobody in my family who I knew of had twins or was a twin, or so I thought. I didn’t know of any twins because there were so many uncles for my parent’s generation. The men only carry the twin gene but their daughters can have the twin gene and drop two eggs.
First Photo As a Family of Eight
When I called my paternal grandma, age 85 at the time, to tell her my double exciting news, always as cool as a cucumber, she reacted with, “they’ve arrived!”. I asked, “What?” thinking, these aren’t her first great grandchildren, and she told me, "I knew someone would have twins sometime because there are so many twins in the family.” I was shocked to hear this since they were all from previous generations. I found out that my grandpa’s grandma had 16 children including a set of twins and from her alone descended twelve more pairs of fraternal twins, including my three sets. Many of them were her sons grand twins. The sons who had girls were many of the ones who also had twins. If you are a granddaughter of a twin mom, chances are higher. If you are a grandson you have no higher chance of having twins yourself but your daughter has increased odds of being a double egg dropper. This is why there is a somewhat accurate belief that twins skip a generation. It’s just it skips the men! Daughters and granddaughters have a higher chance of having twins themselves but not sons (unless they find another double egg dropper). Their daughter’s will have the higher chance of also having twins. I find it so interesting. From my research, I’ve found that there are two genes (at least) that they have found that give high FSH (follicle stimulating hormone) which increases the odds of dropping two eggs each cycle. I always joke... I have both! I haven’t been tested for anything like this but I think it’s pretty obvious.
I found out through family trees and old birth records, many of the twin sets had matching first letters of their names. Almost all of them were born before ultrasounds could detect the mother was even having twins (I can’t even imagine the surprise/horror of finding out at birth!). This was so exciting to discover and I wanted to know more!
I found out through more conversations with my grandmother on my mom’s side that there were also fraternal twins on her side and my second great-grandmother on my mom's side was also a twin mom! Two of my great great grandmothers had twins so both of my grandmas had a twin uncle & aunt.
There was a lot I could learn from my grandmothers but I wanted to know more details, find more twins, and even connect with ancestors from this side of the family I never knew. Did they know of any twins? Did we have a twin gene? And through the help of a DNA project company, that is exactly what I did. I am so grateful to know so much more about my relatives and diving deeper into what makes our family unique and why.
My second great-grandmother with 13 sets of twins descendants was a dairy farmer who lived in Ireland and moved to New York state with her husband and first two children, as a young woman. I found out she was raised first by her schoolteacher grandfather and then her father and step-mother before marrying a tall and handsome man. He was also from Ireland and together they migrated to the United States to start the dairy farm. They would go on to have fourteen more children, including one set of twins. I even found a relative with the original twin mom's last name who still lives in Ireland and was able to have a conversation with her. She didn't know of any new twins.
So to sum it up... I have two great great grandmothers who had twins. They were both fraternal, boy/girl. From one of them (dad’s side) there have been 13 sets of descendent twins born.
Side note: identical twins are almost completely random, and are much more unusal and rare. Identical twinning is not genetic.
So there you have it... the long answer!
It's true what they say, twins really do run in the family. In an incredible twist of genetics, three sets of twins were born in our family. At first glance, it may seem like a coincidence to have multiple sets of twins. However, upon further inspection, it appears to be more than just luck - it's science and genetics! Each twin pregnancy and set of twins is such a miracle. (singletons are too!) To get that three times in a row is the most beautiful miracle I’ve been a part of.
I found out through family trees and old birth records, many of the twin sets had matching first letters of their names. Almost all of them were born before ultrasounds could detect the mother was even having twins (I can’t even imagine the surprise/horror of finding out at birth!). This was so exciting to discover and I wanted to know more!
I found out through more conversations with my grandmother on my mom’s side that there were also fraternal twins on her side and my second great-grandmother on my mom's side was also a twin mom! Two of my great great grandmothers had twins so both of my grandmas had a twin uncle & aunt.
There was a lot I could learn from my grandmothers but I wanted to know more details, find more twins, and even connect with ancestors from this side of the family I never knew. Did they know of any twins? Did we have a twin gene? And through the help of a DNA project company, that is exactly what I did. I am so grateful to know so much more about my relatives and diving deeper into what makes our family unique and why.
My second great-grandmother with 13 sets of twins descendants was a dairy farmer who lived in Ireland and moved to New York state with her husband and first two children, as a young woman. I found out she was raised first by her schoolteacher grandfather and then her father and step-mother before marrying a tall and handsome man. He was also from Ireland and together they migrated to the United States to start the dairy farm. They would go on to have fourteen more children, including one set of twins. I even found a relative with the original twin mom's last name who still lives in Ireland and was able to have a conversation with her. She didn't know of any new twins.
So to sum it up... I have two great great grandmothers who had twins. They were both fraternal, boy/girl. From one of them (dad’s side) there have been 13 sets of descendent twins born.
Side note: identical twins are almost completely random, and are much more unusal and rare. Identical twinning is not genetic.
So there you have it... the long answer!
It's true what they say, twins really do run in the family. In an incredible twist of genetics, three sets of twins were born in our family. At first glance, it may seem like a coincidence to have multiple sets of twins. However, upon further inspection, it appears to be more than just luck - it's science and genetics! Each twin pregnancy and set of twins is such a miracle. (singletons are too!) To get that three times in a row is the most beautiful miracle I’ve been a part of.
The bigs met the mids in the hospital.
Photo Credit: Mayari Studio
|