I remember asking the doctor at my six-week follow-up about the memory box I had received. I wondered: Who made the gown? Where did the items come from? How were they put together? I was told that the nurses assembled them using donated items. That memory box—given to me by the nurses at Yale New Haven Hospital—is now one of my most treasured possessions. It holds the only tangible memories I have from my short time with Adalynn.

That experience inspired me to create memory boxes of my own, hoping to bring comfort to other families facing similar heartbreak. In mid-2017, I began searching for items to include in each box. It took some time to move from the idea to action, but in December 2017, I proudly delivered my first set of five memory boxes to Yale.

My mom, who’s a talented seamstress, was eager to help. Together, we found patterns in different sizes, and over the years, she’s customized each gown with thoughtful touches like lace, flowers, or beads. Some gowns are made from deeply meaningful materials—pieces of her wedding dress, my First Communion veil, and fabric from other special moments in our lives. She even created boy versions of the gowns, complete with tiny vests and bow ties. In the beginning, I didn’t know how to knit or crochet, so my sister stepped in to make little hats for the first few boxes. Eventually, I learned to use a knitting loom in the fall of 2018 and taught myself to crochet in January 2020.

Every item in the boxes is carefully chosen with the hope that it offers comfort and serves as a lasting keepsake for the families who receive them.

As my mission grew and I began assembling more memory boxes, I wanted to share my work—not just with friends and family, but also with the families receiving the boxes. In December 2018, I created a Facebook page and needed a name. That’s how Adalynn’s Gift was born.

Creating these memory boxes became both a way to honor Adalynn and a way to cope with my grief. I see each box as a gift from her—something that brings me comfort and offers other grieving families a way to remember their babies. If I can’t hold her in my arms, doing this in her memory helps me feel close to her.

From that point on, I began including information about Adalynn’s Gift in every box. I wanted families to know the story behind each gown, hat, and item they receive. I often think about the gown we were given and wonder who made it—so I wanted to make sure others didn’t have to wonder. Most of all, I hoped the page and the boxes would remind grieving families that they are not alone.

In the summer of 2020, I became determined to give Adalynn’s Gift a stronger presence and created this website as I continued to expand our reach to more hospitals.

Emily Peregrim

Founder of Adalynn’s Gift