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  • #1

    Have I Done the Right Thing?

    I need some advice, because I'm in a situation I'm really not familiar with right now.
    I'll cut to the chase. Our neighbors had a baby recently. This afternoon, when my partner got home around 2pmish, it was crying. Really awful raspy sort of crying. When I got home just over two hours later, it was still crying. Three hours later, we get back and it's crying harder. By now we're concerned. There are lights on but no other noises from the house. The cry is echoing and we haven't seen anyone come in or out all day. It's nearly 7:30pm and the baby is still crying that horrible shriek-y raspy cry. It's not horrible because of the amount of noise or anything, it's horrible because it sounds distressed and now I'm becoming distressed not being able to help.

    I just called the police to attend. I stressed that it wasn't a noise complaint, that we were just worried. (Didn't call emergency line). They'll come out at some point, but now I feel really anxious, like I did something wrong.
    I don't want to cause trouble for these folks, but I am worried about the baby.
    Have I done the right thing, or did I panic too soon?
    Patient has severely impacted cranial rectosis. There's probably no cure. - Overheard in ER
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  • #2
    Tough one, but I'm leaning towards right thing.
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    • #3
      I'd also say the right thing. My first thought, after hearing a baby cry like that for so long, would be that something had happened to the parents, though I might have gone over and knocked on the door first.
      The fact that jellyfish have survived for 650 million years despite not having brains gives hope to many people.

      You would have to be incredibly dense for the world to revolve around you.

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      • #4
        I think you did the right thing, I would have called as well.

        Has anyone shown up yet? Based on timestamps, you called almost 2 hours ago. At this point, I might call the PD back and request an immediate response. Stress the dark house and 6 hrs plus of uninterrupted crying to the dispatcher you speak with.

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        • #5
          Sounds like the right thing to me. Cops do "welfare checks" all the time (meaning, checking in on invalids and others who might need assistance), and (from what I hear) are glad to do so. While they may be limited with regards to what they can do once they arrive -- the parent, if present, can just say the kid is fine -- it still puts the house on their personal 'radar.'
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          • #6
            I did the same thing. Turned out the husband was out of town and the Mom and older child had a nasty flu. Mom had taken an common OTC med to relieve the symptoms, but that caused her blood pressure plunge. She had fainted and cracked her head on the dresser. The police and CPS were able to find family members to take care of the baby, until Dad could get a flight home. The Mom and older child stayed in the hospital due to high fevers and dehydration. The mom had a concussion on top of everything.

            Hopefully the police have been by. If not call back and use words welfare check and stress this is unusual behavior.

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            • #7
              The cops came by, and it looks like grandma's house sitting baby. She went for a nap and took her hearing aides out, forgot to put them back in when she got up. She also completely forgot to check in on the kid. Apparently the bubs mum was not pleased to hear about this when they called to check in with her. Kids uncle is coming around late tonight to take over.

              I would have knocked on the door, but this neighborhood's a little rough around the edges. On one hand, the neighbors could be great! On the other hand, they could also be dealers, or aggressive bogan/rednecks. I'm just glad everything is alright.

              I thought about it for a while...I don't have a kid, but if I did, and it's been crying for hours, I guess I can only hope someone'd check in and make sure that everything was alright, even if they just called the local PD to stop by.
              Patient has severely impacted cranial rectosis. There's probably no cure. - Overheard in ER

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              • #8
                Sheesh, if grandma's that forgetful she definitely shouldn't be watching the wee one.

                Glad everything's ok, though.

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                • #9
                  Yeah, you definitely did the right thing. I hope the uncle does a much better job at babysitting than Grandma did.
                  I don't have an attitude problem. You have a perception problem.
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                  • #10
                    Calling for a welfare check was absolutely the right action. There was a horrible case a while ago of a mother who OD'd in her apartment, and no one knew, so her baby ended up starving to death over several days. Neighbors heard it crying but never tried to check on them.
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                    • #11
                      Quoth AnaKhouri View Post
                      Calling for a welfare check was absolutely the right action. There was a horrible case a while ago of a mother who OD'd in her apartment, and no one knew, so her baby ended up starving to death over several days. Neighbors heard it crying but never tried to check on them.
                      My daughter was the same age as that baby when I heard about that story, and it completely broke my heart. I still can't get it out of my mind. It's why I'm glad my daughter has so many people in her life. While our neighbors aren't close enough to hear her crying if something happened, someone would notice if we didn't answer the phone or if my husband didn't show up for work. I would much rather have to explain to an officer that my daughter's just sick and inconsolable (as babies and young children can sometimes be) than have her ignored should something bad happen.
                      The fact that jellyfish have survived for 650 million years despite not having brains gives hope to many people.

                      You would have to be incredibly dense for the world to revolve around you.

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                      • #12
                        Yep, you did right. Better a police visit than a dead baby.
                        Where I live I would probably have knocked first, but you know your neighbourhood better. I'm sure this was the best.

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                        • #13
                          i probably would have knocked too but with grans hearing aids out, she might have not heard it either.
                          Glad that everyone is alright.

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                          • #14
                            Absolutely the right thing after that many hours! Could be just a fussy kid but how could you know? And it sounds like a good thing you did - if grandma "forgot" to check on the kid today, when would she remember? Yikes. You may have saved that kid's life.
                            When you start at zero, everything's progress.

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