Liam

He's here! Our baby boy arrived Sunday, April 26 at 3:52 p.m.

I went into active labor at 1:30 a.m. Sunday. It was an intense day but the short story is after 14 hours I wasn't dilated past an 8, his head wasn't fitting, I was having painful back labor and the doctor decided on a C-section.

We had the best surgeon on the island with a very competent team of people to get the job done. I was disappointed I couldn't deliver naturally, but the surgery went fine and Liam and I are both healthy.

8 lbs, 12 oz; 21 inches long and his head is 37cm (90th percentile)

Proud daddy

Mommy meets Liam
Grandma and Grandpa Sparks

Auntie Jovanna comes for a visit

Sweet baby

Daddy really likes to hold him

Leaving the hospital on Tuesday

Neighbors welcoming us home - we're officially in the mommy/daddy club

Taking a nap in his new bed

Pregnancy update

Went to doc this morning. Doc was in surgery. Waited several hours. When he was about to get back to the nurse invited me in to take my vitals. Realized I forgot all my records at home. Said I would run home and get them real quick. Got to my car and had a flat tire. Nice guy fixed it for me with Fix-a-Flat and compressor C.J. put in the trunk (thank you male brain). Drove home. Shed a few tears because I was hot, tired and annoyed. C.J. decided to go back to doc with me. Got there. Waited 30 more minutes. Saw doctor. Examined me. Said I was effaced 60%. Which doesn't mean anything. In a very subtle way told us we should have sex to get things going. Cannot believe how many people have told me this in the last two weeks. Never talked about my sex life so much. Scheduled an ultrasound and non-stress test for Friday to check fetal well being. Then will decide to induce Saturday or Monday or Tuesday. Left doctor. Went to tire shop to fix tire. Went to Western Union to pay electric bill. Stopped by mechanic to tighten belt on car. Bought some bananas and cucumbers at a produce stand. Came home and cooked tacos. Laid in bed and quizzed C.J. on immuno questions. Cleaned house. Waiting for parents to get here. Still pregnant.

Study while you can

We are both getting really anxious now. Liam is officially seven days overdue tomorrow. I'm going to the doctor in the morning for a weekly check up and to discuss the possibility of induction.

While I've been keeping myself preoccupied with social outings and errands C.J. has been laying around the house. O.K., not exactly. He is studying a lot at home.

I talk so much about my own adventures, I thought I'd show you what he is doing while I am at the beach or lunching with the SOs.

Studying in bed - a favorite spot in the morning and evening

Studying in the living room chair

Studying on the couch

Studying at his desk - clothing optional

Pretty exciting, huh? Other spots include the chair on our front porch, the kitchen table or sometimes the baby's room. I find it amusing how much he moves around our little apartment. I guess twelve hours a day of reading and memorizing can get pretty boring - he has to break it up somehow.

He has a final in Immunology on Monday. It's going to be a piece of cake to take that final within days of his first child being born. Then he has finals in Neuroscience and Physiology during the second week of May. Also shouldn't be a problem - no distractions around here.

He's being a very good sport and not fretting too much or complaining about what is about to happen to his study schedule. Every day he just keeps putting in the time while we wait for labor.

My parents arrive tomorrow. I thought the baby would show up first. But now it looks like they will be here for the birth, which I don't think they mind.

Hopefully tomorrow something will happen or we'll schedule a day to make it happen. I am more than ready now. "I'm still pregnant" is not really funny anymore.

American military in Grenada

The American military is back in Grenada, but this time it is not because of any communist coup. President Obama is at a Summit of the Americas in Trinidad and Tobago, an island country only about 100 miles from here.

Grenada is the home base for the President's military entourage. For the past few days we've seen, or actually heard, fighter jets taking off and landing at the Grenada airport, apparently going out on shifts to patrol the skies over Trinidad.

We live only a few miles from the airport, so we always hear planes taking off and landing. But these jets are a whole different thing. When I say we hear them, I mean our apartment is filled with a deafening sound and it feels like our building is going to collapse. It is one of the loudest sounds I have ever heard. They always take off in pairs so when you hear one jet, you know another will follow shortly.

They are flying so fast it is hard to actually see them. We run to the window, and if we're lucky we maybe catch the second jet shooting across the sky. They are flying every six hours or so around the clock, so last night we were jolted out of our peaceful sleep at 1 a.m. and then again at 7 this morning. Our neighbors with children are understandably upset because these flights are waking their kids up in the night. And I can sleep through about anything so you know it is loud if it wakes me up.

After hearing them this morning, I wanted to go down to the airport and get a closer look. We just got a pair of binoculars from C.J.'s family (thank you very much) so what a great way to test them out. Also, I had to get some pictures for my dad, the retired air traffic controller and airplane enthusiast.

We got up on a hill overlooking the airport and were able to see the fleet of jets awaiting their next patrol mission. There were several locals and students doing the same - this is the most exciting thing happening on our little island at the moment.

We checked them out for awhile, but we weren't there at the right time to see them take off. When I got home I did some research to see what kind of planes they are. We've heard they are F-15s or F-16s or F-18s from different people.

Now C.J. was just telling me yesterday that in neuroanatomy they are learning that men and women's brains are completely different, down to every last cell. He clearly demonstrated this when I was unable to identify what kind of jets we have here from the pictures on Wikipedia.

He spotted right away that the jets are F-15s. He said, "See, can't you tell by the double wings standing up in the back and the fuel tank and the cockpit..." Blah, blah, blah - my female brain just shut down. I mumbled something about them all looking the same to me and earned myself a dissaproving look.

His insight helped me confirm on the Internet that the planes in Grenada are indeed F-15 fighter air crafts. And they are supposedly from Elgin Air Force Base in Florida. There is speculation that the pilots are part of the elite USAF 58th Fighter Squadron's "Mighty Gorillas." And that would makes sense because C.J. again noticed some of the planes did have "Gorilla" written on the wings.

Also on the Internet it said these planes are ready to "protect the POTUS" at the Summit of the Americas. What is POTUS? You know who informed me that POTUS is code for President of the United States. Seriously, how does he know this stuff? Oh, the workings of the male mind.

Liam, are you getting all this from the womb? Are your male brain cells filing away the sound of a military jet in flight? Come out tonight so you can see your first fighter jet in person.

Dad, look, F-15s in Grenada

The male brain admiring the fighting machines

Which is bigger, my belly or the American military presence in Grenada?

P.S. I'm still pregnant. 40 weeks, 3 days and counting.

Name game

It's Monday, and I'm still pregnant. I woke up early this morning feeling energized. Could this mean the baby is coming soon?? Or could it mean I'm excited to have lunch at La Luna after yoga today? Either way, there's time for another blog.

I always thought picking a baby name would be one of the best parts of getting pregnant. As any woman will attest, thinking up names for your unborn children is a favorite pastime for girls of all ages.

Then when we got pregnant, naming the baby seemed like the least important thing. I realize why parents always say "as long as he/she is healthy" about their baby. Because that really becomes the top priority and names become trivial.

Nevertheless, after a few months we easily agreed on the first name Liam. It was the only name C.J. really liked on my list of favorites. On a side note, why won't he let me name our baby Shane after that classic cowboy novel I read in 8th grade? Just because he knew some loser in high school...

Anyway, we like Liam because it is short and therefore goes well with a hefty last name like Winckler. It is not too common in the U.S., but is still a fairly traditional name being a variation of William. There aren't a lot of ways to shorten Liam or any unpleasant nicknames that are immediately obvious.

It is commonly sited as being of Irish origin. We are obviously American, not Irish, but C.J. can trace family roots back to Ireland on his mom's side. So, Liam it is, and it is nice that we could agree so quickly on a first name.

But then there is the matter of the middle name. We are only days away (let's hope) from bringing our baby into the world, and we still do not have a middle name. We just cannot agree on anything.

Our front runners are Christopher (after C.J.), Austin (after that great city we once lived in) and James (because we like it). But we can't seem to commit to any of them. C.J. feels pretentious about using his own name, Austin may be a little sentimental and James, I don't know, something is not quite right.

Since Liam will have the unique experience of being born on a Caribbean island, we also have been thinking it would be nice to have a middle name that represented some part of island life here.

And that's where the search for a middle name has grown a life of it's own. We have literally spent hours with our Grenadian friends mulling over island middle names.

We've had some very interesting suggestions:

Liam Carib (Carib is our local beer)

Liam West (for West Indies)

Liam Saint (for St. George's)

Liam George (again, for St. George's - the school or the capital)

Liam Lance (for Lance Aux Epines, our neighborhood)

Liam Dove (for the endangered Grenadian Dove)

Liam Gouyave (for the town with the weekly Fish Friday festival)

Liam Prickly (for Prickly Bay, the beach by our house)

Liam Bishop (after Maurice Bishop Highway, the main road in our area)

Liam True or Liam Blue (after True Blue, the peninsula where the school is located)

Liam Westerhall (after the local rum distillery)


I think you can see why we haven't landed on anything yet. But it has provided a lot of entertainment over dinners and at the beach with friends.

So the clock is ticking down, and we still don't have a name. If you would like to send in your suggestions, there is still time. If you have a name we like, we'll give you exclusive babysitting privileges when Liam is born! Don't miss this special offer, write in your comments today.

If it comes down to the birth certificate and we're still undecided, I'm going to pull some mommy rank and insist on Christopher. There, I said it. My deep dark naming secret.

Until then, we're awaiting some last minute flash of inspiration to lead us to the right middle name.

April in Texas

Well, I'm still pregnant. But this could be my last blog before I am a mother.

Usually I use this blog to inform people at home about life in Grenada. But today I feel like reminiscing about life back in Texas.

April is my favorite month in Texas. The weather is the best. It is usually beautiful, not too hot and not too cold. Highs in the 80s and lows in the 50s. Everything is green. If we've had enough rain the creeks are usually beautiful and flowing. All the wildflowers are blooming. It is the perfect time of the year to enjoy the outdoors.

Our Aunt Denise sent us this picture, which is the quintessential spring photo of Texas. The bluebonnets and Indian paintbrushes are in full bloom along all the highways and back roads. And I love the classic country church in the background. This picture made me a little home sick.

And then there is our favorite event of the year, Old Settler's Music Festival. It is always in April. It happens to be next weekend, April 16-19. I am a little heartbroken that we are going to miss this year, since we've been the last five years in a row. It is a four day, three night music and camping festival featuring bluegrass, country and Americana music.

The first year C.J. and I went alone. Since we like camping and we like music we thought it sounded like fun. Also, the Gourds, C.J.'s favorite band, were playing the first night in the campground.

That first year we made friends with a group camping next to us. It all started when they forgot their eggs for Friday's breakfast, and I needed to borrow their grill to heat up my coffee.

Every year since we've camped with them and they have become some of our best friends. We've brought along some of our friends, they've brought theirs and each year it grew until last year we had about 30 people camping together.

We've gone all out, shopping for our groceries together, building elaborate fire pits, bringing in an air stream for the campground stage hangout, hanging parachutes, making T-shirts and cups, creating a camp kitchen...it is an annual extravaganza that we wouldn't miss.

Until this year. And of course, for the first time since that first year the Gourds will be playing again in the campground on Thursday night. Some great acts that we love will be there like Robert Earl Keen and Onion Creek Crawdaddies and Ray Wylie Hubbard and The Greencards.

And it's not just the music we'll miss, it is the whole weekend experience.

We usually get there Thursday afternoon and set up camp. On Thursday and Sunday the music is at the campground stage. These two days are my favorites -the campground stage is so intimate and of course, so close to camp. We usually have an awesome time Thursday night dancing in the pavilion and getting into our weekend groove.

Friday and Saturday the music is across the road at the Salt Lick Pavilion. It is always such a beautiful set up - the grass is green and soft, it is never too crowded, the creek flows by the stage, the weather is lovely, New Belgium Brewery serves beer and hands out free chap stick (where I always pick up my annual supply) and you can get some yummy Texas Barbecue at the Salt Lick stand.

Before we take the bus over from camp to hear the music we usually cook up a big breakfast and take a long swim in the creek (if there is water - I think three of the five years we've been lucky enough to have good swimming). Although the music is wonderful, we have a hard time rallying out of camp when we are having so much fun just hanging out and drinking cold beer.

We spend our evenings floating between stages and listening to music. Getting split up from the group is no problem. The event is so small it is never hard to find friends if you get separated. After the last act they close the road and everyone does the midnight march back to camp.

After the official music is over, the unofficial music begins. It seems almost every camp has some amateur or even professional musicians with their guitars, mandolins, banjos and fiddles. Including our camp.

We usually have a little jam session around our fire and then break off into small groups and wander into the night listening to music at other camps until the wee hours. Everyone has seen the sun rise at some point, waiting for the last musician to give up and go to bed.

Sunday is always bitter sweet - it is the last day but also one of the best. The music is back in the camp pavilion and everyone is feeling tired but happy. We pack up slowly and usually linger until the last band is over around 5 p.m.

It has been an amazing weekend every year and we have so many fond memories. I don't think I've been this sad about home since we sold our house.

To Home Team: We will miss you so much this year. Please dance your hearts out and pick your instruments and eat some bacon and swim in the creek for us. I don't think I have to tell you this, but please go see the Gourds in the pavilion Thursday night and pretend the Eagle of Freedom is there with you. Boogy to Railroad Earth while cooking up some fajitas for dinner. Maybe you should even drink some Beast in honor of Team Winckler - well o.k., I won't make you go that far. Have lots of fun, we'll be thinking of you.

Home Team on the bus

Hanging in the kitchen - year four?

Sarah Jarosz, teenage mandolin phenom, playing at the camp stage on Sunday

Bluebonnet Stage

Hill Country Stage


Onion Creek

Last year's campfire

Making camp doughnuts in the "kitchen"

Pregnancy - the home stretch

I am almost to 39 weeks, which means my due date (April 15) is just over a week away. The baby could be here any day now. It is surreal knowing that at any time I could go into labor.

My two favorite things to say now are "I'm still pregnant!" when I see anyone, and "This could be my last [fill in the blank here with meal, walk, day at the beach, etc.] before I am a mother!"

I like to say the last bit with lots of drama, and C.J. has started to roll his eyes at me since I am saying it to him about 12 times a day. "This could be our last movie before we are parents!" or "This could be our last bowl of cereal before we are parents!"

I still think it is funny even if he is sick of it.

I am not to the point yet where I am so miserable I want to get the baby out. I am definitely hot and tired a lot, but I don't think that is going to change any when I have the baby. I am not so uncomfortable that I can't still get around, and I still sleep really well at night (or at nap time during the day). I have a feeling I'm going all the way to D-Day and probably beyond.

If I didn't say I was scared, well I would be lying. First of all, labor sounds pretty intense and painful. I don't regret staying on the island to have a baby, but I might be wishing I had the option of an epidural when it gets to be that time.

Then there is bringing home a newborn that cries and needs to be fed every two hours. No doubt I will turn into the new-mommy zombie for awhile, a persona I've seen many friends take on when the first baby arrives.

I have read what seems like a million books - two on pregnancy, two on labor, two on newborns, one on breastfeeding, one on sleep training. It is obnoxious how many baby books I have. But I don't feel like all that information has really prepared me. How can you possibly know until it really happens to you?

So I'm trying not to dwell on it too much. I'm trying to "quiet the mind" as my friend and yoga instructor, Lindsay, would say. It will happen, and I'm sure I will figure it out. After all, I hear I'm not the first woman to go through this experience.

It will be amazing to not be pregnant anymore. I can hardly imagine it. I feel like I have been pregnant forever. It will be nice to walk at a brisk pace or even jog again. And eat those forbidden foods - sushi and lunch meat and sprouts. And be able to fit between narrow spaces or get out of bed without grunting. And a glass of wine would be nice. And a waist - what will it be like to have buttons on my pants again?

I do think I will miss feeling the baby move inside my belly - that really is an awesome feeling and something so private and special. No one else gets to enjoy that but me, not even C.J. But it will be even better to actually meet this person, see what he looks like, hold him in our arms.

I cannot wrap my mind around how our child grows inside my body and then after a long time he comes out. Through a very small hole. Hmmm, really? It would almost be as easy to believe the stork is going to drop him off.

C.J. is very excited. And I am grateful and happy that he is excited. He is going to be a wonderful daddy. But I don't think he worries about things like dying in child birth or 12-pound babies. Not that I'm worrying about those things. See what I mean, quiet the mind!!

Anyway, here are some pics. One is me at yoga this morning. Yes, I still attempt yoga although it is not so easy with that huge belly. Lots of child's pose and cat/cow. It's comical. And you can see why I've earned the nickname "Big Mama" with all my friends.

The other picture is from a dinner C.J. and I went to last night. Look closely, this could be our last picture before we are parents!!

Phyisician extender

There is a medical clinic on campus for students and faculty. After hours (5 p.m. to 8 a.m. and weekends) they have an ambulance and physician extenders who respond to emergency calls. Physician extenders (PEs) are usually students who were previously nurses or paramedics. Guess who got a job this term as a physician extender?

You know he just couldn't resist. I have tried to remind him that the reason he is in medical school is because he didn't want to wake up in the middle of the night any more to respond to calls for drunk people and sprained ankles.

I have also mentioned that med school is already a full-time job that requires his undivided attention. I even played the baby card, informing him that he will need to be home to help me when our first child is born.

Do you think the man listened to me? Of course not! Absolutely incorrigible.

So since January he has been a physician extender at school. This requires about one shift a week as the primary on duty - meaning he responds to all the calls and usually goes to the clinic to treat patients. And then once or twice a week he is secondary which means he gets called only in the event that a patient is serious enough to go to the general hospital in town which requires two physician extenders to transport the patient.

Like most things on the island, this job is not up to American standards. The training was, um, questionable. There are some skills a physician extender can perform that C.J. didn't do at his last job, like stitches. The nurse at the clinic gave him a suture kit and told him to go home and practice on a banana.

The protocols and standards of care aren't really set in stone - it is up to the discretion of each PE to determine if a patient needs to be seen. The management tends to encourage seeing every patient, even when it is not an emergency. So he is answering calls in the middle of the night for people who need band aids and ibuprofen.

PEs have different skill levels so C.J. has been highly irritated with some of his partners who don't have the experience to run some of the more serious calls.

Then there is the matter of pay which is so little C.J. is basically a volunteer. I mean it is shockingly low - beneath minimum wage in America.

There is a lot of other drama with the job all related to really poor health care on the island and bad management at the school. I can't even get into it, but it is filling his bank of crazy stories for years to come. Just ask him, you'll get an earful.

He's treated a couple of broken arms, cuts requiring stitches (he called someone in to help with this - would you want stitches from a guy who only practiced on a banana?), a baby with a fever, a girl with kidney stones and of course, drunk students.

The job is not really deserving of his time or skill level, but he does it anyway because of course he likes it and it is a good distraction from studying. His midterm grades were good, so he is managing to balance his time so far.

The good news is that we've discovered I live with one of the most qualified health care professionals on the island after hours. So if I have an emergency, I'm covered.

Here he is in his work uniform with the ambulance

He thinks it is funny that the back door opens out - not the most convenient for loading patients

Back of the ambulance

April 6 amendment: I feel a little bad about this post because it makes it sound like other PEs are not as talented or experienced as C.J. I would like to say for the record that C.J. has some very capable co-workers he enjoys working with, and who I would gladly call in an emergency.

Also, read C.J.'s comment on this blog - he brings up some funny points on navigation I wish I would have mentioned.

Oops, what happened to March?

I'm feeling bad, it has been a month since I wrote a blog. It is so hard to write now that I am a new mom. The baby is keeping me really busy - I've had no time between around-the-clock feedings, diaper changings, laundry, etc.

April fools! I haven't had the baby yet, so can't use that as an excuse. I can't even claim writer's block - I have so much to write about. The real reason I haven't been writing is because I have been so self indulgent and lazy I can't bring myself to do much besides sleep, eat, read and socialize.

I actually had a good excuse for the first half of the month - I was working. Yes, I had myself a little volunteer gig organizing the Grenada Round-the-Island Race.

The race weekend was March 13-15 and there was so much work to do that I helped my good friend Jovanna organize the weekend. I helped order shirts and trophies, wrote press releases, collected sponsor donations, coordinated the race registration and sailor's breakfast, organized volunteers, wrote the award ceremony speeches and MC script and generally assisted with all event organizing activities.

It was a very different experience from working in America. One, people still rely on faxes and phone calls here - e-mails are not as popular. That makes things go much slower.

Two, people will often give you their word but may not call back later or sign the contract - you just have to hope their going to show up. Three, standards here are a little lower than what I'm used to. It felt like a very grassroots and renegade operation at times.

But all that I just had to overlook and miraculously, the weekend went off as a success. The around-the-island race had some excitement when a boat from Guadeloupe broke the record time. And we drew a large crowd the day we organized food and music on the beach.

If you are interested you can visit the Web site at http://www.aroundgrenada.com/. I've included a few pictures below, all courtesy of our wonderful photographer Josh Yetman.

Horizon Region Guadeloupe - trimaran that won the sailing race

Horizon Region Guadeloupe

Sailboats at the starting line Saturday morning

Food vendor on the beach selling fried fish and bakes (fried dough)

Beach party - stage with live music and tents with a bar and food vendors

Party on the beach Sunday evening

That quick overview didn't really do it justice. But, I can't begin to describe it all here. I can say I enjoyed being busy. It was fun, even though it was frustrating at times.

After the race weekend, which consisted of three 12 hour days, I have just been unwinding ever since. I read Pillars of the Earth and the last two books in the Twilight series. I've seen a few bad movies at the theatre. I've been to the beach. I've slept a lot and gone on some walks and been to the doctor a few times.

I've been generally taking it easy in preparation for baby. It is getting very close now, only two more weeks. But I think that is worthy of a separate blog, which I promise to write in the next few days.