Etiquette

Julie has discovered that the lactation room at work possesses a unique set of unwritten rules that she has termed "lactation room etiquette."

In the lactation room, there are two stalls. This runs contrary to what I suspected, which was a prison-shower-like setup where you check your modesty at the door and pump on wooden stools in front of everyone. No, the stalls offer maximum privacy but obviously limit the number of lactaters to two at a time.

If you are occupying a stall and you hear someone walk in, it is customary to shout out approximately how long you'll be. Since Julie's company is one where every person is busy all the time, it can be disheartening to enter and hear "15 more minutes" or "I just got here, so 35-ish."

I asked her why she doesn't just pump out in the opening between the stalls. It's nothing that lactation room users haven't seen before. But Julie pooh-poohed my suggestion.

Then I asked why she doesn't just pump in her cubicle, which sits adjacent to a window and is quite large for a cube.

"People can look over the cube walls."

"Use your hooter hider."

She squinted her face into that cute "You're an imbecile" expression.

They do have windowless meeting rooms that they call enclaves, and Julie admitted she could pump in one of those, maybe with her back against the door.

Whatever she's doing is working so far; each day she comes home with tomorrow's ounces. I haven't yet had to dip into our freezer supply. Still, the inconveniences of pumping in an office remain. I think she should start a working mother's liberation movement and just pump wherever she happens to be, whenever she feels like it. Stick it to the man!