Dressed in her oldest brother Maddox’s cast-off army clothing, three-year-old Shiloh Jolie-Pitt last week cut a lonely figure in the days before Christmas as the blended family were bundled home after another tantrum-plagued day out in LA.

Looking longingly at her mother Angelina Jolie, who appeared absorbed in the daily drama of juggling her celebrity lifestyle with her six children – Maddox, 8, Pax, 5, Zahara, 4 and twins Knox and Vivienne, 16 months, as well as Shiloh – the little girl comforted herself with her brother’s old soccer boots, which have become her security blanket.

The child who author Ian Halperin says was recently overheard calling her nanny “Mommy”, and who was once described by Ange as the “outcast” in the family due to her blonde hair and blue eyes, might soon be struggling to maintain what limited time she does have with her mum.

In a move that is set to stretch her even further, Angelina is now in the process of adopting a seventh child. After a humanitarian visit to Syria last month, the actress has reportedly lodged papers to adopt a three-year-old Iraqi refugee girl.

A spokesperson for the US Immigration and Naturalisation Service in Washington confirmed to UK newspaper The Sun that “only [Angelina’s] name was on the papers”, amid growing reports that Shiloh’s father, Brad Pitt, has had enough of Angelina’s obsession with building a huge family.

“Brad has made it clear that six children are more than he can handle,” a source close to the couple told the paper.

And it seems the actor isn’t the only one who is showing signs of disquiet. Shiloh, the couple’s first biological child, has become increasingly unsettled as she fights to assert her place in the family.

“I felt so much more for Madd, Zahara and Pax because they were survivors,” Angelina once famously said. “Shiloh seemed so privileged from the moment she was born.”