Ruth Ann at 4 weeks old

Well, actually she'll be 4 weeks old tomorrow, but since I have a minute to sit down tonight I thought I would go ahead and post these pictures. These are also the first pictures I've taken with my new camera...which I LOVE! I feel so professional when I'm using my new camera even though my pictures don't reflect it...yet.

I love this picture. It gives you good idea of just how much hair Ruth Ann has...it holds a bow very well.

P.S. Thanks Aunt Andrea for the cute new outfits. We love them!

Beauty and the Beast

This was just too sweet a moment...I couldn't resist running to grap my camera to remember it always.

The only Christmas picture, 2008

Did Christmas seem to go by in a blur for everyone else or was it just me? This whole month seems to have come and gone so quickly. I can hardly believe Ruth Ann will be 4 weeks old on Monday. I was a bad mother and only took one picture of her during the holidays. She has broken out it baby acne and is not the most photogenic at this time. Here she is in yet another holiday onesie. I had the same problem finding newborn pants that I mentioned earlier. Luckily on Christmas Eve I found a pair of red newborn pants...thank goodness for the nearby Target!

Merry Christmas, Love Ruth Ann

Here's Ruth Ann in a holiday onesie. My complaint to the baby clothing industry is that if you are going to make newborn onesies, please also have coordinating pants to match. I have found several cute holiday onesies but have had the hardest time finding matching pants in a newborn size. This is one of my favorites and thanks to Grammie's help we were able find matching pants.

Ruth Ann is a bow head!

After I got Ruth Ann changed out of her pjs and into some day time clothes...you've all seen her closet, we have lots of clothes we need to wear...I decided to snap a few pictures while she was wide eyed. And while I was at it, why not put a bow in her hair, she has enough of it.

One week old

Guess who is one week old...well, one week and one day. I had hoped to post this yesterday, but I'm still figuring out time management with a new baby. In most of her pictures Ruth Ann has her eyes closed. I think she looks so sweet when she's sleeping, I can't help but get my camera out. It's also much more difficult to catch her with her eyes open. Hopefully in the coming weeks I'll get better at taking photos with eyes open. I also have it on good authority that I'll be receiving a new SLR camera for Christmas, so hopefully my pictures will start looking more professional. Andrea, I'm becoming just like you know who!

Another blond joins the family

We finally got the okay from the dog breeder letting us know the puppy was ready to come home. Arch and Spencer eagerly loaded up and headed to Griffin, Georgia to pick him up and bring him home. They left home around noon last Saturday and returned around 10pm that night. A long day of driving, but totally worth it!

Meet Griff...short for Griffin, the town he is from.

Spencer spending some quality time with Griff.

The 2 McCarty's with naturally blond hair...

I wish he spent more time quiet and peacefull, however, he's full of enery and rarely slows down.

Ruth Ann is home!

Because I had a scheduled induction, Arch and I were the luck recepitants of an additional nights stay at the hospital. We quickly found out the hospital is no place to get any rest. We checked out early Wednesday morning and made our way home to start this new adventure with our newborn baby. I now have 4 nights under my belt and I must say I'm adjusting to the lack of sleep. For those of you would have lived with me or know my sleep habits well, I've always been an "early to bed and late to rise" sleeper...I LOVE my sleep. So far I'm not a dead tired as I thought I would be. This past week was full of visits from friends and family so I didn't get to nap as often during the day as I would have liked, but I hopeful that this week Ruth Ann and I can start to work on a schedule and we can both get some shut eye throughout the day. Here are some of her latest pictures...


We're going home. These pictures were taken just before Ruth Ann and I were discharged from the hospital.

Ruth Ann's coming home dress with matching hat. She also had on the most precious monogramed slippers.

Ruth Ann with her cousin Madison. Madison has been the only girl McCarty for many years. I think she was more excited to find out I was having a baby girl than I was!

Grammie with her two girls. Here is my mom with my niece, Ada. Ada turned 1 year old 4 days before Ruth Ann was born. My mom is convinced they'll be the best of friends one day.

Our little sunbather. Ruth Ann's bilirubin levels were slightly elevated when we left the hospital. Luckily, they weren't high enough to treat with light treatments, however, it was no fun leaving her in the sun all day either. At the doctor's appointment today her levels were on the decrease so we're headed in the right direction.

Ruth Ann's first bath. Who knew it was so difficult to bath a newborn baby. Thank goodness Grammie was here to help me through her first bath.

Sleeping beauty.

Regan and Kennedy came to visit Ruth Ann this week. I have babysat these girls since they were born...in a few years I'll have them babysitting Ruth Ann.

Proudly Introducing Ruth Ann McCarty

The McCarty family would like you to meet our newest family member...Ruth Ann McCarty. Born 12-01-08 at 10:39 am weighing 7 lbs 2 oz and 20 inches long.

For years I've said I wanted blond haired children, but since I only have blond hair with the help of my hair dresser I honestly thought it would be impossible...I was wrong. Not only did Ruth Ann have a head full of hair at birth...it's BLOND! She is beautiful beyond words and doing fabulous. Her APGAR scores were great, we got a great report from the pediatrian this morning and she passed her hearing screening this afternoon. So far, so good!

Delivery went quickly once things got underway. We checked into the hospital on Sunday night around 8pm. I was given meds to help get things ready for the Pitocin I would receive on Monday morning. I woke up at 5am with contractions every 3-5 minutes and I was at 3cm. This lasted until 7am & at 7:30 the doctor broke my water and started the Pitocin. The doctor had to leave for office hours and when I was checked at 8am before she left I was at 4-5 cm. I got my epidural and by 10am I convinced my nurse that I needed more meds for pain because the contractions were coming quick and very strong. When she checked me this time I was at 10cm! So, they called the doctor back to the delivery room which meant I had to wait until 10:30am to start pushing. I pushed for 9 minutes and Ruth Ann was born at 10:39am. For something I prepared myself for for 9 months, it's crazy to have it all over in 9 minutes!

Here is a picture of Ruth Ann right after delivery. The jury is still out as to who she looks like. In this picture she looks more like me as a baby, but I a head full of jet black hair. However, there are features that I think look a little like Arch too. The nurse thought she looked like Arch this afternoon when she came to check in on me.



Here we are in the delivery room right after she was born. They've just handed her to me and I'm teary eyed.

Here is Ruth Ann with her big brother. Spencer came to meet his new little sister after school on Monday and came into the room looking forward to holding her for the first time.



Here I am checking Ruth Ann out after they cleaned her up a little bit. FYI...SHE'S PERFECT!

Ruth Ann's Nursery

So I've been asked by many of you to post pictures of Ruth Ann's nursery. The reason for the delay is that I wanted to wait until the project was complete. There are still some finishing touches (pictures for the wall yet to be purchased, a bookcase, and some pictures of the baby girl, etc) but for the most part we're finished. The curtains were the finishing touch and took longer than expected to get hung due to my error...mental note, don't assume you know window measurements when ordering expandable curtain rods. Always measure and then order. This week I finally got everything straightened out and Arch hung them this morning.

This is the view when you walk into her room. If anyone is ever going to paint a room pink I would highly recommend you purchase sample sizes and paint a small area in the room first. I went through 10 different colors before settling on the perfect shade of pink.


Here is her beautiful bed that we have on loan from Andrea...thanks again to Anna and Andrea for letting Ruth Ann use Anna's fabulous bed. Thanks also to Grammy for Ruth Ann's first stuffed tiger...I'm sure she'll love it until she starts her freshman year at Auburn!

Ruth Ann's a very lucky girl...how many little girls can say the have 2 closets in their room? This picture gives you a good view of her curtains which were made for me by a family friend, Tammy Link. She is very talented and Ruth Ann's room would not have been complete without them. My error in curtain rods revealed an error I made in ordering fabric for the curtains. Tammy was kind enough to work with me to straighten my mistake out. Thanks again Tammy!

Here's Lacie Lou checking out the room. The chair she's in is by far the most fabulous seat in our house. It's comfy, it rocks and reclines! I know I'll be spending lots of time here once Ruth Ann arrives. Lacie will most likely be right next to me keeping me company.

I wanted a good shot of the light fixture in her room. This was a gift from my mom's friend Ann Nichols (she also provided to the curtain rods). This light was the perfect finishing touch for Ruth Ann's room. Thanks Ann!

Week 38 update

So it's official. I went to the doctor this morning and she determined I was favorable for the induction on Monday morning. We'll head to the hospital Sunday evening to start meds and then the induction will be Monday morning. The end is in sight and we can't wait to meet our new baby girl! If you are one of our friends who live in the Columbia area and would like to come visit us while we're at the hospital we are welcoming visitors so don't feel shy about stopping by! If you're viewing our blog from afar, I promise to try to post a picture of Ruth Ann as soon as possible, but Arch has no idea how to post on the blog, so you'll have to wait until I'm home and can get to the computer...sorry.

An eventful weekend

So all last week I was having contractions, but never close enough to call the doctor. On sunday they got to be about 10 minutes apart and I was having a lot of pressure...I was sure I had dilated more. We called the doctor and we were told to head up to the hospital...music to my ears. I was hooked up to the fetal monitor and a monitor to measure my contractions, which increased in regularity, but ultimatly stopped that night only to start up again monday morning. However, after being checked 3 times I did not dilated any further and we were sent home without a newborn baby. The silver lining...I'm scheduled for an induction on MONDAY, DEC. 1ST!! So unless Ruth Ann decides otherwise, we have 5 more days to go until we meet this baby girl. I should have known she wouldn't be here before Thanksgiving. She is afterall a McCarty and probably doesn't want to miss out on a big Thanksgiving feast!

Pregnancy update...week 37 (& 1/2 but who's counting?)

I continued to experience a lot of contractions this week but these were much more regular and much stronger than what I had experienced in the past weeks(which I made plainly clear at my appointment today). Turns out I'm now 2 cm dilated and between 30-50% effaced!! I hope this means the stork is circling and ready to bring us our baby girl. I also asked for a weight estimate and of course I know this isn't an exact science, but I can't help but be curious. Today's guess was around 6lbs. However, here's some food for thought...I was 2 weeks early and weighed in at 8lbs and my brother was 2 weeks late and weighed in at 10lbs 2oz! If following the maternal line predicts baby's birth weight then Ruth Ann will most likily be closer to 8lbs rather than 6lbs. We'll see. I also found out my doctor is on call this weekend, so she would do the delivery if Ruth Ann decides to show herself this weekend. I've got my list of people to call, but if in all the excitement you don't hear from us, keep checking the blog. I'll find a way to have it updated should we meet the newest McCarty before my next appointment on Wednesday!

Pregnancy update...week 36

Just wanted to let everyone know what I found out at my doctor's appointment this afternoon. I've officially begun to dilate! This afternoon I was a "good 1 cm" and the doctor was able to feel Ruth Ann's head in the downward position. We're heading in the right direction even though I often feel her trying to stretch one of her legs out through my right side and I'm fairly sure this is not the exit she will be taking! My bags are packed and I'm hoping things are going to start happening sooner rather than later...stay tuned for more updates!

Halloween

Here are some pictures for the Brown's 3rd Annual Pumpkin Carving party...

Spencer is Dwight from NBCs "The Office", Arch is Dwight's cousin, Moses the beet farmer, and I'm a gum ball machine...thanks to Amanda Newman for the great costume suggestion.



Another great Halloween party at the Browns. Last year I won the costume contest for the ladies and I thought I would repeat this year since I Incorporated my expanding belly into my costume, but Brantley, aka Sarah Palin, took home the prize for the ladies this year. Spencer won for the guys, so thanks to Spencer the McCarty's still have a 2 year winning streak!

Couple's Shower

Arch and I are so lucky to have such great friends. Here are some pictures from our couples shower hosted by the Browns, the Clarks and the Tunmores.

This beautiful and delicous cake was made my Brantly Clark. She knows I love a monogram!

Arch surrounded by our gifts. We really are blessed to have such kind and overly generous friends!

Here's me and my mom...I'm 34 weeks pregnant in this picture and I look exhausted!

Spencer with cousins Madison and Ethan, also known as Priness Laya and Captain Rex.



Here are the brains behind the shower planning...hostesses Sally Brown, Brantley Clark and Auralee Tunmore.

Thanks again for a great shower!