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Mom has hilarious way to tell identical baby triplets apart: 'So smart'

The adorable story shared by the identical triplets' aunt spurred many triplets and moms to share their own experiences.

Mom has hilarious way to tell identical baby triplets apart: 'So smart'
Cover Image Source: Triplet baby boys standing in crib - stock photo/Getty Images

Editor's note: This article was originally published on April 19, 2022. It has since been updated.

Every time I see identical twins or triplets, I wonder how their parents tell them apart. It's a common assumption that moms can always tell their children apart no matter how much they look alike but that may not be the case, as one woman confessed. A woman who goes by Amy Jo on TikTok is the aunt to triplets and says their mom found a way to tell them apart and people just can't get enough of it. "I'm aunt but mom did have a brilliant idea," she wrote in response to a query: "Aren't you afraid of mixing up the triplets?" She posted a video of all three children beside each other and explained. This led to many others sharing experiences from their own childhood, reported Newsweek. 

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Amy Jo uses nail polish to ensure she never gets mixed up as to who's who. She paints one of their toenails using a specific color that is assigned to each child. She showed the children "marked" with color on their big toe before explaining that Henrik was identified by blue nail polish, Thomas by red and James by green. She went on to explain that it wasn't just about identifying them but also recognizing allergies, medications, illnesses, food intake and weight gain among other things. This can be incredibly helpful when the babies are temporarily in the hands of a family member or a babysitter. It also helps so their names are specifically assigned to the right baby so that they learn to respond to their names. 

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In the year 2020 alone, the United States saw the birth of 2,738 triplets, but the chances of them being identical are very slim. The odds of them being identical range between 60,000 to one in 200 million. Amy Jo was entertaining questions when she touched on the most commonly asked question with regard to identical triplets. While Amy Jo did say the parents could tell the babies apart, she said it helps if they have the nail polish on. "When it's 3 am and you haven't slept in three months because you just had triplets," she wrote. "Thankfully, they've only worn off one at a time so we think we're in the clear."

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Many other users lauded the ingenuity of the life hack and shared their own tips and experiences in the comments. "Yup. Pierced my girls' ears at 6 weeks with different earrings because I couldn’t see their tiny toes in the dark ha," confessed one person. "Good idea!" responded Amy Jo. "These guys basically have everything in their colors including sleep sacks and all so we can usually always tell." Another commented, "Awwww I love this. I’m a triplet and my mom marked our feet A, B, and C with a permanent marker" One user wrote, "I am a triplet and was never color-coded 😳 I know I must have been switched a few times 😅."

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One user went in a completely different direction. "You can always do one bald, one Mohawk, and the other full hair 🤷‍♂️ just ideas," they wrote but to be fair to them, it doesn't wear off overnight and the "markers" don't need to be updated. One person asked, "What if you forget which color corresponds to which kid 😵😵😵." I guess at this point we just have to assume they all know or the mother has them listed on her arm. Another wrote, "It just occurred to me, can you imagine how many twins had their names swapped cuz mom thought one was the other 😳." Many others confessed to color-coding their kids as well. "That is the smartest thing I've ever seen," lauded one user. "So smart."

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