First swim

Liam went swimming for the first time last week. Here he is with Daddy cruising the pool. Although we acted like it was a major developmental milestone equivalent to walking and talking, he was pretty ambivalent about the whole thing.

Liam's first swim

We were at the University Club which is a private club for faculty and staff at SGU. Visiting professors and guests stay in the hotel there and they have a restaurant, pool and beach as well.

On Thursdays significant others and students are allowed to swim for free. So Thursday is a big day around here - also known as Pool Day. Here's a picture of the pool. If you have to swim for the first time, you might as well go here. The view is not bad.

University Club swimming pool overlooking Prickly Bay

Team Winckler before the inaugural plunge

Even better than swimming, a big nap

We had a funny experience at this pool when Liam was just a few weeks old. We were sitting under an umbrella but it was still pretty hot, and I decided to let Liam hang out in his diaper. Just about that time the waitress came by our table to see if we needed anything. When she saw me taking Liam's onesie off she audibly gasped in shock as if I was the one stripping down to my underwear.

She commented in a horrified voice that she couldn't believe we were undressing him. We didn't really know how to respond to that. I mean, the kid was sweating. We're at the pool. Last time I checked naked babies aren't an offensive site. To the contrary - they are cute. Or at least they are where we come from.

Then we really shocked her when the pacifier fell on the ground and C.J. picked it up, popped it in his own mouth for a quick rinse and stuck it back in Liam's mouth. That one blew her mind and she came back to our table in a few minutes with a cup of boiling water so we could clean the pacifier properly.

[O.k. that could have been a disturbing act in any culture, I'll give her that. After rinsing off the pacifier 98 times in the first week, we realized there are worse things than a little dirt.]

So, from what we can tell people here have different customs for dressing and taking care of their babies. And they are not afraid to let you know.

Even though it is blazing hot on the island, Grenadians dress their infants in layers of clothes.

When we go to the pediatrician little babies are wearing socks and stocking caps and wrapped in blankets. Since we think Liam gets hot just like us, he is always wearing just a onesie. We can practically feel the scorn from the other parents as our baby's bare legs and arms brazenly hang in the wind.

One day we went to the market downtown and C.J. was carrying Liam. C.J. got several comments from people on how to better hold the baby and how, again, the baby needed more clothes - socks, a hat, something. Ironically, a few of these comments came from some Rasta guys sitting around smoking pot on a Friday afternoon. Not exactly what you'd expect for models in parenting.

A few limited exchanges with Grenadians does not make me an expert on their approach to child rearing, but these are our observations. And lots of the attention we get is positive - people smiling and saying hi to Liam. However they express it, Grenadians do love the little babies.

Video update

The great thing about having 78 baby gizmos for one infant is that you can try something new almost every day.

Recently we broke out the Bumbo. This is a little chair that helps baby to sit up. It can be used as soon as baby can hold up his head. We've pretty much tackled that milestone, so we did a little test run in the Bumbo. I think he liked it.

And here he is smiling. He is smiling every day now. Mommy and Daddy spend a good portion of our day trying to coax it out of him. As demonstrated in this video clip.

Third person

And now for some random observations on parenthood.

First, I've noticed, I love to look at pictures of my own kid. He can be in the same room, and I'll be looking through pictures of him on my camera or staring at the photo on the refrigerator. I think he is so cute in pictures. When I see him captured on film I am so amazed by him, even if I can see him in his swing 3 feet from me. Isn't that weird?

Also, there is a new form of communication at our house where C.J. and I are always referring to each other in the third person while addressing the baby. And we are no longer C.J. and Julie, we are Mommy and Daddy.

If I want C.J. to do something, I will tell the baby. For example, I will look at Liam and say "maybe Daddy can change your diaper now," even though C.J. is standing right next to me.

Or C.J. will say "what is Mommy going to do today," and he's talking to me. But he's saying it to the baby.

We now only exist as the people we are in relation to the baby. And the baby is at the center of all of our conversations, even though he obviously has no idea what we are saying. It's silly, I admit. I don't know what has come over us.

Last, I feel like baby wipes are the most amazing invention ever. They're not just for diaper changes. They are for wiping up spit up and cleaning down counters and washing hands and spot checking dirt on the floor. I recommend that everyone have some laying around, kid or no kid.

And that's all I've got for now. Here are a few pictures from our trip to Texas.

First, a cute picture of Liam. Mommy loves looking at this one.

Lest you think I have nothing else to talk about but my baby - here's me holding an alligator at Gator Country. It's a restaurant surrounded by ponds with alligators in them. Only in Southeast Texas, people.

This is why our next child has to be a girl. There are a lot of Winckler men in the world already. They barely fit on this enormous couch - Uncle Steve, Ethan, Keith, Pop, Tyler, Liam, C.J. and Korbin

Great Grandma Sally and Liam - she is almost a century older than him. She'll be 95 next week. Happy early birthday, Grandma!

Cousins Korbin and Ethan - Ethan, who is three, loved holding the baby. Liam liked him too, he never cried when Ethan held him.
Grandpa Sparks and Liam
Grandpa Winckler and Liam - notice how the grandpas hold the baby in the same way, how cute is that?

A face not just a mother could love

Back in the Caribbean

We are back on the island after three weeks in America. In the states I neglected the blog in exchange for time spent with family, naps, a little shopping, yummy American food, HGTV and Law and Order reruns.

During our visit I learned the power of grandparents. Wow, I didn't know they would be so into the baby. I guess it is pretty special when your children have children. It gives a whole new meaning to family.

Not to mention aunts and uncles and even cousins. This is the village everyone is always talking about. These people love our baby and want to hold and cuddle him all day long. Which is really, really awesome. Forget about spoiling Liam, mommy got spoiled with all the hands-free time.


I am a little sentimental that Liam won't be spending his early years in Texas. That village seems really important to me right about now. And as I've said before, Texas feels like our real home.

All that land, roads for miles, trucks, cows, lakes, rivers, Whataburger, country music, Texas country, barbecue smokers so big they are trailers, friendly people, Texas accents, the Astros, UT sports, Tex Mex, cowboy boots, the hill country, the gulf coast, piney woods...there are so many things that I love about it.

As noted by a friend here, you can see farther in Texas than you can drive in Grenada. And one more time in case you missed it - barbecue smokers so big you haul them with your truck. Seriously, think about that for a minute. They don't just have those everywhere. It's a pretty magical place.

But alas, we have returned to our remote and tiny Caribbean island where we will settle for a once-in-a-lifetime cultural experience and crystal-clear, blue ocean waters. The adventure must go on.

We flew in Wednesday night a week ago. C.J. made a trip to the grocery store Thursday which was a disappointment since there was no fresh milk, or carrots, or yogurt, or bananas and of course no strawberries (I was also getting spoiled with the abundant, cheap fruit in America).

He came home with Silk which is soy milk. Can you believe they have that here?? A sorry substitute for cow's milk if you ask me - see above for things I love about Texas.

He also went to the baby store and bought a swing, which we decided might afford us some hands-free time here since it was a big hit when we had one in Beaumont. I priced it and it cost about $40 more here than it would in the states.

Grandpa Winckler offered to ship us one, but it would take over a week to get here, would be expensive to mail and we would have to pay a duty on its arrival. So it's probably cheaper and definitely faster to buy it here.

We went to the pediatrician on Friday for Liam's first round of vaccines. That was a typical trip to the capital city of St. George's - narrow streets, steep hills, near misses with deep cement gutters, a lively crowd walking around the bus station and the market.

From our second-story waiting room at the doctor's office we watched a chicken and her chick walk along the sidewalk below. On the way home we stopped to get gas but the pumps were closed since they were waiting for the gas truck to refill the tanks.

On Sunday I went back to the grocery store to try again for fresh milk. The grocery store was closed for restocking. Which is odd since they restock constantly all day long.

On Monday we went back to the grocery store for the third time in a week. Still no fresh milk. I guess they didn't restock everything. This time we got the boxed UHT (ultra-high-temperature processing) milk. Which is meant to last forever unrefrigerated on the shelf in case there is a war or you live on an island or something. Again a poor substitute.

The lady who checked us out recognized me and commented on me no longer being pregnant (thank goodness she can tell). Then she saw the baby sitting in the stroller behind me with Daddy and she gushed about how cute he is. So, that was nice. Very small town when the checker knows you.

We noticed our car was squeaking even more than normal the last few days. I took the car to the mechanic in March because the back-left suspension is squeaking. The mechanic said we needed a new part that he wasn't able to find on the island. He said he'd call us as soon as he found it.

So almost four months later we're still waiting and some other part of the suspension on the front right is squeaking and grinding now. C.J. took it back yesterday to check in with the mechanic.

His name is Fella. Fella said they are still looking for the part but bring it back on Friday, and he'll fix our driver's side window which doesn't roll down. I don't know if he remembers that he changed my oil back in March but hasn't charged me for it yet. Maybe he let that slide.

I will say it is nice being in our own space. Living out of a suitcase gets old. Our little apartment is comfortable despite it's humble appearances. And I love our village away from our village. Our neighbors and friends here all welcomed us back. We've had breakfast and a little barbecue in the parking lot.

My next door neighbor made us dinner, and I loaned her some formula. We hang out on the porch chatting for a few minutes every day. We are watching our downstairs neighbors' dog while they are gone in July (Karen - he's being a very good dog). So we're looking out for each other around here.

C.J. started school Monday. It is amazing that he made it through the first year of med school already. Having that behind us feels like a big accomplishment. And that means we have less than a year on the island now. Hard to believe how fast it's going by.

This semester will be a tough one. It is the longest semester - six months. He has a short course, behavioral science, that lasts until August and then he starts the hardest class he'll take here - pathology. It's worth some insane amount of credit hours - 13 maybe? And he'll take microbiology and nutrition and clinical skills during that term as well.

So we've got some adjustments to make. I'm getting used to being alone all day with Liam while C.J. goes to class. And C.J. is getting used to being in school and studying with a newborn at home.

We're working on a schedule for the baby. When I say we I mean C.J. and I. The baby isn't really on board yet. So far he is wide awake every evening when we declare it is bedtime and his naps don't last for our suggested hour and a half. More like 30 minutes.

Most of the day he is awake and wanting to be held if he isn't eating, which is every three hours. So I find I have very little time to myself every day in which I try to clean, eat and nap. And that leaves little opportunity to write a blog or return any emails much less anything else.

Which makes me wonder, what did I do with all that time I used to have?? Why did I not find a cure for cancer or learn to paint like Michelangelo? Childless people ought to be the most productive people in the world, including myself for the past 10 years. What was I doing?

I have to just learn to fit the blog in with my new responsibilities. Easier said than done. This post has taken me about five days to write. Forget about adding photos, that will take me another two weeks.

You'll just have to take my word for it - Liam is still a precious, adorable little baby. I still need to wash my hair and put some make up on, and C.J. needs a haircut. I'm sure you can picture it.

P.S. If you want to read a book with some profound and eerily accurate descriptions of the wacky world in the Caribbean, pick up Don't Stop the Carnival by Herman Wouk. It was written 50 years ago about a fictitious island but it could just as easily be about present-day Grenada. One great thing about breast feeding, I still have time to read.