Aunt shares genius way to tell her identical triplet nephews apart
According to Amy Jo Hasselquist, the visual cue has worked well for her family.
Quick! Can you tell these three identical triplets apart?
Meet Henrik, James, and Thomas Hasselquist, the triplet stars behind their aunt Amy Jo Hasselquist’s TikTok page.
And don’t worry, the 30-year-old who hilariously calls herself the “world’s okayest aunt,” has the easiest method to tell the 15-month-old boys apart, which she revealed in a TikTok video she posted on April 5.
In the video set to the soundtrack of "It's the Hard Knock Life" from “Annie,” Hasselquist lifts the boys’ feet to reveal that each of their big toes have been painted a specific color – green for James, blue for Henrik, and red for Thomas.
Hasselquist told “GMA” that she lived with her triplet nephews and their parents, her oldest brother, Jon, and sister-in-law, Crystal, as well as their eldest son, Peter, for the first six months of the triplets’ lives and discovered they had a smart way to distinguish the triplets from each other.
“When (Crystal) spent those three months in the NICU with the babies, she talked to the nurses a lot and they shared a lot of the different ways other multiple moms have color-coded their children to make sure they know who is who,” Hasselquist said. “So there were a few different options they shared with her and she landed on just painting one big toe. They also typically dress them in their colors as well.”
“Everything has been color-coded – clothes, sleep sacks, cribs, blankets, coats … everything has been pretty good with the color-coding system.”
Thousands have commented on Hasselquist’s TikTok post, which has already racked up over 1 million likes in just over two weeks.
“People will comment and say like, ‘I had a long day and I just saw this cute video of these babies and it made my day,’” Hasselquist said of the reaction so far. “That's always really good and exciting to hear and read.”
Hasselquist loves to share cute photos and videos of her nephews and the triplets are often front and center on her @heyhoitsamyjo TikTok page.
“I started TikTok, as most people did, during the pandemic, so thought it would be fun to make funny little videos with music, things like that, especially to share with other friends and family,” she explained.
“I think everyone has gotten a kick out of them. And we've convinced grandparents of the triplets to get on TikTok to follow along in the videos so yes, hoping to continue making them.”
The triplets were born back in January 2021 at 29 weeks and spent three months in the NICU before joining their family at home in Wisconsin.
Now that they’re a year old, Hasselquist said the triplets’ personalities are starting to develop. She describes the oldest triplet, Henrik, as “the leader” and a “goofball,” while James is a “sweetheart” who’s “always smiling.”
As for Thomas, Hasselquist calls him “the thinker.” “He is kind of skeptical of people, will look at you and wonder what you're up to,” she said, adding that he also loves to flip through books.
According to Hasselquist, all three of them love to play with each other and their older brother, 3-year-old Peter, who she said can always tell his siblings apart.
“He was probably the first one to be able to know who was who without ever having to second guess,” she said.
“Even if we change the colors of their clothes and toes, he would still know who was who which is pretty cool.”
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