Category Archives: Adaline
My Infertility Story (Part 4): Trying to Conceive After Miscarriage
April 24-April 30, 2011 is National Infertility Awareness Week
and I’ll be sharing my infertility story with you.
Read The Short Version, or for the whole story read:
Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, and Part 5
TRYING TO CONCEIVE: Take 2
On 09/25/2008 I had an ultrasound that confirmed the complete miscarriage of our first child. A week later I got a call from the doctor and she said that she also noticed what looked like a cyst near my ovary on the ultrasound. She said that it could be one of several things.
1. It could be a normal cyst that would come and go with ovulation
2. It could be a benign growth or tumor
3. It could be endometriosis.
She said that what they usually do is wait 6 weeks and then do another ultrasound to see if the cyst goes away on its own and if it doesn’t they do a laparoscopy. The way that they check for endometriosis is through laparoscopy and it’s one of the few tests I hadn’t had done yet. The doctor said that since endometriosis can be an infertility problem and we were already having trouble then we can just have the laparoscopy done right away instead of 6 weeks later. We decided to wait because we were going to be switching practices where the staff included an infertility specialist.
Less than 2 weeks after talking to my first OB about the laparoscopy I had an appointment with a new OB (not the specialist) at a new practice. She had me get blood work done to check my ovulation and thyroid and recommended we have another ultrasound done to look at the cyst. She said that there’s much debate about the existence of Luteal Phase Defect and that the small lag that I was showing is not enough of a diagnosis. Our infertility remained unexplained. The doctor said that we could start trying to conceive again and use the Crinone.
Three weeks later we had begun ttc again and I had another transvaginal ultrasound done. The ultrasound showed a very small (less than an inch) cyst near my left ovary. The doctor said that it appeared to be normal and that she didn’t see any problems with it, but that she’d like to see it on another ultrasound in 6 weeks to make sure it hadn’t grown or changed. If the cyst still appeared to be normal then she would put me on Clomid. If I didn’t get pregnant after 6 months on the Clomid she would refer me to the infertility specialist. She said that all of my other tests looked fine.
Eleven days later on November 16, 2008 I was at church and I just felt weird. I was light headed, dizzy, and woozy, I didn’t know what was going on. My period was due that Thursday and I thought maybe I was having some period symptoms, although I’d never experienced anything like it before. When we got home from church my husband left for work and I was going to head over to my mom’s house. The weird feeling was still there and I just had to take a pregnancy test so that I could prepare myself if my period was coming. I took the pregnancy test and it looked like it was negative. Then I looked again, really close, and I could see a very faint second line! I called my husband, who was excited, but because the line was so faint he thought it might be a false positive. We tested again on Tuesday and on Thursday, both positive, and my period never came. We were pregnant! We never went on Clomid or had the laparoscopy done.
We called the doctor and told them that we were pregnant and that we had an ultrasound scheduled for December 16 and could we still keep the appointment to check the progress of the pregnancy. They said yes! Another transvaginal (ug!) ultrasound. On December 16 I was 7 weeks and 5 days along when we got to see our precious baby for the first time. We were so relieved to see the little heart beating. It was such a different feeling from seeing the empty sac during our first pregnancy.
On August 04, 2008, 5 years and 8 months after stopping the birth control pill, after over 4 years of unexplained infertility, a miscarriage, and 2 hours of pushing, I gave birth via caesarean section to a beautiful, healthy 8lb 6oz baby girl…Adaline Rose.
*National Infertility Awareness Week
*Childless Mother: Infertility Poem
*Trying to Conceive: Take 1
*My First Pregnancy
*My Miscarriage
*Trying to Conceive: Take 2 You are here!
*Trying to Conceive: Take 3 Secondary Infertility
*Spring Ahead: Reflections on Miscarriage
*Celebrate Your Name Week: Jordan: Why we named the baby we miscarried
Celebrate Your Name Week: Adaline (Part 2)
March 6-12 is Celebrate Your Name Week! I figured I’d celebrate by discussing the names of our cast of characters here at Coolest Family on the Block. I told you about how Muppet got his name and how Adaline got her name.
Today I’d like to tell you about the meaning of Adaline’s name and why I spell it “wrong”.
Before I continue telling you about how/why Adaline got her name, I’m going to take a moment to tell you how we pronounce it. Adaline is said exactly how it is spelled Add-ah-line. It is not Ay-da nor is it linn or leen. All those versions of the name are pretty, but we use the classic pronunciation of Add-ah-line.
Okay, moving on…
I’d always wanted to give my kids Bible names. I’m not really sure why, I just liked the idea of it and the Bible contains some really beautiful timeless names (and some really weird ones too). While I was looking up Biblical names I kept seeing the name “Adah” and I thought that it was really pretty. I felt that “Adah” had the same appeal as Ava, Ella, Emma, and other two-syllable names that end with the “ah” sound. My husband didn’t like it. I think he thought it sounded like an old lady or something. I knew I probably wouldn’t just name my daughter “Adah” especially since I was still hanging on to “Hannah” at the time. When my husband brought up the name “Adeline” while looking through a baby book, not only did I find the full name beautiful but right away I thought about the nickname “Ada”.
Since the meaning of the name was something that was important to me, I began researching the name Adeline and other versions/spellings of the name. Repeatedly I found that Adeline means noble, nobility, of the noble sort, and sometimes kind. I thought that these were all great meanings, so I thought I’d dig a little deeper. I’m a bit obsessive in my researching and this was no different. I decided to research the name Ada into the depths of the internet until my search engine was screaming for mercy. I was thrilled with what I found. I loved that all of the meanings were nice and lovely and I loved that there were 13 different meanings for the name in 13 different countries! In parts of Africa the name means “firstborn daughter”, which was perfect! Many of the websites showed the pronunciation of “Ay-da” while others showed “Aa-da” and some showed both. I decided to change the spelling from Adeline to Adaline so that she would have the prefix of the name “Ada” which has so many wonderful meanings. Also then it wouldn’t be so much of a stretch to use “Ada” for a nickname.
Below is a list of the meanings and origins of the name “Ada” along with links to the sources.
ADALINE/ ADELINE
MEANINGS: Noble, Nobility
ADA
MEANINGS: Brightness, Beautiful, Adorned, Adornment, Ornament, Noble, Kind, Oldest/First Daughter, Wealthy, Prosperous, Happy, Sweet, Pleasant, Joyful
ORIGINS: Hebrew / Biblical, African, Germanic, French, Greek, Danish, American, Polish, Hungarian, Romanian, Teutonic, English, Hawaiian
+Hebrew / Biblical: Brightness, Beautiful, Adorned, Adornment
+African: First Daughter, Oldest Daughter
+Germanic: Noble, kind, of the noble sort
+French, Greek, Danish: Noble, Nobility
+American, Polish, Hungarian, Romanian: Noble, kind
+Teutonic: Happy
+English: Prosperous; happy, Wealthy, Happy
+Hawaiian: Happy, Ornament
+Other Meanings: Sweet, Pleasant, Joyful
Origins of Ada
(I’ve edited this due to length. To read the entire text please go here http://www.babynamespedia.com)
1: Ada has its origins in the Germanic language. It is used largely in the English, German, Hungarian, Polish, and Romanian languages. Derived from the word
adal meaning ‘noble, honorable’. The name was born in the 4th century by the sister of Mausolus, the builder of the first mausoleum, and by a 7th-century abbess in France. The name was introduced from Germany to English speakers in the late 18th century. It later became popular in the 19th century, during which Lord Byron gave the name to his daughter Ada, Countess of Lovelace (1815-1852), a prominent mathematician and patron of Charles Babbage the inventor of the early mechanical computer. The computer language Ada was later named after her.
2: Ada’s language of origin is Hebrew. Biblical name: In the Old Testament of the Bible, a number of women were named Adah, with various meanings such as ‘ornament’ and ‘brightness’.
Another reason I chose the name Adaline over Hannah was because of the song “Sweet Adeline”. I love Barbershop Quartet music and it’s a pretty song and I thought it would be neat to be able to sing this song to her.
In conclusion (for both posts) Adaline got her name because:
1. Daddy found it in a baby book
2. I liked the “old fashioned” name and the barbershop quartet song about it
3. It’s not too popular and trendy like many similar names
4. It’s not too different and sounds similar to other names that are popular (Addison, Madeline)
5. It has a lovely meaning.
6. The prefix and nickname “Ada” is a Bible name that can also be found in 12 other countries with 13 different beautiful meanings including “firstborn daughter”.
7. It’s perfect 🙂
So, at the risk of now making the name more trendy and popular…don’t you want to name your daughter Adaline as well?! 😉
Does your child’s name have a special meaning?
Tell me in the comments!
Be sure to stop back tomorrow when I’ll be talking about the name of our most mysterious family member…Cool Daddy!
Other “Celebrate Your Name Week” Posts:
+How Muppet got his name
+How Adaline got her name
+The meaning of Adaline’s name and why I spell it wrong
Celebrate Your Name Week: Adaline (Part 1)
March 6-12 is Celebrate Your Name Week! Yesterday I told you about how our furbaby, Muppet, got his name.
Today we’ll talk about naming Adaline.
My baby bump has a sinister handlebar mustache. Don’t be jealous.
At some point during our relationship Cool Daddy and I discussed what we’d name our daughter if we had one in the future. I’m not sure exactly how it all came about, but we’d both decided that we liked the name Rebecca Paige.
We had it settled.
Time went on and on and on…and I still wasn’t getting pregnant. It took 4 ½ years of unexplained infertility before we conceived our first baby. I started looking through baby name books and searching online. I’m not really sure if I was actually looking for a name or if I just felt that it was a rite of passage that I wanted to indulge in. Although I’d never really thought about it before, now that I was pregnant the meaning of the name became very important to me. I had already felt myself letting go of Rebecca, but once I read the meaning of the name* I was pretty sure it wasn’t for me. I felt very strongly about naming the baby Hannah if it were a girl. I’d always wanted a Biblical name and now I really related to Hannah. My husband and I thought Hannah Grace would be the perfect name for our little girl (Coincidentally Hannah also means “grace”).
Just before 12 weeks I lost the baby.
Three months later I was pregnant again. Once again I began looking in baby name books and searching online. I’m not sure why. We’d already chosen names during the last pregnancy. Still I felt myself letting go of Hannah Grace. I think part of it was because it was a name I was considering for the other baby and I just felt a little uncomfortable using it for this baby. One day while my husband and I were looking through baby name books he said, “What about Adeline? That’s pretty isn’t it?” I told him, “I love Adeline! Great pick, honey!” And I put it on my short list. I was still searching but from that moment on the baby was “Adeline” to my husband. Part of me wanted to keep both Adeline and Hannah and then decide once I saw the baby. In my mind Adaline had blue eyes and blond hair like me while Hannah had brown hair and brown eyes like her daddy. Somewhere around 34 weeks I had made up my mind.
Her name would be Adaline and here is why…
I loved the name Hannah but I felt like it was becoming too popular. Everyone seemed to be named Hannah (along with many other names that I liked including Emma, Ella, Isabella, and Ava). Because of that it seemed like the significance of the name would be lost in a sea of other Hannahs. I know a little about having a popular name (says the Jennifer from the 80s with a sister named Jessica). Then there’s Hannah Montana. I don’t have any problem with the show, but it can be a little irritating if as soon as you say “Hannah” someone thinks (or says) “Montana!”. And then one time my sister referred to the baby as “Hannah Banana”, and while that’s a cute little nickname…I know my sister. She would’ve started calling the child that all of the time and getting her everything with bananas and monkeys on it. It would’ve been overkill. So that’s why I didn’t name her Hannah. (I still love the name, though, so please do not let my hang ups stop you from naming your daughter Hannah. It’s a lovely name!).
I did name her Adaline because it’s a beautiful name. I also loved that it wasn’t popular, however, similar names like Addison and Madeline are popular. This would mean that plucking the name Adaline out of the early 20th century wouldn’t seem as foreign with similar sounding names being popular. She would also have the option of going by Adaline and being a little more unique or going by Addy like the other Addy’s and Maddy’s she’ll likely encounter. (There was no way to make Jennifer more unique. Unless you go by Lola, which isn’t Jennifer at all actually…so it doesn’t count.). We gave her the middle name “Rose” simply because I thought it sounded beautiful (and roses are my favorite flower, but it has nothing to do with the name selection). Other middle names that we considered were Grace, Joy, and Jayne.
Tomorrow I will tell you about the meaning of Adaline’s name including why I spell her name wrong 🙂
*Meaning of the name Rebecca: To bind, to ensnare, tied, captivating, knotted chord
(I still think Rebecca is a beautiful name.)
How did you choose your child’s name?
Tell me your story in the comments!
Other “Celebrate Your Name Week” Posts:
+How Muppet got his name
+How Adaline got her name
+The meaning of Adaline’s name and why I spell it wrong
Adaline’s 1st Birthday Party – Pink and Green Polka Dots and Cupcakes
Here are some photos of Adaline’s first birthday party that we had on Saturday August 7, 2010. The theme was polka dots and cupcakes to match her dress. The colors were pink, green, and white. Unfortunately I don’t have a great camera so the pictures aren’t as nice as I’d like. Hopefully the details show through despite my poor photography equipment!
The Birthday Girl!
I made the number one sign out of an artist’s canvas covered in a pillow case with tissue paper hot glued to it. I saw the link on Polka Dot Market’s Facebook Page. This DIY Tissue Number Sign was featured on www.prudentbaby.com!
(DIY Tissue Number Sign Mini-Tutorial)
I found the Bonnie Jean dress at Burlington Coat Factory when Adaline was only 3 months old. I thought it would be perfect as her first birthday dress, so I bought it right then!
This sign was made by a close friend of the family who also came to the party to help take photos and videos. The sign fit at the front of our house perfectly…and she didn’t even do it on purpose! Thanks Sara!
The front of our house on party day (Boo, car!)
The super cute Happy Birthday banner is from Polka Dot Market Coupled with the dress this banner gave me the inspiration for the whole party theme and color scheme.
Happy Birthday Banner from Polka Dot Market
There wasn’t enough room inside our house for all of the guests so we rented a tent for the backyard. Inside the tent we hung tulle and hung balloons upside down. We added white linens on the tables and chairs and tied tulle around the chairs.
All of the paper products were purchased at The Hobby Lobby. I got the green tumblers and “margarita” glasses at Wal-Mart back in April. Everything that I used for the Ribbon Topiaries was purchased at The Hobby Lobby. (Ribbon Topiary Video Tutorial)
I glued Adaline’s photos to paper plates and taped them around the doorway in hopes that it would look like polka dots (does it?) I hoped to do this around all of the doorways including the outside but I ran out of time.
I found the foam glitter letters at Michael’s. The white shelves holding Adaline’s photo display is usually in our upstairs bathroom. I used it to show pictures of her smashing cake, her 9 month photo, 6 month photo, 3 week photo, and one of the first photos of her right after she was born. The green tablecloth was from Wal-Mart. It’s actually a rectangle cloth on a square table that had to be strategically folded to fit properly. I certainly would never use a tablecloth right out of the package without steaming it first…nope, not me 😉
That’s the same number one sign from the first picture. I found the cupcake pedestals at The Hobby Lobby. The tiered cupcake/cake stand is from Save-on-crafts.com, we added some ribbon from The Hobby Lobby.
My mom made and decorated the main cake and all of the cupcakes. Although she’s been decorating with butter cream for 30 years, this was her first time using fondant. I think she did a great job! We got the idea for the cake from Wilton.com.
I decorated Adaline’s smash cake. This was my first time ever decorating a cake, you can see the gaps…whoops! My mom is great at cake decorating and always made fancy birthday cakes for us when we were kids. I’d like to do the same for my kids but since I have no idea what I’m doing I asked her to make the main cake and I made the smash cake. That is butter cream icing but the polka dots are fondant. I found the polka dot number one candle at a local party shop where I also got the cupcake wrappers. The wrappers were originally pink with white polka dots, but the chocolate cupcakes made they polka dots appear brown!
Adaline’s photo timeline August 2009 to August 2010
This photo timeline of Adaline was set up in our living room. Aside from the photo displays I didn’t decorate the living room because I couldn’t bring myself to put pink and lime green in our yellow and blue room. I thought it clashed too much…call me weird. I was going to make a blue and yellow happy birthday banner amongst other things but I never had the time to get around to it. There are 13 photos of Adaline displayed, one photo a month from August 2009 to August 2010. I got the photo frames at Target. They were in the dollar spot, but they were $2.50 for a pack of 3. The black “Adaline” letters are usually on a shelf in her bedroom, they’re from The Hobby Lobby.
Oh, yes ma’am, those are pink and green number one shaped ice cubes…how nice of you to notice! We had pink lemonade too, of course, but it was all gone before I had a chance to take this picture 😦
Below is Adaline digging into her smash cake. It was a banana flavored cake tinted pink (even though it looks red in the pictures).
Happy Family
Our happy family (with a very tired baby) at the “photo booth” after a long and exhausting, but totally awesome party!
Adaline and Mommy
The DIY Tissue Number Sign that I made for Adaline’s 1st Birthday was featured on www.prudentbaby.com!
Related Posts
BIRTHDAY TUTORIALS
*DIY No Sew Party Hat Tutorial
*Ribbon Topiary Video Tutorial (Centerpiece)
*Tissue Number Birthday Sign (Mini-Tutorial)
BIRTHDAY PARTIES
*Birthday Girl…2 years old: Photos of Adaline at her birthday party
*Ladybug Picnic: 2nd Birthday
*Ham and Man Party: 30th Birthday
*Celebrating 30 years in 30 days! All of my birthdays from 1980-2009
BIRTHDAY TRADITIONS
*Birthday Traditions: Personalized Birthday CD
*Birthday Traditions: Knife and Cake Server
*Birthday Traditions: Professional Photos
*Birthday Traditions: Photo Puzzle
*Happy 2nd Birthday, Adaline!
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Fun and Dysfunction 