The Babies Are Here!!!

Our dear friend, Hellena, delivered her identical twin girls on the morning of January 25, 2015. She had been in the hospital a week prior due to contractions which they were able to control with medication. The side effects of the medication were horrible for Hellena. Before the delivery, I asked her if she had dilated at all and I was surprised to find out that her doctor had never check her vaginally. She said they do that when you deliver. She also had not seen her doctor for few weeks because he was on vacation and then ill. She saw another doctor and she said he didn't care about her or anything since he wasn't her doctor. What!

Finally, her doctor decided to deliver the babies the morning of the 25th. They were born via C-section and everyone is fine. The babies each weighed around 4 pounds. But when I talked to her  last, she had not eaten for three days, was in tremendous pain and having dizzy spells. She couldn't even get out of bed. She also had not seen the girls since they were born. I found myself trying not to book an immediate flight to Busan, South Korea.

When I asked about each problem, these were the answers she gave. She did not know why they would not give her any food and even her two best friends who are also in Busan did not understand that either. I asked if she had asked for pain killer and she had but they didn't seem to be too concerned with all her pain - same with the dizzy spells. She asked to see the girls and was told that she would then have to keep them in her room for half a day and she is in no condition to do that, especially without food.

Her doctor finally visited her on the third day after birth and asked her why she hadn't seen her babies. She was very upset to say the least. I know from Rocketman's kidney stone emergency in Korea that things are very different over there but some of it just doesn't make sense to me at all. I told her she has to go "ajumma" on them and become loud and demanding to see if that works. She was going to breastfeed too so I don't understand why they are keeping the girls from her especially when they are in good health.

The names they chose for the babies are a little different by Korean standards and least that is what she told me that everyone says when she says their names. They named them "Shin Bi" and "Lo Un" which together in Korean means mysterious. I think this is a trend in Korea when naming multiples thanks to Song Il Kook. He is a famous Korean actor and in 2012 when his wife gave birth to triplet boys, they named them "Dae Han," "Min Guk" and "Man Se" which all together in Korean is the phrase "Republic of Korea, Hooray!"

Then he was chosen to be one of the fathers highlighted in the television show "The Return of Superman" where celebrity dads take care of their kids while their wives are gone for 48 hours. I caught the show during our last visit to Korea and found it hilarious. The children on the show are adorable and seeing how their dads struggle to take care of them is really entertaining. You can find the actual episodes on YouTube.

Here is one of my favorite clips of daddy with the triplets: