Thursday, October 25, 2007

Hot Topic

I want to touch on a hot topic of debate. I happen to work with a bunch of women at my place of employment. Unfortunately this can be a bad thing. Why you ask? Well, I will be the first to admit that women like to gossip or as some say "discuss" things going on in other co-workers lives. Alright, alright. I will get to the point.

First a little background on the issue at hand. When I had my son I chose to breastfeed. After my maternity leave was up and I had to go back to work I started pumping for my son. Well, I never knew that the women at my job would become so nasty about it. The majority of women at my job formula fed their children. Which is fine, it was their choice. I personally believe that "breast is best". The state in which I reside has laws that allow women to express milk at work for their children. I pumped twice a day at work for 10 months, until my son was 13 months old. I started getting the cold shoulder from the women at my job. I would here snide comments like "I think if you are going to work and have children you should be formula feeding", "I fed my kids formula and they turned out perfect", "Why doesn't she pump upstairs in the bathroom instead of in the excercise room, nobody uses the upstairs bathroom". And so on and so forth. Another gal at my work had a baby before me and she also pumped at work. We had to stick together. Our HR had to dig up the details of the law and make sure everything we were doing was legal and everything they were doing for us as an employer was legal. Once I stopped pumping the women acted like nothing ever happened, like we were best buds again. EXCUSE ME?? I don't think so.

It has been a few months now since I stopped pumping and the gal who had a baby before me just had another baby and she is breastfeeding again. She brought her precious baby to the office today and what do you know the baby got hungry while she was there. So she went into the room that we had used for pumping, which is the excercise room. And she fed her child. And the gossiping begins again. "She's coming back to work to do that again", "Why doesn't she use the bathroom upstairs, she's messin up my schedule in the excercise room". GET A GRIP. I just want to jump up and down and yell at these women that they don't have to be so selfish. And maybe they should go eat their lunch in the upstairs bathroom instead of at their desks. That's what it would be like to have to breastfeed/or pump in a bathroom.

I have nothing against women that want to formula feed, but there is no need to knock another mother for her choices in food for her child. We should be here to support one another and not have to feel alienated by our choices.

Dear Lord,
Please be with me Lord when I am at work and have to deal with such a hostile environment. I pray Lord for each and everyone one of those women that they would find it in their hearts to have some compassion for other people. Please help me to keep my cool and deal with these issues the right way. I love you, in Jesus name, Amen.

1 comment:

daisy said...

I'm going to steal and pass on a comment someone left for me once.

Standing and applauding here!

You go, girl! Say it!

Praying with you.