Four-year-old “mirror” twins do everything in exactly the opposite way

The four-year-old “mirror” twins do everything from parting their hair to holding a pen in exactly the opposite way.

Leah and Erin Sullivan of Inverness, Scotland, are like “two sides of the same coin,” according to their 42-year-old mother Zoe.

While Leah splits her hair on the left, Erin splits hers on the right, and they both prefer opposite hands for throwing or writing.

The couple even sleep in exactly the same position, but on different sides.

They are “twins with mirrored images” – a little-known phenomenon, which means that otherwise identical siblings are asymmetrical in their appearance and the way they move or interact.

The phenomenon is believed to affect up to a quarter of identical twins, and Zoe found out that her twins were affected last year.

Mother Zoe, who lives at home, said: “If they have their hair up, it is very difficult to tell them apart!

“Leah’s hair grew faster, but it wasn’t until they were both about two and a half that their fringes started to grow and I realized that they split in different parts!”

“It didn’t matter what you did, like trying to separate her in the middle or on the other side, and it really is the only way you can tell them apart!

“That’s when we realized they were mirror twins. Erin we think might be left-handed, but Leah is definitely right-handed.

“After noticing it, I searched the internet, it can be really extreme!”

She said Leah usually sits on the left in the photos, with Erin on the right and walking with opposite dominant legs.

And when he faces it, he looks exactly like he’s looking in the mirror.

Their nursery also uses their unique hairstyles to make a difference, but there could be even more symmetries that are revealed as girls get older.

Zoe added: “They are totally different in terms of personality. Almost like different sides of the same coin.

“Every piece of personality Leah has, Erin doesn’t, and vice versa.

“Erin is very straight – what you see is what you get – but Leah is more naughty and the complete opposite!

“You see a lot of twins who are similar in personality, but with them it’s like one person split in two.

“Leah has a very good sense of humor, but Erin doesn’t quite understand – she’s more serious.”

Identical twins are the result of a single fertilized egg that divides into two embryos between four and eight days after conception.

The mirror twins are believed to be the result of the eggs separating even later, between nine and 12 days, although this has never been proven.

Zoe, the mother of eleven, said, “The twins run in my family because my grandfather was a twin and I have twin aunts, but they were still a little shocking!

“Also, I already had a pair of non-identical twins four years ago and I think part of me knew deep down that they would be twins, but I was more shocked that they would be identical.”

The girls were born prematurely at 27 weeks on January 25, 2016, on the eighth birthday of her first set of twins.

Leah weighed 3 lbs 4 oz and Erin 2 lbs 6 oz at birth and were hospitalized for six and 10 weeks, respectively.

Leah suffered a collapsed lung, Erin contracted sepsis and had extra fluid in her brain, and both girls suffered from a heart attack.

At one point, Erin weighed only 810 g, and with seven other children at home at the time, both parents were exhausted.

Zoe, who is married to the girls’ father Ben, said: “It was a very traumatic time.

“Ben was halfway through the day, so he could take care of the other kids while I was in the hospital and then I would change – I have no idea how I did it!”

Zoe admitted that when they were babies it was almost impossible to tell the girls apart.