Since Mae and Jules are the first twins I’ve known well and have watched develop, I’ve wondered at the veracity of the reports of secret twin language. It conjurs to mind an image of two wee children, hiding in the thickets in Grandmother’s garden, sitting knee to knee and whispering intently in a language only they two can understand.

My girls are learning new words every day. In terms of their speech development, I have no worries. Quite the opposite. I swear the other morning, Jules was looking at something interesting and said, clear as day, “Wow, I like it.”

What I have observed is that the girls do talk to each other a lot. It’s all babbling to me, but it truly seems to mean soemthing to them. Sitting at the table or, like last night, in bed, or hunched over a shared toy, one will say something in a questioning tone and the other will answer. Back and forth, they will carry on for several minutes until, apparently, the topic is exhausted.

Is it twin speak? Or would any two babies interact this way? I don’t recall hearing such distinct conversations between Edward and his infant pals - even the one he spent a fair amount of time with. But maybe I just wasn’t around them enough.

I do know Mae and Jules have a strong bond. They will now correctly point to themselves when I ask them “where is Mae?” or “where is Jules?” Their individual identities are firm and distinct. To each other, however, they are known simply as “siss-er”.