Elsa: ‘I was surprised when I saw what the baby was doing during the baby check’

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Elsa: “I know it it was not done is to find the child through baby monitor keep an eye on it. But I did it anyway and thank goodness, because it turned out she had very different priorities than taking care of my daughter.

No shelter

When I had to return to work after my maternity leave, my world fell apart. I wanted so badly to stay with my daughter. But alas, there was money to be made, so I had to put up with it. I had already booked her with an amazing babysitter during my pregnancy, so I had no doubt that my little girl would have a great time. But a week before I was due to leave for full-time work again, I received bad news: the babysitter quit due to circumstances. Suddenly I was homeless.

Moim

My boyfriend and I both work in health care, where we have to be present on the spot. Working from home is not an option. Don’t cancel at the last minute either, because people are counting on us. I am not exaggerating when I say that there was a lot of panic. We don’t have a big family safety net, so we were lost. As if it was meant to be, I saw a card on the notice board at the supermarket: ‘Need a babysitter? With 20+ years of experience, I care for your child with love. At home I texted the phone number on the note and got an immediate response. Before I knew it, an introduction was planned.

Introduction

The next day a little woman with a friendly face stood at the door. She was in her 50s and had two grown children of her own as well as grandchildren. I liked the idea that she was a bit older and also a mother herself; there was no lack of knowledge. She immediately turned her attention to my daughter and tickled her feet. This was a woman who loved children, or at least that’s how it came across. My friend was happy with her too. We agreed that she would look after my daughter three days a week.

It’s not a good feeling

My mother didn’t think it was a good idea. “But you don’t know that woman at all?” she said carefully. Of course we hadn’t run any test days, we didn’t have time for that anymore. And no, we hadn’t heard any experience from other people about this baby. But it felt good. My mother started talking about a group that a carer could organize for families. These guys were vetted for everything and had great reviews. But I stuck to my choice. This will cost much less.

A week later I left for work for the first time with peace of mind. But during the day I suddenly had doubts. My mother’s words were ringing in my head. I texted the caretaker to ask how things were going, but I didn’t get a reply. I hid in the toilet an hour later and tried to contact her. No response again. I decided to use the baby monitor camera I had on my phone to see if they were in my daughter’s room. I saw my daughter crying loudly in her bed. She shook her lungs out and hit all sides. The child was nowhere to be seen. When I looked again ten minutes later, she was still there. Still just as confused. After calling several times, I got hold of her. When I asked how it went, she told me that my daughter was sleeping wonderfully.

Spying on the baby monitor

I didn’t feel good about it because she lied about it. But my friend thought I was doing too much. According to him, it was quite possible that she had not heard him and certainly fifteen minutes of crying would not help our daughter. I decided to give it another chance, but put a second baby monitor in the living room. A little hidden behind the plant. Oh, how badly I felt about betraying her. But otherwise I could not go to work with peace of mind.

Every hour I looked at the cameras, but everything seemed quiet. Until about four o’clock… I had no idea what I had seen! It just happened again. My daughter crying in bed and the babysitter to be seen. On the second camera I saw her sitting in the living room, but she was definitely not alone. She sat on the bed with another woman, chatting and laughing. When I asked how things were going, I was told again that everything was fine. She hung up and continued her tea party, while my daughter was still crying.

Conflict

I watched her for two weeks. Why didn’t I show her the door right away? No comment. I guess I wanted to know what she was doing. Every day people came over and she had nice dates with her. Besides not doing what she was paid to do, I also had strange people in my house, along with my daughter. One time she let her cry in bed, the other time I saw my child sitting on the lap of an unknown woman. When she went out one day and left my daughter with a stranger, she had had enough. I went home in anger, where I confronted her about everything.

I never got real answers. She didn’t think it was strange at all to invite her friends to my house, because what else would she do all day with a baby? She threatened to sue me because I was supervising her during the baby’s examination. She left without a trace and was never heard from again. And you understand that I have no problem with that.”

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