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Why "Normal" Labels Are Dangerous ⚠️ | Lily's Story

5 May 2026 · 1 min

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In this personal narrative, Hallie Bulkin recounts the severe breastfeeding difficulties she faced with her newborn daughter Lily from day one. Lily struggled to latch, leading to painful nursing for Hallie and significant weight loss for the baby, prompting an urgent pediatrician visit. Despite being told that such issues were "normal," Hallie was advised to supplement with formula. She first tried ready‑to‑feed Similac, which caused Lily intense pain and distress, and then switched to Gerber Good Start, which also failed to soothe the infant. Rejecting further formula use, Hallie resolved to make breastfeeding work despite minimal support. She adopted an intensive pumping and triple‑feeding regimen—simultaneously nursing on one breast while pumping on the other—maintaining a constant milk supply. Over time Lily began accepting a bottle, but only when Hallie herself fed her. The story highlights the emotional toll, the stigma of labeling such struggles as normal, and the determination required to overcome systemic gaps in lactation support.

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We had breastfeeding challenges from day one, okay? She struggled to latch. I was in a lot of pain with nursing. Hospital lactation came. I even went to an IBCLC at my pediatrician's office. Everyone told me it was normal. It was not, because she dropped a significant amount of weight while we were still in the hospital, and we had to go straight to the pediatrician the day we got home for a weight check. And they told me to supplement with formula until my milk came in. Here's the kicker: my milk was in, but I didn't know, and Lily just really was not able to latch or suck effectively. So I gave her one bottle of the ready-to-feed Similac that night, which turned into what feels like one of the worst nights of my life. She was screaming in pain. I could barely move from birth. We called the pediatrician in the morning and they're like, oh, let's try Gerber Good Start because that has just one milk protein and the Similac has three. But I was done. I was like, nope, the formula is not working for me. I'm going to figure out how to pump and feed her if I have to and breastfeed her. And I just was not willing to feed her more of something that had her up screaming for like 3 hours straight. It was exhausting and very sad. So I donated the formula and I decided we're going to make breastfeeding work because I'm stubborn and I really didn't have a lot of support. And that was just the decision I made. So I pumped and I nursed and I pumped again and triple feeding and all that fun stuff, right? The milk bar was always open. She would feed on one side while I pumped on the other. Like, it just was constant. Eventually she accepted the bottle, but only for me.