Post-Partum Resting Rooms

In Korea, people believe that a woman who has just given birth should be pretty much immobilized for a month afterwards. That may sound a bit backwards to us, but traditionally it might be the only 'vacation' a woman ever had after getting married.

The seventh floor of our obstetrics hospital is made for this rest. The women have individual rooms with attached bathrooms (including a shower, but not stall. Prepare to step in on a wet floor) and all the heat you can stand. More than I can stand, even wearing shorts and a t-shirt.

While in this resting place, the woman is fed nutritious food, three meals per day plus substantial snacks. Both meals and snacks include 'mi-yeok-guk': seaweed soup. It's pretty decent miyeokguk, especially for a hospital. It's supposed to be good for replacing the woman's blood supply and generating breast milk.

The babies are stored on the fourth floor, which is also where the delivery rooms are. They have a standard nursery with a big glass window so that people can make fools of themselves in front of an audience of infants.

I have discovered the hard way that the floor is hard and hot. The hard way is by spending the night sleeping on it, though sleeping may not be the most accurate word to describe what I did there. "Tossing" and "turning" are a couple of closer candidates.

Horyon and Maxine are doing relatively well. As tired as the whole thing is making me, Horyon is even more exhausted. We are trying to breastfeed exclusively, but find that we need to use formula occasionally to give Maxine enough food to sleep well. Unfortunately, Horyon has some sort of infection where the episiotomy was sewn up, so sitting upright is very uncomfortable for her. This makes breast-feeding, eating, talking with visitors, and a variety of other activities uncomfortable. But she is tackling it like a trooper. Often she goes down to the nursery to feed 3 or 4 times during the night.

And Maxine is still the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. I know, she has kind of skinny legs and arms, but her cheeks are chubby, and if she grows into her feet she will end up as tall as my cousins Doug and Mark.

Peace to you all,

Rob