Um, wow. That sounds very uncomfortable. - Laura H.

uhhhh... that sucks. Anyway you can buy some blinds and get the cost refunded until the real ones get installed? - Fiona Bradley

You shouldn't have to ask him. Whoever his supervisor is (unless it's you?) should tell him that him using that room means that he has to leave twice a day and he needs to be prepared for that. Or can they provide you with some kind of temporary window covering until the blinds are installed? - Rochelle

unacceptable. - marthalib

(where's the "unlike" button?) - Betsy (bentley) Vera

Or can people just get over the fact that moms nurse their babies from their breasts? - josh neff, geek at large

do we really want to expose the kid to library staff members in the wild so soon, though? - DJF

wow, just wow. - Steve C

Ok, that's just awful. Horrible HR issues spring to mind...do you have an HR department that you could go to and try to get the blinds installed post-haste? - Jason Griffey from twhirl

Nurse in the HR office until they fix this. - s t e v e

Much awkward. My office had blinds, but I added library-relevant posters in the windows as well. - Catherine Lavallée-Welch

That's a good answer: go buy some posterboard, and just board up your office. Let people know that you'll take them down when the blinds are installed. Bonus points if the posterboard is an obnoxious color. - Jason Griffey from twhirl

Plaster your windows with pictures of women nursing babies. - josh neff, geek at large

I'm soo with Josh on this ;) hehe - Nicole

Sad they've put you in this situation. Unfair. - Kamilah Gill

it really is amazing how unaccommodating workplaces can be. temporarily papering up your windows is certainly an option -- tho i like steve's idea of nursing in the HR office. i had to pump in our staff bathroom. yup. good times. AND awkward. (let's not even get into sanitary issues) - αnnα vαȵ scoyoç

Our office manager is calling Facilities to get a time estimate on when these are coming in. If it's going to be more than 2 weeks, I think I'm going to have to call HR, because this situation is really uncomfortable. Now I'll have to pump at exactly the same times each day (no exceptions) because that's when he'll be leaving his office for me. - Meredith

Team up against HR with the guy whose office you'll be using --no way he's thrilled about this. - s t e v e

Yeah, I can't imagine he's thrilled. Someone from his office (Academic Achievement) just called to ask for the key. I'm like, "ummm... I think I still need it." It's just been one thing after another this summer with pumping. When I got back to work, I didn't even have a place to pump at first (no key and no blinds up in the room). - Meredith

Yuck. It isn't like they did not know you would be having a baby, it has been about a year since you said something! Ick. I will note that in at least one academic library I visit, they have posters -- either mounted or taped to the glass -- on almost all the office windows anyway. They make the blinds superfluous. - Michael Golrick

And....after your last comment (which appeared as I was typing), stick to your guns, like you did with the hospital! - Michael Golrick

I keep wondering where the poor students go if they need to pump. I hope they have a space allocated for them. MPOW finally created one after the library kicked up a fuss because students were using study rooms (quite understandably, since there wasn't another option). - marthalib

Martha, that probably depends a lot on the institution. I'd think (but could be wrong) we have a vanishingly small number of nursing mothers here, and suspect Mer's campus is the same. Hey, how about student health? They can't spare an exam room twice a day? Or is that just as big a pain? - s t e v e

Joshua, pumping is a more exposed and noisier process than nursing. I'm fine with moms nursing wherever and whenever they want, but pumping should have its own place. Bathrooms shouldn't be used for pumping or for any other food preparation. - Bruce Lewis from fftogo

Why are you addressing me, Bruce? - josh neff, geek at large

Is there another co-worker's office you could use where it wouldn't be quite so awkward in the meantime? Maybe someone with daily ref duty or something? Taping coverings to the window doesn't seem like too bad an option, either. a lightweight paper would still let light in but block the view. Sucks that you even have to think about this, though. :( - Kårín Dalzĭel

Martha - on a tangent, the uni I used to work at had to create a prayer room because these poor girls were having to use the bathroom floor. Parents who brought kids to campus had nowhere to take them other than into lectures. There are so many situations in which campuses are completely ill-equipped to cope with the way we live today. - Fiona Bradley

Joshuamneff, since your reponse to the pumping Q was that people should accept nursing. - Bruce Lewis from fftogo

Josh, I think it is because you mentioned "nursing" twice, when "pumping" is a bit different. - s t e v e

Oh. Well, I really meant both. I realize their different, but still. - josh neff, geek at large

And I don't really think nursing or pumping should be done in a bathroom. - josh neff, geek at large

Good grief. This is going to make problems for both of you. Would definitely recommend covering your own office windows with whatever until your blinds come in. - Rachel Walden

I think I'm going to ask my Director if I can cover the windows in my office with paper or something. I have a feeling she is going to say no because of "aesthetics", but this is getting more uncomfortable by the day. Now I have to give up my key to the office and hope a spare one is made by early next week. - Meredith

I guess the peel/stick stuff that you can put on bathroom windows wouldn't work? Would let light in but cover what you're doing? :( - Abigail

All right, I am spending the rest of my afternoon cutting craft paper and taping it to the windows around my office. This will make a great Library Day in the Life. ;-) - Meredith

oh this sucks. so much for support, eh? make sure you take a pic of your newly decorated office! - βℜ∀ñÐi

I pumped 11 months in my library's storage room. The staff knew I was using the room and always remembered to knock before trying to enter but I was scared to death some one might walk in on me. I ended up posting a sign on the door that said "Do not enter, milking in progress". (Using humor seemed to make it a little less uncomfortable for some folks). School was a different matter ( was trying to finish my MLIS for the first 5 months of his life). There was no place offered for pumping so my mom came with me to watch him and I left class to nurse. It was tough. I feel your pain. Hope they get the blind up soon or make more comfortable arrangements for you. - Carleen

Yeah, I want to see this new office decor! - Rochelle

Here are some pics of the office from the outside. Totally depressing. http://friendfeed.com/librari... - Meredith

I've got some nice long-ish sheer ikea curtains which you can borrow/have to put in front of/behind the paper if you want it.... - jessamyn

Dude, that's like Jessamyn's first FF comment. </derail> - s t e v e

Ooh, thanks Jessamyn! I might take you up on it! - Meredith

Back in the day when I had babies, I had to lock myself up in a storage closet at work at "pumping time". It was a small room where we stored our older legal materials that we did not want people to walk off with and I had the only key. My chair was a library kick stand. Cozy, utilitarian, but quiet and served the purpose. - Marie Kaddell