Eh....I don't find the whole milk-expressing thing to be all that traumatizing, myself. Then again, my cousin was the president of La Leche League when I was growing up, and my department at work could be summed up with one word: fertile. Okay, two words: DAMNED fertile. Which is to say, there hasn't been a week since I started in 1997 that I haven't had to nudge someone's breast milk bottle out of the way to get to my Tupperware of leftover spaghetti. *shrug*

I've had friends pump right in front of me and have no problem with it. (Although I have been known to mutter "Moo" under my breath and giggle just a little.) In fact, I would never have anticipated that this would skeeve me out, but when the cow-orker (pun sort of intended) recently stopped using the insulated (i.e., opaque) cooler bag for the bottles and started leaving them just, you know, lying around in there, I found myself a tad distressed. I'm not proud of it and I'm quite certain I'll survive it, but apparently I find it a little upsetting to be confronted with evidence of the boobal activities of someone I work with. *double shrug*

While I get the whole breastfeeding thing--I breastfed orcling 1 for a year, orcling 2 for a year and a half and orcling 3 for two years, I was fortunate enough to be able to be home and not have to do the pumping thing unless I was overproducing and it was useful to help stave off mastitis. (TMI? Apologies--I do have a point I'm going to with this.)

I also get that well, some people aren't as okay with the whole process, either. She just may be clueless and not necessarily intentionally inconsiderate.

Here's a thought. Can you, or someone else, jokingly suggest she keep her breastmilk in a nice little non-see through box in the fridge so that nobody mistakes it for like, say, evaporated milk or liquid creamer?

so you dont want to know that even MY little peeps leaked all over the place today? HA! Sorry...now you are traumatized by mine, too. Frankly, the milk itself looks gross to me...and the mechanization scared the HELL out of my lil'peeps! Now its my best friend (cause it lets Eric feed) and i STILL wouldnt advertise it to any unwilling, unsuspecting victim...personally, I'd be cowardly enough to leave an anonymous (not publically posted) note to her. It doesnt actually improve the situation for her to know its YOU that is bothered...just that it bothers SOMEONE.

Lets combine a couple of ideas. Pour a little out of one bottle, then put a note on it that says, "Sorry I thought this was coffee creamer".

woody = brilliant! :D

This falls into a broader catagory of people who do things not realizing that other people may be sensitive to it. A similar issue is my neighbor who lets his dog out without a leash without any regard for other people on the block who are scared of dogs. Your cow-orker (love the Dilbert reference) is probably leaving her bottles around not realizing that other people may be grossed out by it. Her insesitivity is probably not intended. If you word your request sensitively then I'm sure she'll be alright with it.

[Ed. note: That's just it, Dave. She's about the nicest person you could ever meet, and she'd be capital-m Mortified if she knew this made even one person just the slightest bit uncomfortable, which is what makes it so hard to say something.]

That reminds me of the "Friends" episode where everyone tastes the breast milk.

Then, there's "Look Who's Talking": John Travolta's character squeezes breast milk into his coffee.

Yeah, I'm all about the pop cult references today.

ummm....nevermind!

Don't forget the chowder episode of "Providence"...

(http://providence.tktv.net/Episodes1/synop/9.html)

Was the chowder episode the one with Buddy Cianci and his toupee? No wonder that show's off the air!

I don't remember Buddy being in that episode, but it did include a very special secret ingredient (*cough* breast milk *cough*) in sister Joanie's chowder recipe that I think might have gotten her into cooking school.

Part of the problem might be that it is a "bodily fluid." Just something that is categorized as such which is staring you in the face - and situated so closely to food that you have intentions of putting in your mouth is a tad disconcerting. What if someone brought in a "urine sample" and needed to temporarily store it in the fridge? Bet that wouldn't fly at all. Actually there isn't that much of a difference.

There's a big difference between breastmilk and urine.

Yes, Kel, you're right. Urine is one of the body's waste products and breast milk most assuredly is not. How about saliva? It's not a waste product; it's totally natural. But do you want a jar of it next to your lunch in the office fridge? (I'm playing devil's advocate here ....)

a little non-sequitor, I know, but I thought Dave's comment opened the door to a little bitch I'm having in our new home: our neighbors park their MonsterTruckRally-mobiles on OUR grass. I feel like that KingOfTheHill guy...and I'd rather see breastmilk. Done.