When Bad Things Happen to Good People
One of my most embarrassing moments ever happened TODAY. I was running around on campus. First to the optimization class I'm auditing, then to three back-to-back meetings.
What this means is that I did not breastfeed or pump for five hours.
My last meeting dragged on and on. Halfway through I notice the man I'm meeting with is becoming distracted. I look down...and, to my horror, my right boob is leaking milk. It has leaked completely through the nipple shields, through my bra, through my tank top, and through my double-lined vest. The entire right front of my outfit is completely darkened with a growing, wet stain.
I am horrified. This has never happened to me before. And I never thought that the nipple shields wouldn't, well....shield.
I am doubly horrified because it happened in front of this particular man. In front of most of my colleagues, it would have become a running joke, or something that would immediately be laughed about. In front of the man who, upon learning that I was pregnant, told me that "academia would write me off" once I had the baby, it was completely, utterly horrifying. If I had to rank-order my preferences, he would be dead last on my list of people I work with whom I would want to witness this.
I think I may have said "Oh my god!" when I noticed the stain. Followed by his awkward response: "Uhhh...yeah. Why don't you go take care of that." Followed by my walking to the car with my purse covering my boobs, and arriving home like this:
Later, I napped with someone who does have an appreciation for leaky boobies:
What this means is that I did not breastfeed or pump for five hours.
My last meeting dragged on and on. Halfway through I notice the man I'm meeting with is becoming distracted. I look down...and, to my horror, my right boob is leaking milk. It has leaked completely through the nipple shields, through my bra, through my tank top, and through my double-lined vest. The entire right front of my outfit is completely darkened with a growing, wet stain.
I am horrified. This has never happened to me before. And I never thought that the nipple shields wouldn't, well....shield.
I am doubly horrified because it happened in front of this particular man. In front of most of my colleagues, it would have become a running joke, or something that would immediately be laughed about. In front of the man who, upon learning that I was pregnant, told me that "academia would write me off" once I had the baby, it was completely, utterly horrifying. If I had to rank-order my preferences, he would be dead last on my list of people I work with whom I would want to witness this.
I think I may have said "Oh my god!" when I noticed the stain. Followed by his awkward response: "Uhhh...yeah. Why don't you go take care of that." Followed by my walking to the car with my purse covering my boobs, and arriving home like this:
Later, I napped with someone who does have an appreciation for leaky boobies:
Leaky boobs and the like are part of life. That guy needs to learn to have a little sympathy that extends beyond his engorged head!! (I am being nice here and would much rather be a lot more profane.)
We, along with Erin's mom, had a good laugh at the picture though.
Posted by
Dave Suss |
October 9, 2008 at 10:32 AM