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She didn't wait for someone
else to solve it.
She built it herself.
TiltMilk was born from four years of sleepless nights, failed prototypes, and an unshakeable belief that nursing moms deserve better than "just deal with it."
The advice was always
"just lean forward a little."
If you've ever pumped breast milk, you know the position. Hunched forward, shoulders tight, one hand holding flanges, the other trying to scroll your phone or drink your coffee before it goes cold. Again.
The lactation consultants said it. The forums said it. The packaging said it. Lean forward — gravity helps with let-down. And they were right. But nobody gave moms a way to actually stay there comfortably for 20 minutes, three times a day, while also trying to live their life.
The equipment existed. The knowledge existed. The support didn't.
Hi, I'm Shaolin —
and I was that mom.
I remember the exact session. My second child, three weeks old. 2am. I was hunched over the pump in the dark, back aching, trying not to wake anyone up, wondering how I was supposed to do this for another year. And I thought — there has to be something. A pillow. A brace. Anything. There wasn't.
So I started sketching. At first just to get the idea out of my head. Then I started building — foam, cardboard, zip ties, whatever I had. My husband thought I'd lost it. My kids thought I was making a toy. But every iteration got a little better, and every mom who tried it said the same thing: "Why doesn't this already exist?"
Four years, dozens of prototypes, real testing with real moms, and a patent application later — TiltMilk is ready. And I need the community of moms who get it to help me bring it to life.
"I didn't build this to start a company. I built it because I was exhausted, I was in pain, and I refused to believe that was just the way it had to be."— Shaolin Walker, Founder of TiltMilk
From a sketch on a napkin
to a working prototype.
The problem nobody was talking about
Shaolin began listening — really listening — to moms in her circle. In Facebook groups, lactation forums, and late-night texts with friends. The same complaint came up over and over: pumping was physically exhausting in a way nobody prepared you for. Back pain. Neck pain. Shoulder tension. And absolutely no products addressing any of it. She started documenting everything, filling notebooks with the problem before she ever drew a single solution.
Dozens of ideas. Most of them wrong.
The dining room table became a workshop. Shaolin sketched over 40 different concepts — pillows, frames, harnesses, wedges. She built crude prototypes out of foam insulation and garden wire. She tested them herself. She handed them to friends. Most were laughed at. A few had something. One, in particular, had the right angle. That's when she knew she was onto something real.
Real moms. Real feedback. Real iteration.
Shaolin began recruiting nursing moms to test each version. The feedback was brutally honest and incredibly valuable. Too wide. Too narrow. Slips on leather sofas. Doesn't work with a Spectra. Every complaint became a design improvement. By the end of this phase, the core mechanism — the forward lean support system — was validated. The patent application was filed.
A working prototype. Almost ready.
TiltMilk now has a fully functional prototype that moms are using and loving. The design is refined. The comfort benefits are proven. What's left is manufacturing — and that takes funding. The Kickstarter campaign will cover the production run, safety testing, and first shipments. This is the final step between a great idea and a product in the hands of every nursing mom who needs it.
In her own words
Watch Shaolin tell the story of why she spent four years building something the world had never seen.
Every nursing mom deserves
comfort, not just coping.
We believe the nursing experience shouldn't be defined by pain, awkward positions, or equipment designed without real moms in mind. Shaolin built TiltMilk to change that — and she needs a community behind her to make it happen.