They're twins not weirdos

Once out in the terrifying wide world, twins attract double the attention. We lived in London's East End at the time; 'Ronnie and Reggie!' was a popular refrain. And we were certainly not welcome in posher venues: when I dared to heave my laden buggy into Agent Provocateur, the steely-eyed assistant peered at me as if to say, 'You are seriously thinking of coming in here with that enormous pram thing? And what do you want with expensive underwear anyway?'

Taking the boys out to eat has always been challenging too. People assume they have identical tastes in food; I am met with incredulity when I explain that Sam loves pasta, but - horrors! - Dexter doesn't. Actually, I am relieved that they are different. We try to accentuate their differences; each has their own selection of clothes and I'd like to cut their hair differently, but it's tricky with boys. Who gets the neat crop, and who's landed with the Beckham-style shaved head? I'm not prepared for one of my sons to grow up asking why he always looked like a berk in photos.

I would, however, love our relatives to make an effort to distinguish our boys. To this day, one of their grannies calls them 'this one' and 'the other one' or, when really confused, simply whistles.
It's a weird one all right. But it’s nothing to the strangeness of our third child – a single girl. We have no double buggy to crash around supermarkets. There's no need to remove my entire shirt in order to breastfeed.
Oh, and no one shouts, 'Double trouble!' Now that is weird.

SOME USEFUL CONTACTS:
For local twin clubs, contact Tamba (The Twins and Multiple Birth Association), Harnott House, 309 Chester Road, Little Sutton, Ellesmere Port, CH66 1QQ or visit the TAMBA website.
Tel 0870 121 4000 or 0151 348 0020

Tamba Twinline (01732 868000) offers free advice, 7pm-11pm week nights, and between 10am-11pm Saturdays and Sundays.

Another useful website is Multiplebirths.org.uk The Multiple Births Foundation based at Queen Charlotte’s and Chelsea Hospital, provides info for parents and professionals.