Where'd You Get Those Peepers?

So one thing that provides a constant source of amusement for me is all the comments that Alia gets on her eyes. It seems like it's either the first or the second thing that anyone says when the see Alia.

"Wow, look at those eyes!"

"She has such big eyes!"

"Oh, what beautiful eyes!"

The other day I was telling Trevor that I pretty much just wait for people to make one of these comments. Well, soon after saying that, we got into an elevator with two ladies. They commented on how cute she was, but there was no "eyes" comment. I was a little put-out, but then after they got off and walked around the corner (but before the elevator door closed) I heard one of the ladies say, "Did you see how big her eyes were?" I turned to Trevor and gave him a "told you so" look. :)

The funny thing is, neither Trevor nor I ever had eyes like that when we were babies. But it's by far her most defining feature. I wonder if they'll always look a little big, or if they just look that way now because she's so little still. Only time will tell, I suppose!

We didn't die...I just haven't posted in awhile

A picture of Alia from our recent family
portaits by Amy Bennion.

Wow, I haven't posted since June, and here it is, September. Well, I guess I should probably update!

Alia is doing great. She was sick last week, and ended up having a bladder infection, poor thing. She's feeling much better now, but is still on antibiotics. She'll be 6 months old this Sunday, and somehow I always imagined that she'd more more mobile at this point. She doesn't roll around, and still doesn't want to sit up on her own (although she LOVES it when we stand her up, and really likes to spend time standing in her jumper). She still cries when we put her on her tummy, and will only roll over as a last resort to get back on her back again. The last time we had her weighed and measured (when we took her to the pediatrician when she was sick) she weighed 13 pounds, 3 ounces, and was 26 inches long.

Isn't she cute in her little Zippy?

A big accomplishment for us lately has been weaning Alia off of her swaddle. She was swaddled every night and during naps, and for a long time it really helped her sleep better. Then she got stronger and would start busting out of her swaddle...however, she would then cry because she was un-swaddled. So she couldn't sleep with it or without it, and it was making bedtime a real hassle. We tried going cold turkey, but she woke up screaming bloody murder in the middle of the night and wouldn't calm down until we re-swaddled her, so that only lasted one night. Finally I came across this genius invention from another mom with a swaddle-addict baby, called a Zipadee-Zip. It lets babies move around more, but still gives them the snug feeling of being swaddled, and it has saved my bacon. Alia will play around for awhile, suck on her hands, and then eventually fall asleep. I will say that she still doesn't nap quite as long as she did swaddled, but it's a fair trade. Now, she'll wake up in the middle of the night, and instead of me rushing in their to re-swaddle her, she'll sometimes just play for a little while and then go back to sleep. We've also stopped swaddling her while we feed her (we had to for a long time because she would constantly whack the bottle out of her mouth, or would get distracted by the bottle and stop eating) and she's doing great with that, too. Overall, the whole process has gone so much better than I was expecting.

This was one of the family pictures that Amy Bennion
took for us a few weeks ago.

Trevor and I are doing great. I was pretty sick a few weeks ago, and still don't know exactly what it was, but I was struggling to eat and keep food down for a week. I've also had two killer migraines int he past few weeks, which is a bummer. I actually experienced a migraine aura with one of them, for the first time in my life. It looked like TV static in the bottom left of my left eye, and I was thinking, "Oh my gosh, what's wrong with my eye?!" and then the headache hit, big time, and the mystery was solved. I might go see a neurologist if these migraines don't let up.

Trevor got called to be the Ward Mission Leader a few weeks ago, and is enjoying the calling so far, although it means less time for us to be together int he evenings, since he now has a few appointments with the missionaries every week. But it's worth it.

In other news, my sweet sister-in-law, Whitney just got married to Corbin Skinner. We're so happy for them! Also, my other sweet sister-in-law, Lisa, just moved with her family to Washington D.C. since her husband, Dan, is going to law school there. Oh, and another shout-out to one of my best friends, Courtney, who just had her second baby a few days ago. Logan Garcia is a real cutie!

Well, I'll finish off this post with a few more pictures of "The Cuteness" (aka Alia).

Enjoying a banana

Enjoying her toes

Enjoying her fingers

Remember when she used to snuggle up in my lap?
Well, now I have to have a pretty secure grip on her, because
she tries to dive off my lap and onto the floor. 

Sometimes she drops her toys on her face and
just can't be bothered to move it off her face.

Reading with Daddy. She loves to be read to!

Alia's Blessing Day

The dress that Alia is wearing is the same one
I was blessed in.

Trevor blessed our little girl on June 10th. We had my dad, his friend Lori, and my brothers there, and on Trevor's side we had his mom, dad, brother, Whitney, Grandma and Grandpa Koch, Grandma Wilcock, Aunt Susan and Uncle Greg and few of their kids, Aunt Cheri and Uncle James and some of their kids, and Uncle Steve. So as you can see, we were very blessed to be surrounded by family!

Trevor gave Alia a beautiful blessing that brought tears to his eyes and to mine. I think we were both reminded of what a special little girl we have. After the blessing, it was testimony meeting, and so Trevor and I both bore our testimonies, as well as my dad, Uncle Steve, and Grandpa Koch. Unfortunately Alia was fussing and crying through a lot of the meeting (though not for her blessing, thank goodness!) so Trevor's mom was kind enough to take her out of the chapel.

After church, we went back to Trevor's parent's house where we were treated to wonderful food. Our thanks go out to everyone who helped provide and prepare the food! It was so fun to be able to talk and laugh with family, though I really wish Alia had been in a better mood. She didn't get a lot of sleep that morning with all the activity, so she was sleepy.

We are so thankful for Alia and the joy that she has brought into our life!

Here are a few more pictures from the day. (I apologize for the poor quality of some of them. They were taken with the iPhone, and some of us didn't realize that you have to hold it so still to make sure it doesn't come out blurry.)

The cake we bought for the occasion. You can't go wrong with Costco!

Hanging out on the "Sleepy couch" :)

Enjoying some tasty food!

Is it just me, or do they look like they're up to something? ;)

I love this picture. :)

See what I mean? She was not a happy camper. :(

No More Milky-Milks

Don't ask why, but for some reason I started to refer to my breast milk as "milky-milks", as in, "Does Alia want some milky-milks?" Anyway, this is something I meant to write about earlier, but never got around to.

My milk came in as soon as I left the hospital. I had an abundance, so much that it was painful. We went strong for four weeks with no supplementing, and then suddenly things started to go downhill. At first I thought, "Well, she must be going through a growth spurt and my body just can't keep up with her feeding demands." But then it only got worse. I had to start giving her formula more and more often. I would try to not give her the formula, and would instead just try to breastfeed her more often, thinking, "This will teach my body to make more milk." But it didn't work, and just left both of us feeling frustrated instead. The horrible thing was, I would always breastfeed her first, and then finish off with formula, but after having breast milk, she would fight the bottle. It made me feel horrible, like I was forcing her to eat something she hated.

But gradually that changed, too. By 8 weeks, I was down to only being able to feed her breast milk once a day, and by the point, she would have trouble latching on because she was more used to a bottle. I would try to breastfeed her, and she would jerk her head from side to side, getting frustrated, as though I was teasing her or something and denying her food. After that, it went downhill pretty fast. Soon I could only feed her once every two days, then every three days, and by the time she was 10 weeks old, I stopped making milk altogether.

I'm used to being a "formula feeding mom" at this point, but I still feel like people judge me when I pull out a bottle in public for Alia. Plus, formula is horribly expensive. It's like the formula companies know that you have no alternative, so they can raise their prices as high as they want. I've heard that most of the time there's a reason behind having a low milk supply, and the only reason I can think of was the birth control I was using. The doctor gave me a prescription for the mini-pill, which is supposed to be safe for breastfeeding, and isn't supposed to affect your supply, but my supply started to drop right about the same time that I started taking the pill. When I realized that, I immediately stopped taking it, but by then the damage was done. Next time we have a baby, I will make sure to avoid all forms of hormonal birth control and see if there's an improvement.

Until then, I'll just remind myself that a mother's love comes from her heart...not her breasts.

Clear Creek 2012

Part of our group, eating lunch at Zion's Natl. Park

Well, we just got back yesterday from another great family reunion at Clear Creek (a big lodge down near Zion's National Park). We got there Thursday night around 11pm, after a seven hour drive with Alia (normally we can do the trip in about five hours, but all of our stops added another couple of hours). She did okay, though she definitely did not like being strapped in her car seat for that long. There weren't too many people there on Thursday, but we spent a little time talking to the few who were, and then hit the sack.

This is the way Alia prefers to be held these days.

On Friday, we had a fun-filled day of hanging out with family, chatting, eating great food, and playing games. It was nice to see the family from California, especially, since we don't get to see them as often. Taylor and Janae's little girl, Molly, is about two years old now, and she loved to look at Alia, and "help out". Whenever she saw me, she would say, "Where the baby at?" It was pretty darn cute. Alia had a great time being held by everyone, although she's gotten pretty particular about how she likes to be held. She wants to be facing out so she can see everything, and she wants you to be walking around, I guess so that she can she more stuff.



Going hiking with Alia in the little "back pack" carrier.

On Saturday, we went to Zion's National Park for a picnic and some hiking. Unfortunately, it was cold and windy, which wasn't so fun. We ate on the grass out in front of the Zion's Lodge, but we were all huddling with out hoods up to keep out of the wind. Alia was just screaming and crying the whole time. After we got her inside the lodge, changed her diaper, and fed her, she was feeling a little better, so Trevor and I set out to go for a little hike. We did the Weeping Rock trail, which is probably the shortest hike in Zion's, but it was about all she could handle. When we got back to Clear Creek, we helped make Taco Salads for dinner, and then Trevor and I watched a movie together to finish out the evening.

Trevor and Alia "chilling" after church.

On Sunday we drove into Orderville for church, though Trevor and I were a little late since Alia needed to be fed just as we were trying to leave. After church, we went back to Clear Creek and took some family pictures, including a huge group picture in our matching Koch shirts. Even Alia had a matching shirt, though hers was more like a dress, since the smallest size they came in was a 2T. After that, Trevor's cousin Kati offered to take some professional photos of Alia for us, and they are so cute! (I'll include them in a blog post when she sends me to final copies). We then had a big family get together where everyone gave their updates for their family, and then we had a little devotional, and then played a game of Family Feud (boys against girls...sadly, the boys won). That night, before Trevor's uncle John left, he gave everyone chiropractic adjustments, including me. It was nice afterwards, but still weirded me out as he was doing it.

Eating some tasty ice cream after hiking in Zions.
A Koch family tradition. :)

On Monday, we packed everything up and then hit the road once more. We made better time coming home, since Alia decided to sleep longer, which was great. It was sad to say goodbye to everyone, and re-enter the "real world" once more, but I'm already looking forward to next year, when Alia will be toddling around, hopefully with her cousin Addison. (Dan and Lisa, unfortunately, couldn't make it this year, and though we all missed them, we're looking forward to seeing them later this summer!)

I am so lucky to be a part of the Koch family. They are such a big, fun, loving group of people, and the importance of family is so central to who they are. I love that we get together, not only at Clear Creek every year, but also every couple of months for holiday parties or just because. I am proud to be a Koch!

Two Months Old



I have a doctor's appointment today?
Okay, I guess I can handle that...

Our little girl is growing so fast! Yesterday, she had her two month appointment with the pediatrician, and she now weighs 9lbs 12oz! No wonder my arms are starting to get tired. When she was born, she was in the 2nd percentile for weight, now she's int he 22nd percentile! She's also 22 inches long, which means her body is finally catching up with her big head (so maybe holding up her head will get a little easier).


Wait, what? I have to get SHOTS???

She also had to get some shots unfortunately. I held her arms and tried to comfort her while they did it, but it was so hard for me. I'd never heard her cry in pain like that, and hearing her almost made me cry, too. She had a hard time that night, and I felt so helpless to help. I wish we didn't have to go through this again in two months.

In happier news, today is Mother's day! I was so excited to celebrate my first mother's day (even though Alia is still too young to actually make me a card or anything). Trevor was so good to me, though. He got up and made me breakfast (breakfast burritos, my favorite!) and then he made cute little notes and hid them around the house (I still haven't found them all...). In church, the women all got tomato plants, which was new, since usually it's a flower. We'll see if I can keep it alive...

I am so happy to be a mother. I love Alia so much, and can't imagine my life without her. Her smiles brighten up my day in a way that little else can. I am so lucky to have her. :)

(By the way, I bought this shirt when we were in Mexico last year. I was pregnant at the time, but I didn't know if I was having a boy or girl yet. When I saw the little dress that matched my shirt, I had to buy it...just in case. Haha.)

Baby Smiles

Alia smiles now! This was something I was really eager for, so I'm so excited about it. At first she would just make cute little half-smiles in her sleep, which I enjoyed, but I wanted those big, full-mouth smiles. Then, on April 9th, I got my first real smile! I had gotten Alia out of bed and decided to lay her on Trevor's side of our bed (since he was at work) and I laid down next to her, and was just watching her. She was looking around, and then noticed me. She looked at my face for a few seconds, and then gave me a big smile. My heart melted! After that, though, her smiles were still really rare.

Now that she's a month and a half old, though, she's started to smile a lot more! I finally caught a good smile with my camera (not her best smile, but better than my previous attempts!).

Our first "sleepy smile" that we captured.

Almost smiling...

Getting closer...

Well, she's sort of awake...

Finally! A picture of a proper smile!