Computer Addict

Daddy has spent a majority of his life in front of a computer. From the second he started using LOGO on his very own Apple IIe when he was 4 years old (remember the digital turtle that you could make go crazy by using the right commands??), his parents knew that he was going to be obsessed with computers. Back in 1984, anyone using a computer was pretty ahead of the game, so a 4 year old using a computer was REALLY ahead of the game, and that was Daddy. And 25 years later, he's still obsessed with the computer.

Kaylani's not even 4 months old yet, and already I think she's obsessed with the computer. I think she's obsessed with TV/monitors in general, but since we don't let her watch TV (or watch TV in front of her) anymore, it's just down to the computer. Well actually, we don't LET her watch the computer, but she does anyways. And if Daddy wants to keep this blog a daily blog, then it's going to have to be something we just accept.

Every night while Mommy nurses Kaylani before bedtime, it signals the start of roughly 25 minutes that Daddy has to get the following things done: turn on the nightlight, prepare Kaylani's blanket for bedtime, fill the humidifier, get Mommy water, write his blog, and then read it to Kaylani and Mommy. The first 4 things take less than 5 minutes, so that leaves about 20 for writing and reading. And on average, it takes about 15 minutes to write and post. It's during these 15 minutes that we noticed Kaylani's obsession with the computer.

When it's time for Kaylani to take a break from nursing, Mommy burps her, and then stands her up for a few seconds so she can switch sides. It's during these few seconds that Kaylani finds the light of the computer (which isn't hard since it's dark in the room except for the light from the monitor) and stares at it. She stares at it the entire time she's not nursing, and twists her head as far as she can so she can still see it while she's trying to nurse. Sometimes, when she's really attentive still, she'll actually unlatch so she can see the computer (which is not one of Mommy's favorite things).

The "scientific explanation" would be that Kaylani is attracted to the light in the dark room. But Daddy didn't become a scientist for a reason, so forget the scientific explanation. Daddy's explanation is that Kaylani takes after him, and will also become obsessed with the computer. And the fact that she started 4 years earlier then Daddy just means that she'll be far more advanced then he will, which I have to admit, would make her pretty damned advanced.

Anyways, it's time to wrap it up and shut down since she's staring our way right now. It's lights out time in Kaylani's room, which also means its time to start the night's sleep training session. As a quick update, she's been sleeping the first 5 to 6 hours after only crying for 10-15 minutes, so I guess it's working. We're still hoping she'll turn that into 8 or 9 hours, but she might just be too old for that now. Oh well, it was a good run while it lasted!