by Mum Talks About Why She Only ʙʀᴇᴀsᴛꜰᴇᴇᴅs One Of Her Twins
Becoming a new mum can be both challenging and rewarding, and one mum has spoken out about the judgement she received for deciding to ʙʀᴇᴀsᴛꜰᴇᴇᴅ just one of her twins while opting to bottle feed the other.
Courtney Kleinebreil, 27, welcomed her twins, Sutton and Brooks, on November 15th 2019, and was able to ʙʀᴇᴀsᴛꜰᴇᴇᴅ both of them. Sutton weighed 6lbs 1oz at birth while Brooks weighed 6lbs exactly, however, in the following two weeks, it became apparent little Sutton just wasn’t gaining enough weight.
Doctors advised Courtney to start bottle feeding Sutton if her growth didn’t improve, so she could make sure to measure precisely how much milk she was having. Courtney, who is also mum to four-year-old Taydum, continued ʙʀᴇᴀsᴛꜰᴇᴇᴅing Brooks however Sutton refused to latch on after becoming used to bottle feeding.
But once Sutton started feeding via the bottle, she refused to latch on. Courtney continued to nurse Brooks until he was nearly two and hasn’t noticed a difference in her twins.
The part-time hair stylist said: “People always think I must have a favourite but it felt right to carry on ʙʀᴇᴀsᴛꜰᴇᴇᴅing Brooks. I started ʙʀᴇᴀsᴛꜰᴇᴇᴅing both of them but I had to use a bottle with Sutton as she needed to grow a bit more. Then she just didn’t want to go back to nursing. I felt a bit sad when I couldn’t ʙʀᴇᴀsᴛꜰᴇᴇᴅ Sutton anymore but I couldn’t force it. Now they have both been hitting their milestones and I can’t see a difference in bottle feeding Sutton compared to ʙʀᴇᴀsᴛꜰᴇᴇᴅing Brooks.”
“I still tried to feed them at the same time. People always think I must have a favourite but it felt right to carry on ʙʀᴇᴀsᴛꜰᴇᴇᴅing Brooks. Now they have both been hitting their milestones and I can’t see a difference in bottle feeding Sutton compared to ʙʀᴇᴀsᴛꜰᴇᴇᴅing Brooks.” Although Courtney was sad she could no longer ʙʀᴇᴀsᴛꜰᴇᴇᴅ Sutton, she didn’t feel guilty about it. You don’t have to validate parenting – it’s what works for you, I think it is unusual with twins to then keep ʙʀᴇᴀsᴛꜰᴇᴇᴅing one but I found out Brooks had a milk ᴀʟʟᴇʀɢʏ.” she says
