23 Weeks

Adeline Lou Allen

A few weeks back I randomly picked up the baby name book and begin over again on the first page of girls names. There was Adeline, and after saying it out loud a few times I decided it was worth mentioning to Chris. He liked the name also and we started talking about nick names like Ada and Addie. We decided to take the name to the top of our list.

A week later I had gone up into the attic to put a few things that Perry had outgrown away in storage. I came across a Cabbage Patch Kid doll that I had bought 5 years ago while we were living outside of Philly. I had been at the grocery store and walked down the seasonal isle, which I never do. They had these 25 year anniversary Cabbage Patch dolls and there was one that looked just like the doll I had as a child, blonde side braid and everything.

So after mulling it over some I decided to buy her with the thought that one day if we had a daughter I could give it to her and if not I could be that crazy lady with a doll still in a box. The doll has moved with us since then to three different houses and all the way up to Maine. Back in the attic, I picked her up from where she had been tucked away and decided to take a look at the name. I don't think I ever really had before. This is what I saw..

 

I was stunned. After staring in disbelief I took her downstairs to show Chris. He couldn't believe it either and said "so I guess her name is officially Adeline now". If we were looking for some kind of sign, it has been delivered.

I called my sisters and my mom afterwards. My mom and Kim confirmed that the doll is indeed the same one I had as a kid. It turns out the 25 year anniversary dolls were made using the same molds that the originals were. So five years ago I bought a doll, my doll, to give to our future daughter and she already had her name, how amazing is that? I am still in awe. Adeline, we have been ready and waiting for you for a long time.

 

Week 23 - Development Update
Baby's sense of movement is well developed by now. She's more than 11 inches long and weighs just over a pound (about as much as a large mango). Blood vessels in her lungs are developing to prepare for breathing, and the sounds that the baby's increasingly keen ears pick up are preparing her for entry into the outside world. Loud noises that become familiar now — such as dogs barking or the roar of the vacuum cleaner — probably won't faze her when she hears them outside the womb.