A parent of twins has left Reddit readers divided with her unique way for telling her baby boys apart.
In a Reddit post titled "AITA for medically tattooing my child under the recommendation of a doctor," one mum revealed she'd gotten one of her babies tattooed so that others could tell them apart.
Though the mum's admission has left people divided, there is a medical reason for her wanting to do so.
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The mum of two and her husband had tried for five years to get pregnant before going down the IVF route. After giving birth to fraternal twin boys, Jack and Adam (not their real names), the mum found out that Jack had a condition which meant he would need an injection once a week.
She explains: "Now they may be fraternal but they look identical. I'll be honest my husband and I even mix them up sometimes. Everyone does."
However, when her mother-in-law was looking after the twins one day, she gave the injection to the wrong baby by mistake and had to ring for an ambulance.
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Though Adam wasn't in any danger, his mum explains, it shook up her mother-in-law, who then refused to babysit.
"The worry of mixing up the kids was a valid concern," the mum adds. "[The] Doctor recommended a medical tattoo. Explained they tattoo a freckle, no bigger than the end of a pencil eraser, on an area of skin that's easily seen while the child is under mild sedation similar to dental offices.
"Because of the area it usually fades in 2-3yrs but by then they should have developed more personal features and may not need it redone. So after discussion with my husband we did it.
"He has a 2mm brown freckle on his earlobe. From entering the office to leaving it took 30 minutes. Never felt a thing."
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She then revealed how her mother-in-law "lost her sh*t" when she found out the baby had been tattooed and is still angry about it, despite not being able to find the tattoo herself.
"Once I explain to others and they fail to find it they understand but they still think I went too far in tattooing my child and altering their body.
"I believe I took the necessary precautions recommended by the doctor and the tattoo will fade with sun exposure and as he grows. By the time he's five it probably won't even be visible or it'll just look like a faded freckle," she adds.
Although some have questioned the mum's approach, most people have been supportive.
One Reddit user posted: "NTA at all, it's literally a fake freckle. It's not like you gave him a full sleeve of pin up girls and muscle cars."
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Another wrote: "You took the recommendation from a medical professional and made the decision with your spouse for the safety of your child. Absolutely nothing wrong with that, especially for something so small."
Meanwhile, a third user, who is an identical twin herself, posted that a similar thing had happened to her as a child.
"A similar thing happened to us when we were really young, about four - I was the one who got her penicillin and nearly died," the user wrote. "I WISH someone had tattooed my ear."
The mum was voted 'not the A-hole' on Reddit.
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