Kyla Noel Leman!!!

Our baby girl, Kyla Noel Leman, was born on Saturday, November 10 at 2:08pm Beijing Standard time in Chengdu, China. She weighed in at 3050 grams (about 6 lbs, 11 ounces) and is 55 cm long (19.5 inches). She is a beautiful baby, and we are just overwhelmed with thankfulness at how many prayers were answered. The labor was very long and painful (I was in labor basically from Sunday night the 4th until I delivered on the 10th), but with no complications, and the delivery was as uncomplicated as any delivery could be. :) Kyla was born perfectly healthy and beautiful. She never left our side from the moment she was born. What a blessing to spend every single second with her from birth. She is just so precious and we spend all of our time holding her and loving on her. She is such a good baby..hardly ever cries and is sleeping so well at night already. She makes the most adorable faces and sounds.

The Chinese doctors, midwives, and nurses were all wonderful and patient. We were able to go home 24 hours after her birth, which we were very thankful for, as the hospital facilities weren't very comfortable :). Your friends and family are your primary providers in the hospitals here. Nate and a few close friends were responsible for all of my needs, down to providing all of our food and drink; cleaning and bathing me, even right after the delivery; taking care of my toiletry needs, etc. We had to provide all of our own food, drinks, towels and washcloths, hospital clothes, etc. We knew all of this though in advance, so it wasn't a surprise and we were very prepared. (We had a ton of bags packed for our day and a half stay :) I don't have an ounce of regret delivering in China. Everything went so smoothly. I would do it all over again if given the choice. One of my friends, Michelle, is a nurse. She was with us for the whole process. Her Chinese is much better than ours too, so she was able to help a lot with the translation. She has had 4 children, and has helped with numerous deliveries in the past, so was an incredible blessing to us. I don't think we could have survived without her. Jenny was there for almost the whole hospital stay also, running errands, taking care of meal details, providing love and encouragement. What would we do without Jenny???
Nate was an incredible coach. He had been up with me every night since Sunday also helping me breathe and relax through each contraction. He never left my side and was so willing to do whatever needed to be done. I'm sure he was nearly as exhausted as me after the delivery. I am just amazed at how wonderful and patient he was through the whole process. My love and appreciation for him seriously doubled (if that's possible) through this whole thing. I cry every time I think of how he was with me holding my hand, encouraging me, breathing with me through every contraction and through the delivery. Even now, he is constantly up getting me whatever I need, changing diapers, running errands, taking care of the dogs, cooking, cleaning, and the list goes on and on. I am so blessed!!!!

We are all doing very well now. We are seriously overwhelmed with how faithful God has been to us. We had been praying for many things through this whole pregnancy, and are just amazed and thankful at how he answered each one, even more than we could have imagined to ask for.

There are more pictures at http://cedarville.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2035346&l=b2334&id=141303528 and http://cedarville.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2035291&l=1bb10&id=141303528