时代周刊:“不好也没关系” 哺乳期妈妈需体谅(1)

When Mom needs to hear that it's O.K. not to be O.K.

当妈妈需要听到‘不好也没关系’

By Lori Fradkin

文/洛里·弗拉金

I had made it as far as the street corner when it occurred to me that I hadn't paid.

一直走到街角我才想起来，我忘了结账。

I'd said goodbye to my friends at the restaurant and walked out.

我跟朋友道过别，便直接走出了餐厅。

When I returned, embarrassed and apologetic, one friend mentioned that another had asked if I was O.K.

就在我带着尴尬和歉意回到餐厅后，一位朋友提到，另一位朋友刚刚问到我了，问我是否还好。

"Of course she's not O.K.," she had answered. "She has a 4-month-old."

“当然不好了，”她回答说。“她孩子才4个月大。”

That 4-month-old was the reason I had to get home.

那个4个月大的孩子就是我必须赶回家的原因。

I needed to pump–for the fourth or fifth time that day– and then I needed to go to bed as soon as I could, for however long I could,

我要赶回家挤奶——挤那天的第四次，还是第五次奶——挤完奶还要尽快上床补觉，能补一点儿是一点儿，

before attempting to look like a pulled-together professional for work the next morning.

第二天早上还要尽量装得像个精神饱满的专业人士去上班。

My husband and I had joked about how easy that week would be.

之前我和丈夫两人还开玩笑说，那一周该有多轻松。

Our older son was away with his grandparents, which meant we had just one kid to take care of.

我们的大儿子去他爷爷奶奶家了，也就是说，那周我们只有一个孩子要照顾。

Naturally, that was the week the baby had a sleep regression.

好巧不巧，那周小宝宝进入了睡眠倒退期。

Every night, I sat in the glider¹ for hours at a time trying to nurse him back to sleep,

为了哄他继续睡觉，每天夜里我都要在吊椅里一坐就是好几个小时，

only to set his swaddled little body in the crib and have him start crying again.

结果，每次都是刚一把他那裹着被包的小身体放进婴儿床，他就又开始哭了。

I had been back at work for just over a month, trying to prove myself to a new boss.

由于我产后复工刚一个月出头，我正在很努力地向新老板证明我的价值。

I was pumping before going to the office,

去上班之前要挤奶，

interrupting my day multiple² times to hook³ myself up to tubes and suctions, and then doing it again at night.

白天也要好几次停下手中的工作给自己连上导管和吸奶器，晚上还要重复同样的操作。

I was also trying to be an attentive⁴ mom to a toddler who loved his baby brother but had ordered me at least once to put him "back in your tummy."

我也有试着做一名细心的母亲，照顾爱小弟弟，却也不止一次地命令我把小弟弟“塞回你肚子里”的正在学走路的哥哥的需求。

Of cours, she is not o.k.

她当然不好了。

I knew I was exhausted⁵, sometimes overwhelmed⁶.

我很清楚我已经累得不行了，有时甚至都有些不知所措了。

Yet my friend's comment was revelatory.

然而，朋友的评论点醒了我。

1 glider   

n.滑翔机；滑翔导弹

参考例句：

• The glider was soaring above the valley.那架滑翔机在山谷上空滑翔。
• The pilot managed to land the glider on a safe place.那个驾驶员设法让滑翔机着陆到一个安全的地方。

2 multiple   

adj.多个(或多项、多种)的；n.（数）倍数

参考例句：

• The number 8 is a multiple of 4.八是四的倍数。
• The most common multiple births are twins,two babies born at the same time.最常见的多胎是双胞胎，两个婴儿同时出生。

3 hook   

vt.钩住；n.钩子，钩状物

参考例句：

• The blacksmith forged a bar of iron into a hook.铁匠把一根铁条锻造成一个钩子。
• He hangs up his scarf on the hook behind the door.他把围巾挂在门后的衣钩上。

4 attentive   

adj.注意的，专心的；关心(别人)的，殷勤的

参考例句：

• She was very attentive to her guests.她对客人招待得十分周到。
• The speaker likes to have an attentive audience.演讲者喜欢注意力集中的听众。

5 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

6 overwhelmed   

[ overwhelm ]的过去式

参考例句：

• She was overwhelmed by feelings of guilt. 她感到愧疚难当。
• If (one was) overwhelmed by passion, it could lead to serious blunders. 当感情完全淹没理智时，就可能铸成大错。