While Mom’s love for all her children remains unwavering, distinguishing between them requires ingenuity. The surge in multiple pregnancies across the United States has compelled mothers to devise creative ways to tell their offspring apart.
Upon their premature birth at 29 weeks, the triplets spent three weeks under specialized care as a precautionary measure. Crystal Hasselquist, the mother of these three bundles of joy, found herself grappling with the challenge of differentiation over time. Given that they were identical triplets, her concerns were justified; their near-identical appearances posed a unique challenge.
Engaging in conversation with nurses, Crystal received a piece of advice that would prove to be a game-changer: color differentiation. The family wholeheartedly embraced this strategy. Each child was designated a unique color that extended to their bed linens, baby bottles, toys, and clothing.
Initially successful, the color-coded system hit a roadblock during bath and dressing times. The trick seemed to falter when the little ones shed their tiny clothes. However, Crystal, the innovative mother, had a lightbulb moment.
She introduced a brilliantly simple method – painting the left big toe of each baby with distinct colors. James was adorned with green, Henrik with blue, and Thomas with red. This approach, both straightforward and original, provided a solution to the dilemma.
AmyJo Hasselquist, the clever mother’s sister-in-law, found this vibrant technique amusing. She took to her TikTok account to share this captivating solution with the world. The aim was to extend assistance to fellow mothers of triplets or identical twins who faced the same challenge.
In a delightful turn of events, the savvy mom and her trio of tots garnered a staggering 16 million views on TikTok, charming viewers with their unique parenting flair.
Though undeniably effective, the method of color-coded toes is just one among various strategies employed by mothers to facilitate identification. While some mothers resort to marking their infants, the options are far from limited. Each mother adapts and innovates as needed to ensure that each child’s individuality shines through.
