Angelina Jolie Says Nursing Twins ‘A Lot Harder Than It Looks’
 Evan Agostini/AP |
Despite the media frenzy surrounding their every move, Angelina Jolie says that within the sanctuary of her home with partner Brad Pitt ‘celebrity’ rarely intersects with family. "The only time it ever collides is if, you know, we’re trying to get ready for some event where we have to walk a carpet and somebody gets peed on, and figures, ‘Oh well, I guess we’ll be wearing that this evening,’" she tells GMTV. Not that she’s complaining! Rather, Angelina says, "we appreciate how much that keeps us focused on what’s important."
Thankful to be "really, truly oblivious" to the tabloid’s headlines, Angelina says that their six children — Maddox Chivan, 7, Pax Thien, turning 5 this month, Zahara Marley, 3 ½, Shiloh Nouvel, 2 and twins Knox Léon and Vivienne Marcheline, 4 months — keep the couple so busy that there is little time to worry about anything else. "We wake up, we have a giant family, we occupy each other, and we are quite private."
The interview was conducted during a one-night trip to London to promote her new film Changeling. Angelina reveals that the twins were the only Jolie-Pitt children to make the flight, and that they were weaned at three months. "[That was] about as much as I could do," she explains. "It’s very hard…very hard." To prepare herself for the challenge of breastfeeding twins, the 33-year-old actress says she studied books which taught her positioning techniques, like the double football hold.
"You think, ‘Ah, if anybody can do that, I can do that.’ But it’s a lot harder than it looks in the books. I did that a few times, but [mostly] I would take turns. It just takes a long time."
Click ‘more’ to read about what made Angelina a "giddy, happy mom."
The dark subject matter of Changeling, in which Angelina plays a mom whose son disappears, made it "a horrible film to shoot," she says. As she recently confirmed, it was during that shoot that she became pregnant with the twins; she tells GMTV that the couple started trying to conceive at the beginning of filming and by the time the mental institution scenes were shot at the film’s conclusion, she was indeed pregnant. While confronting the emotions surrounding the loss of a child was difficult, Angelina says that it had a surprising effect on her once the cameras stopped rolling. "I was so happy at the end of every day, and at every lunch because my kids would come see me," she says. "I was so happy I knew where they were, I knew they were safe, and I was so grateful for that."
"Instead of coming home with this weight on my shoulder, I was a giddy, happy mom. And I still am. I think I learned that lesson from the film. I’m so grateful I know where my children are."
As she has hinted at previously, Angelina says that she intends to lessen her workload — but she was quick to point out that "nobody should ever say ‘I’m retiring.’" Adding "I’m not as dramatic as that," Angelina instead "will just work every once in a while." All that time spent out of the public eye won’t be spent planning a wedding, however! She admits that marriage is not overly important to the couple, who "jumped into being a family first."
"That just seems like the biggest commitment you could possibly make anyway. So, it doesn’t feel like anything is lacking."
Changeling is in theaters now.
Source: GMTV
- Posted on Nov 18, 08 at 1:00PM
- Permalink
- 46 Comments
November 18th, 2008 at 1:24 pm
I really like Angelina and admire her as an actress and UN ambassador. That said, I would classify the Jolie-Pitts as being anything but “quite private.” From the breastfeeding photoshoots, to timelines on when Brad and Angelina first fell in love I almost feel like there’s pretty much no subject that’s truly off limits for Angelina in her interviews. I can appreciate the fact that she is an open individual, but I do think it’s a bit erroneous for her to claim this private lifestyle when that’s just not how she is currently operating–especially with the press, IMO.
The first celebrity who comes to mind if there was ever a discussion about a highly famous person who truly lived a private lifestyle with their kids (and doesn’t feed into the curiosity, whether accidentally or on purpose) would be Johnny Depp.
November 18th, 2008 at 1:29 pm
As I watched the Changeling, I was torn between Angelina Jolie’s character’s emotions & the emotions I knew Jolie must have been feeling as she was being filmed. It must have been quite challenging reconciling the fact that the movie is based in truth, knowing the horrendous pain that the actual mother must have been going through and, as Jolie stated above, feeling her own sense of simple joy.
November 18th, 2008 at 1:40 pm
Angelina is Terrific! She is a great mom,a beautiful humanitarian and a terrific actress. To be able to balance her 6 children and 2 of them being babies with her career she makes it look so easy. Keep up the great work. I am so very happy for Angelina and Brad. They have such a cute family. You really know whats important to them. Happy Holidays to everybody.
November 18th, 2008 at 2:02 pm
Erica I guess by being private, she means they don’t do the hollywood event circuit thing. They rarely even go out to dinner, parties, other premeires etc. You only get an influx of them when they are promoting their movies, othe than that, they do tend to keep a low profile.
November 18th, 2008 at 2:20 pm
I bet it is really difficult. I had a hard time with just one baby. Good for her for getting to three months.
November 18th, 2008 at 3:02 pm
I nursed my twins for the same length of time. It really IS more difficult than I would have ever dreamnt. Good for her for trying.
November 18th, 2008 at 3:44 pm
I personally can’t stand angelina jolie talking constantly about her children. they are all beautiful, but i mean i really don’t need to know all about how long she’s breastfed and if she did both at one time. for her children’s sake, i think it would be nice for them to know that they won’t have a mom discussing their every movement. like when brad says on oprah how pax peed on the time out chair.. i’m sure he won’t appreciate that when he’s seven and even less when he’s a teenager!
November 18th, 2008 at 3:52 pm
I have to disagree with her last statement about marriage being the biggest commitment to somebody. As shown with both of their previous marriages, you can get divorced and never have to speak to that person again. But when you have children with somebody, you are in that person’s life for as long as that child is alive. You have a partnership to both raise the child(ren) the best that you can. That was a really strange comment to make considering that they’re raising six children together.
Either way, I can’t wait to see what these kids will be like as teenagers and adults!
November 18th, 2008 at 3:55 pm
Uh Erica….
Johnny Depp took a Breastfeeding photo of the mother of his children (they are not married). So there goes your theory!
Angelina is rarely seen in paparazzi photos, she wasn’t seen for FOUR months after the twins and she there are LOTS of other celebs that talk about their kids and have done photo shoots.
November 18th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
Erika
Johnny Depp took a breastfeeding photo of Vanessa and their son…
What do you say to that????
Maybe NSFW
http://i33.tinypic.com/qs5m3k.jpg
November 18th, 2008 at 4:31 pm
Me, she meant that having children was the biggest commitment one could make. That’s why they don’t feel the need to get married: they already made the ultimate commitment.
November 18th, 2008 at 4:32 pm
Maybe it is harder than it looks, but I’d like to see how it looks before I say for sure.
November 18th, 2008 at 5:34 pm
To be fair, Me, Angie and her first husband Johnny Lee Miller are still very close. The reason they divorced was because they realised they were better off friends than husband and wife.
November 18th, 2008 at 5:35 pm
Does this mean she stopped nursing them at 3 months old?
I’m not judging her at all, and I’m not a Mom but I thought people usually breastfeed longer.
Maybe it’s because they’re twins and its harder, but I’ve heard it has many advantages for the kids.
November 18th, 2008 at 5:57 pm
I’m glad that Angelina admitted how difficult it is to breastfeed twins. I gave birth to twins boys last year and could only breastfed them two months. That has always made me feel guilty because other moms do it for a longer period of time. It just makes me feel so much better that I was not the only one who could not keep up with two little ones at once.
November 18th, 2008 at 6:00 pm
Erica…
Johnny Depp took a photo of Vanessa breastfeeding their son.
So is it only okay when they do it?
November 18th, 2008 at 6:20 pm
And, Em, that photo of Vanessa breastfeeding showed WAY more than Angelina’s picture. Vanessa was totally naked and it was obvious. Plus, in Europe, Johnny and Vanessa are not as “private” as they may appear to be to fans in America. Vanessa is a major star in France and the rest of Europe while nobody knows her here.
November 18th, 2008 at 6:33 pm
Actually the Johnny Depp/Vanessa Paradis photos were with their daughter Lily Rose, when she was a baby
I like how Angelina Jolie is so honest. Even if she’s not breast feeding anymore, I’m sure she’s still pumping and giving the babies breast milk with the bottle.
November 18th, 2008 at 6:38 pm
I breastfed my twins(boy girl) until the girl was 9 months(started walking and weaned herself) and my son was 11 months and weaned himself as well.
I had previously breastfed my other two children and nothing can really prepare you for feeding twins. Getting them on the same schedule REALLY was a life saver for me. All babies/mommies/circumstances are so different its hard sometimes to gauge when breastfeeding will come to a stop. Those babies benefited greatly even for the three months they fed. Good on Angie for going that far!
November 18th, 2008 at 6:43 pm
One can’t help but wonder that all this divulging of private matters e.g. the conception of the twins may be partially to spite Jennifer Aniston especially considering the recent comment Jennifer made about Angelina’s boasting about loving spending time with Brad whilst he was still married to her.
That’s all I’ll say, but something about this woman rubs me the wrong way..
November 18th, 2008 at 6:50 pm
Artemis, breastfeeding is recommended for a minimum of 6 months, but sometimes it can be insanely hard to master for mum and bub (even though you’d think it would be the most natural and instinctual thing in the world). Most mums I know, including myself, feel breastfeeding was much harder and more painful than the birth itself in the beginning! Some mums can get past the problems and for others it just doesn’t work or is too taxing. I think Angelina is an absolute champ for lasting 3 months. I had so much trouble breastfeeding my son, and had to do that football hold because my nipples were so torn up… I can’t even imagine the logistics of doing it with two. I am due with twins in 10 weeks and hope it works out for us but am realistic that they will probably end up on bottles (especially as I will also have a 13 month old to look after).
November 18th, 2008 at 6:50 pm
Artemis yes, that’s what she meant. Breastfeeding is healthiest for the baby, but it’s not always the best option for the family. I imagine that breastfeeding twins is very difficult, especially with 4 other small children to look after. I’m a public health practitioner so I’m a fan of breastfeeding and plan to breastfeed my baby when s/he is born in a few months, but in the end I think the best option for a baby is whatever works best for him/her and the family. For some that’s breastfeeding for just a few months, for some that’s formula from the start.
November 18th, 2008 at 6:57 pm
I was also going to comment that Johnny Depp published very revealing photos of his family with their baby years ago. Vanessa’s photo of her breastfeeding shows everything. Jolie’s was much more discrete. Not that there is anything wrong with either photo.
But Depp’s photos are also very beautiful just like the Jolie Pitt ones.
November 18th, 2008 at 7:31 pm
I’m grateful that she advocates breastfeeding – its always nice when celebrities set a good example.
I breastfed twins for 10 months. It was a bit harder than a single, but once you get the position down and feed both of them at the same time its not a big deal. It seems she never figured out how to do it at the same time. If any future moms of twins read this – you use the football hold with one on each side. The twin EZ2Nurse pillow is essential.
If I had to feed mine one at a time, I wouldn’t have made it more than 3 months either.
November 18th, 2008 at 8:32 pm
When my daughter was a newborn, I felt like a 24 hour cow, I was nursing all day! I can’t imagine having two to deal with! I’m impressed when twin mommies nurse.
Sadie – wow, you came very close to having Irish, um, triplets.
November 18th, 2008 at 10:47 pm
Just a quick comment here, and hoping this doesn’t turn into a pro-breastfeeding riff-raff. It is quite possible considering how long Angelina breastfed Shiloh that while she isn’t actually breastfeeding the twins at the breast, she could very well be pumping breast milk and feeding that to them by bottle. When Angelina talked about weaning she probably meant weaning them from the breast nipple, not breast milk in its entirety.
November 18th, 2008 at 11:52 pm
Haha Emily, you’re right – and believe me, these Irish triplets were highly unplanned!!!
It actually brings me much comfort to know that Brad and Angelina may be much better looking and have much bigger bank accounts than us, but hey, they still deal with exhaustion and chaos and failure to master football holds like all the other mere mortals out there!!
November 19th, 2008 at 12:06 am
Allison- ITA! If it weren’t for the cute little baby fingers sticking up above Angie’s nightgown in that picture, you wouldn’t know she was breastfeeding in that picture!
November 19th, 2008 at 1:23 am
She’s a champ for daring to breastfeed twins at all! LOL
I do wish celebrities took marriage more seriously. YES, they can end in divorce 2 days later-but they certainly don’t have to. There are many single mothers who will tell you just how lacking that “bond” was with the boyfriend-turned baby’s daddy.
I think people have become fearful of marriage and settled for being baby’s mamas. Instead of lowering the standards for relationship potential, we should put more thought into why marriages aren’t working out-and attempt to change that.
November 19th, 2008 at 12:10 pm
I very much disagree with many who suggest that legal status decides a relationship between two people who are obviously committed to each other and family.
Really, is a family not one if the legal status isnt there? and then all of a sudden they are if they go to a court?
I wish Angie would just tell people that yes, they’re married. One piece of paper should not take away what is apparent, and that is they are a family.
Breastfeeding can be fickle. One kid latches on no problem. Your nipples don’t hurt, you don’t ever have much discomfort, and then the next baby is like having a bear trap clamped on a raw, perpetually sore and tender nip. Thanks God for pumps lol.
November 19th, 2008 at 1:11 pm
i just had to comment on the “baby mamas” comment which i found very inappropriate.
November 19th, 2008 at 2:28 pm
I’m sad they had to wean at that age, but I’m so happy and proud that she breastfed them at all and even moreso that she made it as long as she did.
She did everything right and gave it her all and for that, no one can say anything but positive things about her and how she feeds her kids.
November 19th, 2008 at 6:13 pm
DLR I think Angie only breastfed Shiloh for 3 months as well. She like Sadie mentioned said it was much harder than the birth. Breastfeeding is very different for all women some go through it very smoothly and others have more problems. I think it is great she gave it a shot for all three babies.
November 19th, 2008 at 7:20 pm
I think she actually breast fed Shiloh for almost a year. There was speculation that she had only fed for 3 months, but I think in an interview Angelina Jolie had stated it was closer to a year, or more than 3 months.
I remember she did some interview a few months after her mother had passed, and there were comments about her being too thin, and Angelina had said “It’s been a tough year, with my mothers passing, and I just recently stopped breast feeding.”
November 20th, 2008 at 12:20 am
Mia- You are right. Angie never said that she only breastfed Shiloh for three months. The “interview” in which she said that turned out to have been completley fabricated by whatever tabloid printed it. CBB even posted a retraction (something they rarely ever do) when they found that out!
MariaM2- ITA! I also want to point out to m-dot and anyone else who shares her views that Angie and Brad have each gone through at least one marriage. Therefore, they know what it’s like to be married. Therefore, I doubt they’re “afraid” of marriage.
In fact, I remember hearing at least one of them saying that they’ve both been through marriage before, and they don’t feel they need to go through it again (I think it was Brad who said that, but I’m not sure).
In otherwords, it sounds like they take a “If it isn’t broken, don’t fix it!” attitude towards marriage.
November 20th, 2008 at 12:23 am
I also want to add that we don’t know people’s reasons for choosing not to get married. Some people have very legitmite reasons for making that choice, and I don’t think we should judge.
For example, my brother’s girlfriend has watched her mother experience at least three failed marriages. Therefore, it’s completely understandable that she’s a little wary of marriage!
My point is that some people might actually be a little afraid of marriage…But for very good reasons!
November 20th, 2008 at 12:42 pm
“we should put more thought into why marriages aren’t working out-and attempt to change that. “
Very well said, m-dot!
November 20th, 2008 at 9:25 pm
Well there was actually a bit of a debate here on CBB as to the truth of the article and no one could prove it to be false because Angie said “… and I stopped breastfeeding…” at the press conference not “just stopped” so no one knows exactly how long she did it for. I actually believe the article to be true because the comments sound like something Angie would say.
November 21st, 2008 at 12:01 am
MerryCherry- Actually, she DID say that she had “just finished breastfeeding”. A lot of media outlets just chose to lesve out the “Just” part for some reason.
Unfourtnately, the media tends to do that a lot. For example, when Angie adopted Pax she said that “I will stay home to help Pax adjust. I’m not working right now.”. Most media outlets left out the “I’m not working right now” part. Similarly, when Brad was asked about having a fifth child last Fall, he said “Yes, we’re ready. We’re just getting started”. Most media outlets didn’t print the “Just getting started” part.
Anyway, if you look at that article here on CBB (type “Angie weight loss” or something in the search box), you will see that she said, “I just finished breastfeeding”. CBB was one of the few media outlets that left her comment intact.
Oh, and here are the reasons I believe that interview was false:
1. None of the legimite media outlets printed it.
and
2. At the time, the tabs seemed to want to stop at nothing to “prove” that Angie didn’t love Shiloh. I could very easily see them making up an interview like that as “proof” of that.
November 21st, 2008 at 12:04 am
Oh, and I just looked through the CBB archives, and that “interview” was in OK. While OK does sometimes get great exclusives (e.g. the first baby pictures of Levi McConaughey, Stella McDermott, Honor Warren, and Maddie Aldridge-Jamie Lynn’s baby), they are wrong about stuff more often than they are right.
For example, they printed crazy lies about Angie during her pregnancy with Knox and Viv that I lost count!
November 21st, 2008 at 4:27 am
Whoops! I meant to say “For example, they printed crazy lies about Angie during her pregnancy with Knox and Viv so MANY TIMES that I lost count!”
November 21st, 2008 at 6:44 pm
CelebBabyLover,
Why would the interview be proof that Angie did not “love” Shiloh because she only did it for three months. All she said is that she had a hard time doing it, just like she said in this interview here about the twins. It’s unfortunate that so many people see breastfeeding as a sign of love and affection. I think that is the reason so many people want to believe she did it for a year as to say “She breastfed Shiloh for a year of course she loves her”.
I Googled the interview she did about her weightloss and breastfeeding and none of the results I got back contained the word “just” they all said “I finished breastfeeding” Even US weekly (the source CBB used) did not have the word “just” in their quote on their website.
I also know as a former journalism major that you cannot take a word out of a quote without using an ellipsis (…) and use it as a direct quote because then it wouldn’t be a direct quote. Using the (…) lets the reader know that somehing was taken out of the direct quote. You can however take out a sentence from a paragraph of a quote as you showed above and use it as a direct quote because it was a complete phrase. Writers do this to by pass using long quotes. They take sentences out that they don’t feel are needed or only use sentences from the quote they like.
A good question however is why would every media outlet take one word of a direct quote?
Search Angelina Jolie breastfeeding on CBB and when the link for the story about her weightless comes up click on the US Weekly link that CBB uses.
November 21st, 2008 at 11:45 pm
MerryCherry- If Angie actually did that interview, then why didn’t any of the legimite media outlets post it (as they always do with her other interviews)?
November 22nd, 2008 at 3:27 pm
I don’t know if the interview was real or fake but that does sound like something Angie would say in my opinion. I do however know that she never said “just” in her interview about her weightloss and breastfeeding. So she may have stopped at 3 months or 11 months, we don’t know.
November 23rd, 2008 at 1:19 am
Thank you celebrities for helping shine the spotlight on the greatness of breastfeeding. Breastfeeding saves lives and it is the “green” thing to do! I hope there are more celebs out there who will promote breastfeeding, willing to be photographed, and such! I hope all new moms become breastfeeding divas!
http://www.breastfeedingdivas.com
Amanda
November 23rd, 2008 at 1:24 am
I hope more celebs shine the spotlight on the greatness of breastfeeding and its benefits. Angelina and Selma are definately Breastfeeding Divas!