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That's hilarious BUT I would also be so peeved!! I struggled with expressing and know how valuable 200mls is!! The only thing that would keep me grounded though was knowing that men (most men anyway) just don't understand the value of EBM so there wouldn't be much point getting upset with them.
ETA: just read some of the other posts and while I agree with a lot of what has been said, I'm staying out of the serious side to this thread. :hide:
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Perfect!
Perhaps the mature way of handling this would be to simply talk to the guys involved about how you are feeling. First suss out what happened and then let them know how it made you feel. I would think that would earn you a whole lot more respect in a workplace than just making complaints about harrassment.
Lol... the bull semen made me giggle!
I did speak to the guys, and I did make it clear that I was displeased and also told them that I didn't know what I was going to feed my baby now that her milk had been taken. They looked a bit sheepish and stared at their feet.
No one directly claimed responsibility for taking the milk and it was 'suggested' that it had been used for coffee, but no one confirmed that this is what had happened. There was a lot of giggling going on. No one piped up and said they had done anything else with the milk either, such as cleaned out the fridge.
I did consider that someone might be annoyed at me putting my 'yukky' BM in the fridge and tipped it out, this is why I placed it on the bottom shelf, right at the back and away from any food. But if you thought it was gross, you wouldn't tip it out and clean the bottle would you? You might just throw the whole thing out and walk away, but I can't imagine a bloke who thought it was gross handling the milk?
I don't think I want to take the matter any further. I know it might seem cowardly, but having worked for this organisation for 12 years I really do believe that it is in my own best interests on this occasion to let the matter rest. I am confident that the blokes who did waste my milk (one way or another) did not intend to harass or upset me. If the intention had been cruel I would come out fighting, but they did something stupid, I made my displeasure clear and I am pretty confident they wouldn't do it again. I can't get the milk back and the only outcome I would want from any action would be the confidence that the blokes realise it was a dumb thing to do and they won't do it again, to me or any other female.
Thank you all for your responses. The discussion itself is really interesting!
I have been reading this on the way to work (on the train) and I agree with alot of what op have said, however I would probably take the exact stance you are (as your above post). If it were to happen again, then I would make a point of reporting it via the appropriate avenues. From what you have posted, I agree I don't think it was a malice act directed at yourself, more a practical joke to other employees that wasn't well thought out / didn't realise the consequence of their actions.
I agree, the discussion is great. I hope they never, ever do anything like that again :hug:
I personally would be really annoyed they wasted my Bm.
on the other hand its a little funny about the joke they played but unfort at your expense for not having that milk
I guess there is a chance that someone thought it might have been off and chucked it because of the way EBM can separate in the fridge and look a bit yellow. That was my first thoughts after sharing a fridge in a busy workplace. Someone will have a brain snap every few weeks and throw all the old food out.
But then the sheepish looks though suggest otherwise. What a shame that these immature prats caused inconvenience for you and your baby :hug:
i think u should sit the culprits down for an hour and strap a breast pump to them, then throw out their lunches to teach them a lesson.
inconsiderate so and so's. i'd be devastated!
Yeah, I agree.. Maybe label for next time and buy a cooler bag or something so that there is no chance of the milk being touched. Otherwise, do you have a freezer at work you could use?:
Yeah that!:
Your workmates sound like real douche-bags!! I'd be making one hell of a hardcore complaint!! EBM isn't off the shelf, you have to work hard to attain it, store it and deliver it to your hungry baby/infant/child. How anyone (male or female) in this day and age thinks its acceptable/humourous/not much too worry is beyond me! I'd kick them, pretty damn hard, where the sun doesn't shine. Perhaps then they might never make the mistake again.
Seriously though, a complaint is very much warranted as I see this as an act of bullying. Taking something from another (with maliciousness/immaturity) is not on. I wouldn't have it in my classroom with the kids, so having staff do it to me wouldn't be tolerated either.
Makes you wonder if any of those involved have had a partner/loved one breastfeed a child and know of the challenges some can face to be successful?? If any had i wonder if they'd have gone ahead with touching someones elses property???
On a lighter note, anyone remember that article about bfing in Mongolia? It is common for adults to drink ebm and if you express at work you have to carefully label yours so that someone else doesn't use it by accident. It's quite common for adults to happily use bm in their tea and coffee! On the other hand, I'd imagine there'd also be some to give to you from someone else if that happened. ;)
Not to sidetrack because this is a serious issue in this case, but wouldn't it be great if adults in our society were so respectful towards bm that they would never waste it or use it as the butt of a joke?
Nickle, medela sold, for a while, an insulated bag that came with a specially shaped ice block thing - you know, the hard plastic things filled with liquid that you freeze to keep things cold in an esky... anyway they make a special little bag, with a special shaped ice thing, that sits around four bottles. That's what I used - no risk of it being in the fridge, it was always at my feet, kept nice and cold by the ice block thing.
Its quite compact, fitted in my bag and I never even filled four bottles at work but it was useful.
Not sure if they are still selling it, but it might be worth looking into.
I would be really upset over that!!!! Unless of course it was an accident then I'd laugh about it......
That's a violation really. :(
maybe someone tipped it out thinking it was off milk?
I know where i use to work, once a week the fridge got cleaned out and if anything in there wasnt labelled or looking good it got binned...