By: Fran Pitre. Mother of 3 sets of twins, author of “TwinsX3”, “Marriage and Multiples”, and “Moms of Twins Take Care of Business.” Subscribe to her blog and receive the Marriage and Multiples e-book free! Look for more stories from Fran in the coming months! Make sure to visit her yourself at FranPitre.com

Twin grow and develop first as womb-mates, … are born on the same day (with rare exception) … are dressed alike … share a bassinet … share a crib … share a bedroom … share, share and share some more. This doubling-up is true for identical or fraternal twins (including boy/girl combos … I know because I did it with mine!)

For a while, most parents of twins enjoy pairing up our little duos because, well let’s face it, it’s fun, and they’re so darn cute! We’ve  lots of “twin sets” of clothing outfits, bedding, toys, etc., and we naturally enjoy them. Now, I’m not saying everything has to be exactly the same. Some little girl outfits are same style but are different colors, or the same pattern is found on your daughter’s dress which matches her twin brother’s pants or vest. The children themselves grow in an awareness and become used to this type of treatment … for a while.

Then comes the day when one little girls falls in love with one dress that she must wear day after day, yet her twin doesn’t really show any interest in that same dress. Or, as his mom, you notice that one of your sons is very interested in a particular toy which his twin totally discards when given it.

Twins or not, identical or not … each child is demonstrating his or her own unique individuality. More