Redditor u/902I0 had some issues with his younger sibling's ridiculous antics and wanted to know how he should handle the situation. Nobody is perfect but some actions are just downright mind boggling and stupid. People's idea of "fun" these days can be infuriating. Listen to the story...
Am I The A-hole for accusing my brother of replacing my wife's refrigerated breast milk with cow milk?
"My wife and I had our first baby a month ago. She prefers to pump a few bottles worth of milk at a time and feed the baby from the bottle. She stores the bottles in the fridge."
"My little brother has never had a girlfriend. He acts quite awkward around my wife and other women from what I've seen. He came to my house last week to see the baby and he noticed the bottles in the fridge."
"Yesterday, my wife and I, along with our baby, went over to my parent's house. My brother knows since he's in our family group chat. He texted me when I was at my parent's house that he bought my baby some cool clothes and will drop them off. He knows my front door pin to get in."
"When I got home I saw the cool clothes he bought and thanked him via text. My wife bottle fed my baby that night with no issues. Today, however, she said the baby reacted very differently to the new bottle she fed her. She coughed much more than usual and spat out the milk, which never happened before. So, my wife tasted it and said it was cow milk, not her milk. She told me to taste it too and compare it with the two other bottles in the fridge. That bottle indeed tasted much more like cow milk than the other two."
"My wife suspected it was my brother drinking her breast milk and swapping out that bottle with cow milk. I agreed that it would not be out of character for him to do that. I thought it was a bit fishy he would come by and drop off clothes, especially since that was the first time he would come to my house when no one was home."
"I called my brother and asked him why he would drop by when we were not home and why he couldn't wait a few hours until we got home. He said he just bought the clothes from the nearby mall and it was more convenient to drop them off then. I asked him to please tell me the truth if he swapped my wife's breast milk with cow milk and he vehemently denied it. I told him how we found out the bottle contained cow milk and what a coincidence it must be. He said he really doesn't know, but I could hear the tremble in his words. I told him that my wife and I don't believe him and if he doesn't apologize now, we would tell our parents what happened and ask what they think. He once again denies doing anything so I hung up."
"Before calling my parents, I want to know what you guys think first. Are my wife and I just paranoid or do we have good enough reason to believe my brother swapped out her breast milk with cow milk?" u/902I0
Not Around my Kids!
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"Wow this is weird.... does he have a history of this kind of thing? It almost seems sexually deviant. Why would he do this? Breastmilk is usually a bit different in color then cow milk, more yellow, much sweeter, and cows milk is definitely way harder for babies to digest. So if you are sure it was cow milk in the bottle, then it sounds like he's the only one that could have done it. Anyone else in your house? Maybe ask him in person. Face to face. To be sure. If he did this, then he was putting your baby's health at risk for his own twisted gain, and that is really crappy of him. I wouldn't want him around my kids!" Raven3131
Mistakes Happen....
"Did you even think about the possibility that he just knocked it over? That he was smelling and looking and dropped it. Or that he has this awful rash and has read breastmilk helps (true) and used it for that. You mind jumps right to drinking, but that's not at all the issue."
"Cows milk is very, very bad for baby's. They should not be drinking it at all. I would tell your brother that, make it clear why it's bad and ask him if he, or anyone else, can be honest next time something happens to the breastmilk. If it falls, be honest, do NOT replace with cow's milk. Or with anything."
"Also, how did she not notice? They don't look the same at all. It's really barely a mistake you can make, unless you don't look at the bottle when you take it out of the fridge." Gwennie333
Check Up.
"My daughter got really really sick (she was hospitalized) from drinking cow's milk. And she is 5 months old so I can only imagine how much more dangerous it is to a month-old. I'm not in the best position to give my judgement. Mine is to urge you to please follow up and check if everything is okay with your baby." murrayxi
Be Sure.
"You sound somewhat skeptical that it was 100% cow milk— If it was cow milk, it was surely your brother. In which case; NTA at all. Cow milk is not good, and can mess some babies up digestion-wise. NTA, and your brother is weird." jakejames
"I don't have the best of taste buds. Plus, the temperature of the supposed cow milk is a bit warmer than the refrigerated breast milk, so that throws things off a little. I'm 90% sure it's cow milk and my wife said she's 100% sure." 902I0
Skin Crawl.
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"I am a breastfeeding mom, and this made my skin crawl. If it really was drank by him, how absolutely intrusive and deviant. It's very dangerous for babies to have anything other then formula/breastmilk when they're that young as well."
"The only other explanation I can think of is the milk going bad somehow. Which if you're freezing before 24 hours it shouldn't be bad and should be fine in the fridge."
"Your brother is a creep if he did that, and I would keep him away from your wife and baby." Dontsuffocate
"you just know?"
"WTH is this thread? Everybody either on the crap post train or NTA bandwagon?"
"OP, do you have any (I mean any) actual evidence that he did something wrong? None of those intuition nonsense or "you just know?".. that's not gonna cut it. Especially if you're planning on some sort of grand spectacle where you make your brother appear like some creepy sexual pervert."
"Maybe take a step back, deep breath and think whether whatever evidence you have is enough/conclusive because your relationship with your brother will likely never be the same afterwards but surely you wouldn't want to be on the wrong side of that discussion?"
"EDIT: Because it seems many responses are tripping up on this.. "none of this intuition nonsense" refers to the brother having done something and not whether it was or wasn't breast milk. That's a separate discussion in itself." rycology
Not in this House.
"NTA, and maybe make sure he cant get into your house when you're not home. That can be terrible for the poor baby's digestion, even deadly depending on the age. And... it sounds like your brother might be a sexual deviant, if he has done this, then he has gone out of his way to set up a situation where he's violating your wife's dignity in her own home. Protect your family from the threat, brother or not, and tell your parents. Cow milk and breast milk are noticeably different, trust your judgement and make sure these more subtle offenses don't turn into something more sinister. Your wife must feel pretty gross, I'm sorry for you both." haveitoldyouyethaveitoldyouyet
Sour taste.
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"NTA, him drinking your wife's milk is incredibly creepy, and not only that but he also endangered your child's health. If I was your wife I wouldn't want him near me, breastfeeding a child is extremely personal, him inserting himself into that feels really intrusive and wrong." nessy612
About Him.
"Has he ever done anything comparable to this that would lead you to believe it was him? I mean the evidence you have is pretty damning as it is" casualpotato96
"Nothing comparable. He's a socially awkward but very intelligent guy. He never got into trouble as a kid. But like I said, he's super awkward around women, so I wouldn't be surprised if he's a bit sexually deviant." 902I0
Menace.
"NTA, and the really serious issue here is that your baby could have been killed by his stunt. Google infants drinking cow's milk. Change your pin code. Your brother is a menace and a weirdo. I wouldn't ever trust him again. Take your baby to the doctor immediately and tell them what happened." brotogeris1
Accidents Happen.
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"I really hope the dude like dropped or accidentally used them or something. But i'd feel like he would admit if that happened so." Korpela
"I'm sorry to tell you this because it's disgusting but there are a fair amount of men who drink breast milk because they think it will help them gain muscle mass."
"Edit: okay I get that it's not actually that disgusting and just bc something grosses me out doesn't mean it's automatically bad. I do think it's stupid because there is 0% proof that it works and also a lot of the time they're buying it out while parents whose babies can't take formula and whose mothers can't provide enough for them really struggle (my cousin went through this) so I don't have a lot of respect for the guys involved lmao." hogelett
Get Him!
"Nail his butt to the wall. There is a huge difference between the sweet taste of breast milk and cow milk. Newborns can't digest cow milk, can have a bad reaction to it, and your baby could have gotten really sick from drinking it. Even before formula and if another nursing mom couldn't help they never gave babies straight cow milk. Goat milk is much closer to human milk. Your brother might of just been curious but he has to know you don't mess with the baby's stuff because they can get hurt." lisasimpsonfan
"will you go fill up a bottle of milk for my baby?"
"Don't ever underestimate people's ability to be ignorant of things you think are obvious. This is the same world where men thought there were left and right tampons. I don't know anything about babies (I'm a woman) and if I hadn't seen various PETA things about how cows milk isn't meant for humans, I might not realize that it made much difference. I could see someone saying "will you go fill up a bottle of milk for my baby?" and grabbing the quart of cows milk without realizing they were supposed to look for a bottle that had been pumped. I once had a friend who couldn't figure out that you had to put water in a coffee maker in addition to the grounds. Smart guy, too, at least in terms of book intelligence." JLLsat
Set a Trap....
"This might be horrible advice, but I would tell your brother that the baby is having a horrible reaction to the milk and is in the ER and you need to know if the baby drank cow milk."
"Edit: I have been enjoying the conversation this comment has turned out, thanks for that and the silver."
"In reality, OP most likely already missed his chance at a straight out confession and doing this tactic wouldn't work if the brother is already on the defensive."
"I do think it is fair game to say the baby is having a reaction and it is important to know if the milk was changed. Maybe he could have framed it as something where he thought the brother was trying to do a favor and filled a bottle for them, that they appreciate it, but if it is cow's milk, it is bad for the baby... etc. etc." Punky_Grifter
Is He a Fool?
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"Is your brother an adult? What the hell is he doing swapping out food for your child like that, and drinking breast milk? I tell you the code to my place would be changed immediately. What else has he done in your place?" MaryK007
"He's 23. I will definitely change my code ASAP. He hasn't done anything out of the ordinary in my place since he's only there when I'm home as far as I know." u/902I0
Get a new Code...
"I'd make sure to not give him the new code. Cows milk is not good for babies under 1yr. As a pumping mother the taste between breast milk and cows milk is very different, there is no way you could mistake the taste. It may have been curiosity or, as others have said, if he is a body builder he may have heard it's good for muscle repair or he might have decided to try and sell some. But in my opinion he has drunk it. I would test the other bottles or even dispose of them rather than feed them to your baby, in case he has tampered with them too." Kapearce82
Family Can be Trouble.
"I read the other comments before making this post. Specifically to the other folks saying this couldn't be real... I hate to be the one to point this out, but lactation fetishes are real, and quite common."
"OP, follow the other poster's advice. Change your security PIN, limit your brother's access to your wife and child, and tell your parents about this breach of trust. You need to make it clear to your brother that his behavior hurt his family and it's unacceptable."
"Also, tell your wife to look through her undergarments to see if anything is missing. While I don't want to condemn your brother as "the creepy pervert" I wouldn't be surprised if she was missing at least one pair of undergarments." CIA_astroturf_acct82
HIDE!
"You're not an a**hole."
"Bro what the HECK??? I don't think you should let your brother see your wife anymore cause that's so creepy. I know I'd be mad about it. I'm not sure how your relationship with ur brother is but I'd definitely distance myself. He's a creep and a fool in my opinion, especially if he DRANK it. I cannot even begin to imagine how uncomfortable and upset you and your wife are, but I hope things turn out well and that you guys get some peace of mind." Sara-tonin-
Be Serious.
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"Seriously, this needs to be on top! OP just had a baby a mouth ago. A child this young should not be having cow's milk this young since their digestion system isn't fully develop and can't digest it fully."
Well, reader, what do you think? Let us know in the comments below.
When we're intoxicated, or even the slightest bit tipsy from having a little too much to drink, our immediate perspective on things is hazy.
But there's nothing like a bit of alarming news or a jarring incident to snap us out of the fog and focus on the moment.
Sometimes alcohol isn't always to blame for our impairment.
It can be a state of mind, like a perpetual numbness from being complacent in life, and all it takes is one shocking moment to rattle us back to our senses.
Curious to hear from strangers online about this type of scenario, Redditor Known_Challenge_7150 asked:
"What’s one thing that sobered you up real quick?"
These individuals were witness to shocking events that sobered them up right quick.
Bleeding Out
"Got out of a taxi and found a naked man profusely bleeding from his head crawling up the driveway in my condo. Called him an ambulance completely forgot I was absolutely wasted until 45 minutes later when I'd helped him translate and in to an amublance and stepped in my front door."
"Later a few days later learned he'd slipped in the tub and literally crawled out for help. Poor dude. He was fine but I genuinely thought he was going to die there."
– DongLaiCha
Tragic News
"At a bachelor party and we got a phone call that the groom’s father had suddenly passed."
– accountnameredacted
Bottom Of The Barrel
"I went to visit my parents back in July. I was homeless and deep into fentanyl addiction so I lost a lot of weight. My folks could see it. They knew something was up. Anyway, I spent the night and I was getting ready to leave in the morning and I looked at myself in the mirror for a good long time. I finally had enough and told them everything. They took me to detox, from there I went to rehab. Graduated in August and been living with them ever since then. I have 160 days clean and sober."
– Crotch-Monster
A reality check can be enough for some people to snap out of it.
Like Father, Like Son
"Was driving a drunk friend home, he had been on a bender again and was smart enough to call me for a lift rather than try and drive. As I helped in to his house his mother came down the stairs and said 'your as drunk as your father' and went back upstairs. I haven't seen him drunk since then, he still drinks but the thought of turning into his dad scared him out of hard drinking."
– psycospaz
Busted
"Flashing blue lights."
– FiddleOfGold
"This sobered me up just thinking about it."
– redmaple_syrup
Losing Sight
"Woke up to no sight in one eye. I had cataract surgery so just thought one of the lenses had slipped and it was an easy fix. Eye doc says nope, you had a stroke. I loved soy sauce, teriyaki sauce and salty food, which caused high blood pressure, which caused retina damage. Over six months was able to get most of my eyesight back with medication, and all back within a year. Trying to navigate life with one eye was very sobering. Started taking HBP much more seriously."
– MissHibernia
Quitting The Bottle
"Looked up someone I went to highschool with who was an awesome guy. Found out he had been dead for 3 years from alcoholism, at age 33. I made an overnight change. I hadn't started drinking that night yet, 10 months ago. Haven't touched it again since."
– omgtater
These disturbing moments were enough for Redditors to immediately come to their senses.
Unplanned House Guests
"Me and a buddy Woke up in someone’s living room, realized neither one of us knew the people, they were just nice and let 2 drunk guys sleep on their living room floor. We didn’t even say goodbye."
– Oneinsevenbillion75
Serious Health Warning
"Elevated liver enzymes."
"And the knowledge that this sh** was gonna kill me and I just couldn't orphan my family over it."
"So I opted for recovery, instead."
"Clean and sober since June 5, 2009."
– Far_Meal8674
The Joyride
"Grew up in a rural area. The little town hosted dances at the hockey arena, everyone (adults and kids) went and they overserved everyone, regardless of age. I was maybe 16 or 17 and was absolutely sh*tfaced, and jumped in the back of someone's truck with about 8 other people to go back to someone's cottage for after dance drinking. The driver (still don't know who it was) started racing one of his buddies and we whipped around small dirt roads, flying around blind corners on the wrong side of the road, going god knows how fast. It was basically a disaster waiting to happen. It was crazy scary and I was sober and thankful to be alive when we finally arrived."
– foxfood9116
The human psyche is a fascinating thing, isn't it?
How we can automatically focus on something urgent at a crucial time, even after getting buzzed from drinking too much alcohol.
But as we're in the thick of the holidays, it's a good reminder to drink responsibly and stay off the roads if you drive to your celebratory destination.
Cheers. Stay safe. And happy holidays.
We've all complained or vented about something in our lives which, in the grand scheme of things, wasn't exactly a problem, or is very easily solved.
Then there are those who complain about things that others almost hope will happen to them at some point in their lives.
These are known as "first world problems", as they are problems that pretty much only the world's one percent faces.
From having to fly business class instead of first class, or being served Roederer instead of Dom Pérignon, these complaints are often met with amusement, bewilderment, or even anger.
Redditor jennimackenzie was curious to hear the most absurd "first world problems" anyone ever complained about, leading them to ask:
"What’s the most ridiculous 'first world problem' you’ve seen people get worked up over?"
"Tale As Old As Time..."
"I once knew a mom who was legitimately devastated, to the point of tears/grief, because a doctor predicted her 8 year old daughter's final height to be around 5'2","
"Which wasn't tall enough to get cast as Belle at Disney World."
"That was the child's (and her mother's) only dream in life, apparently."
"Didn't appreciate my suggestion that she could be Minnie or Mickey."
"Lol!"
"Only a face character would do!"- TravelLovingMom
"Must Be Funny, In A Rich Man's World..."
"My boss from about a decade ago was this insanely rich dude who always went to the bank to get fresh and crisp currency."
"He'd call the bank in advance to make sure they had some on hand."
"I think he was a germaphobe."
"He had a trash can that he'd throw $1 and $5 bills in that he thought was 'dirty' and regularly just donated it vs spending it."
"I asked him why he did this and he said it was too much trouble and asked if I wanted it."
"I said f*ck yeah dumped it into my bag and when I got home it was close to $400 in singles and fives.
"Another time, he wanted to upgrade all the computers in his studio, so we went to a store and bought 10 PCs."
"They all had $150 mail in rebates and he wasn't bothered to go through the trouble of mailing them in."
"3 weeks later I received $1500 after spending a whole afternoon filling out all those goddamn forms."- azninvasion2000
Money Burn GIF by nog
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Who Wore It Better?
"When I was about 19 years old, I was at my boyfriends family BBQ."
"I was wearing this pretty floral sundress."
"His cousins girlfriend showed up in the same dress and she was SO mad that she went and changed."
"I will never understand being upset when someone is wearing the same thing as you.'
"Did you really think that your shirt you bought off the rack is going to be unique to you?"
"No."- mertsey627
Seeing Red! Or Blue In This Case...
"The blue of the balloons wasn't quite the same as the bridesmaid's sashes."
"Years ago my wife and I attended a wedding."
"It was very low key."
"The dinner was in the dining hall at the university where the couple met, cinder block walls and all."
"It was a Baptist wedding - no booze and very serious."
"The dark blue balloons attempting to liven up the hall were a slightly darker shade of blue than the sashes on the bridesmaid's dresses."
"The bride lost here sh*t and absolutely raved for nearly an hour."
"I can't remember how they finally managed to talk her down."- mechant_papa
south park wedding GIF
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See You In Court!
"Rich neighbors who end up in expensive court battles because they disagree about where a tree can be planted or whether the color of a fence fits in with the street’s 'amenity'."
'These disputes get really heated and rack up huge lawyers’ bills."
"The most pathetic part is after the judgement when they are arguing about who should pay the other party’s costs."
"Lots of affidavits filed citing the 'emotional distress' they had to endure, or painting themselves as brave warriors who were forced to take a stand to fight for 'justice'."
"Also lots of pompous litigants insisting that the judge refer to them by their 'Dr' title."
"An absolutely insane dumpster fire of entitled rich people problems."- ElectrocRaisin
It's Always People With Money Who Don't Want To Pay!
"I work in a public library."
"People will get so so mad if they have to be put on a wait list for a book."
"A popular book that just came out."
"Ok our services are not only free but so are the books."
"You’re welcome, a**holes."- Switchbladekitten
A Warm Butt Is A Happy Butt!
"My own."
"We have a bidet toilet seat (Fabulous! Everyone should have one!) and not only does it wash your bum and blow dry it, but the seat's heated!"
"It's shocking how much a heated toilet seat makes the whole process more agreeable."
"Except: We had a power outage and I went to use the toilet and the seat was cold!"
"Unacceptable!"
"This shall not stand!"
"I was really upset because it didn't feel good."
"Then I stopped and thought: This is the most first-world problem anyone's ever had."
"I was really pissed because my heiny was tepid."
"I got over it."- DeathGrover
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Holy Matrimony!
"Weddings are a gold mine for this question."
"People get so hyped up over their 'most important day of their life'."
"They'll destroy friendships, go into debt, and have crazy expectations."
"It's not always the couple who go crazy, either."
"Sometimes, it's the parents or another family member who feels entitled to control the wedding."
"It's just a party."
"Be considerate of guests, have plenty of food and drinks, and enjoy it."- magicrowantree
When Fast Food Isn't Fast Enough...
"Having to pull off to the side to wait for a drive-thru order to be brought out to you because your food isn't ready and there's a line building up behind you."- demanbmore
In Case You Don't Think Customer Service Employees Are Undervalued...
"I was working the return desk at a Target next to a military base so I have so many stories."
"One of my favorites was a lady who had her baby shower before revealing the gender and was livid that she had received floral newborn diapers when she’s having a boy."
"It was a huge box of super expensive, all organic diapers, that we didn’t carry and therefore could not return."
"I cannot accurately express her fury and disgust."
"How dare either suggest her boy could wear feminine diapers."
"I suggested she donate them if she didn’t want to use them and she instead threw away the entire box."
"When she left we pulled it out and threw it in our donate bin."
"There have also been multiple times where mom’s order massive toys and when we bring them out to the car they get furious that they aren’t wrapped."
"We don’t offer wrapping services."
"Here’s the thing, if you don’t want your kids to see the toys you got them for Christmas or their bit to day DON'T BRING THE CHILD WHEN YOU PICK IT UP."
'I’ve had multiple women scream and curse me out that I had ruined their kids Christmas by bringing the toys they ordered out to the car like they requested."- clever-mermaid-mae
Customer Service Waiting GIF by Juno Calypso
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Happiest Place On Earth!
"I used to work for Disney."
"That in itself should tell you everything."
"However for fun I'll give you two specific stories one form our tech department and one from my wife who worked bookings."
"I specifically worked for their call center to help with technical issues with magic band and the website."
"Suddenly got worse huh?"
"A right of passage call everyone has at least one story of is the 'Dome call'."
"Basically there is a subset of Disney Guest (TM) that believes if it rains at Walt Disney world there is someone that will push a button to encapsulate the whole of Disney property in a dome to keep out the rain."
"I'm not kidding."
"If this button is not pushed they call our tech department to angrily ask why."
"My wife worked booking."
"Pretty much everything including Bibbidi Bobbidi boutique and Pirate's league."
"These two things did roughly the same thing difference being price and theme."
"BBB was expensive did more and was focused on princesses, pirates league did a bit less and focused on mermaids and pirates."
"Lady called up my wife, and got pissed about BBB being booked up (It goes FAAAAST)."
"Karen: 'Im going to give the phone to my daughter and I want you to tell her how you are ruining her vacation by not letting her do BBB'."
"Wife proceeds to explain how pirate's league is so much cooler and how she can be a mermaid or pirate and basically gets the kid to start demanding to their parents about how they want to be a mermaid instead of a princess."- trollsong
Disney World GIF
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The horror!
Being booked into a junior suite at Disney World instead of an executive suite!
It's almost as bad as having no money for groceries, or no food to feed you children...
Said absolutely no one.