I was getting ready to pump today and my boss (male) caught me and said, "Before you go....do business...I need you to (blah blah blah)"
This is always how he describes pumping! Lol. Is "pump" a dirty word?
Also I use a male coworkers office that he rarely uses. I was sorting my milk right after a pump and had the door open already and he saw my milk sitting out and hesitated to come in. Lol!
hostess / wonderful watermelon / 39513 posts
I think my coworkers were ok with it. We still had a HR department when I started pumping at work for LO 1 so they gave my team a heads up.
watermelon / 14467 posts
The guys are a little skeeved out about it, but the ladies seem to be fine. I try not to be awkward, but sometimes it is when someone rattles the doorknob (I pump in a storage closet).
cherry / 204 posts
It was awkward at first. I was in the field with a small team of younger professionals and every time I got up to pump one of the males would chant "pump pump pump PUMP IT UP!!" I was mortified the first time but it made the situation less awkward for all in a strange way:)
papaya / 10343 posts
@MrsH: thats amazing lol.
I don't have a job right now but it's sort of funny to me that it would be awkward. I mean if you did it in the cafeteria, sure. But like... its not a secret that women pump to feed their babies!
GOLD / coconut / 8266 posts
@MrsH: haha, I so wanted to do that but I was worried about what students might think. So I made a "Mrs. So and So is busy in the office. Please come back later" boring sign.
I don't think anyone was awkward about pumping but maybe I just didn't notice it.
persimmon / 1420 posts
Nope. My male co-worker would harrass me all the time- in a good-natured way, though. He'd call me, and ask, "Whatcha doin'?" in a sing-song voice when he knew I was pumping, or ask if it was time for "squishy squishy "... stuff like that. That was our relationship, though, and I was OK with it.
pomegranate / 3791 posts
I worked with all guys and none of them had kids, so it was kind of awkward at first. The joking non-awkward way I found of saying it was, "I have to go feed the baby now." Sometimes there would be a brief look of confusion and then one of realization, haha.
eggplant / 11716 posts
I work with almost all women, and some of them unintentionally made it awkward. They just asked questions about it constantly--was I still doing it, when was I going to stop, wasn't I tired of it. I'm only the second teacher in the last 6 years to attempt pumping at work---everyone else switched to formula after mat leave (or used it from the beginning). So they all loooovvvveeed to talk about it and bring it up.
I mean, I'm pretty laid back so it didn't bother me too much but some women brought it up so often. Just get over it already.
pomegranate / 3231 posts
I work with a bunch of people who are younger than me. Most of them are single and childless right now. Thankfully, my boss has a daughter who is 1.5 years older than my son and who was EBF for a year. So, he has zero issues talking about it. About half of our office reports to me, so I just act like it's NBD and expect everyone else to act accordingly. I'm sure some of them think it's weird but I was my company's first pregnant employee and I feel like it's important to set the precedent that this is a normal thing to do.
clementine / 911 posts
I have a coworker who just finished pumping for her one year old. All the guys in our office have kids, so they're aware of the process, but they still didn't discuss it outright. Among the ladies, it wasn't a big deal.
pomelo / 5258 posts
People in my office were desparate to see inside the 'mothers' lounge'. They were imagining something really luxurious. Someone asked me for the key so they could take a nap. They thought it had a bed. WTH? It's just an office with a fridge. One woman was so disappointed when I finally gave her a peek inside that she decorated it with fake flowers.
It did get weird really weird when they switched rooms on me at 8 months pp. Everyone assumed I was done pumping and started talking about how awkward it had been. I was in the former pumping room waiting for a meeting to start and a VP walked by and asked the room where the cow went and moo'ed. Clearly he didn't realize I was that cow. So awkward since everyone else in the meeting that knew I was 'the cow'. Jack ass.
papaya / 10570 posts
One of my team goes off on maternity leave in a few weeks and when I did her maternity risk assessment I talked to her about her requirements should she decide to pump on return to work. When I discussed said requirements with my (male - but has a young child) manager afterwards, he was so embarrassed!! He even said that he hates asking that question and usually just rushes through it because, well, it can always be discussed when she returns to work if she really needs to raise it. I was like: umm, it's a really important conversation to have because it's likely to be one of the main things she worries about on the run up to coming back!!! Some people are so clueless!!!
cherry / 241 posts
Nah, not awkward! I work with mostly women and they are all super supportive. The only person who is awkward is my assistant (who works in my office). She is young and really sheltered and gets awkward almost every time I have to ask her to leave so I can pump. I think I probably talk more about it just bc I know it makes her uncomfortable. Haha!! 
honeydew / 7091 posts
I guess it was kind of awkward. 90% men (who all have their own children, so they know what's going on). It was an open office so I'd have to walk by everyone with my pumping bag several times a day. One time my old manager happened to be on my floor and caught me as I was walking to pump. He saw my bag which I guess looks semi-professionalish and asked me if I was headed out to a meeting. I said 'Uh, no...'. He kept on asking questions! Lunch? Interview? Going home? I just kept saying no and finally had to tell him I was on my way to go pump. The look on his face was awesome! That was pretty awkward... haha
wonderful pomelo / 30692 posts
hahaha, the guys are awkward, but I try to be nice and never actually say that I'm pumping! I always just say "I'm going to be in the Mother's Room during that time" or something like that, haha.
grapefruit / 4418 posts
Personally, I'm not a fan of the word pump or having my coworkers thinking about me milking myself, lol - especially the males! I was so happy I managed to ask my boss about taking pump breaks and using empty offices to do it in, without ever saying the word pump lol.
My female coworkers don't care, they ask me how it's going all the time (they've all had kids). The males don't even notice. I sort milk in the room where I pump and stick everything in a cooler bag that goes in the fridge so no one ever sees anything!
I'm the first pregnant woman (and consequently pumping woman) in the office, so I'm trying to forge the path for the other young ladies in the office and feel less awkward about it!
pomegranate / 3113 posts
Not usually, but my boss LOVES to talk and can talk take up literally hours of my time talking about random subjects. More than once, he's caught me just as I was about to pump and I haven't been able to deflect...so I've had to interrupt him after awhile and say "can we finish this a little later? I REALLY have to pump soon." He then gets all apologetic. It's not awful but just sort of awkward.
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