Mum who only breastfeeds one of her twins says formula parents shouldn't 'feel guilty'

A mum-of-three has chosen to breastfeed one twin and bottle feed the other says it's not because one of them is her favourite. Courtney Kleinebreil, 27, welcomed her twins, Sutton and Brooks, on November 15th 2019, and was able to breastfeed 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 breastfeeding Brooks however Sutton refused to latch on after becoming used to bottle feeding.

Sutton wasn't gaining enough weight as a newborn (Courtney Kleinebreil / SWNS)

Courtney breastfed Brooks until he was two years old (Courtney Kleinebreil / SWNS)

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Courtney, Arkansas, US, continued breastfeeding Brooks until he was almost two and says she hasn't noticed any difference in the twins.

The part-time hair stylist said: "People always think I must have a favourite but it felt right to carry on breastfeeding Brooks. I started breastfeeding 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 breastfeed 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 breastfeeding Brooks."

Sutton didn't want to go back to breastfeeding after getting used to the bottle (Courtney Kleinebreil / SWNS)

The twins are both hitting their milestones (Courtney Kleinebreil / SWNS)

According to Courtney, doctors monitored Sutton for a while and advised her to feed her formula after she was still small for her age at three months old.

Courtney recalled: "As soon as she had the bottle that was it, she wasn't coming back to me. She got really chunky and healthy from there. I still tried to feed them at the same time."

Sutton became "really chunky and healthy" after being bottle fed (Courtney Kleinebreil / SWNS)

Although Courtney felt sad that she could no longer breastfeed Sutton, she didn't feel any guilt about it, and doesn't believe there should be any, remarking, "You don't have to validate parenting - it's what works for you".

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