Under investigation...

Yep.

Me.

I am about to be investigated by Child and Family services...

Since August, I have been babysitting for a little boy who I'll call J. He is almost 10 months old now, and he comes to our house two to three days a week.

His parents and I have a good professional relationship, and everything has worked out well so far. J is a very sweet baby and very easy going. He loves my girls, and they think he is the greatest! Lucy has been able to say his name for a few months now, and she doesn't even say Avery!

So when I got the phone call from his mom today, I didn't think anything of it until she told me that I was on speaker with both she and her husband.

Their tone was very serious, and they asked me if anything had happened to J on Monday when he was here. They asked if he had fallen or if something had fallen on him at all. I searched my brain but could not think of anything that had happened where he would have been injured.

Then, they told me that J has a broken bone in his leg! They told me that in the evening on Monday, he started having difficulty crawling and moving to his toys. Then, when they changed his diaper, he got upset and was in pain, and then he had a very difficult time sleeping that night.

When they took him to the doctor yesterday, they were referred to an orthopedic specialist who did an x-ray and discovered the broken bone.

Naturally, when a baby breaks a bone, it is going to raise suspicion, and J's parents were interviewed over and over about J's activities over the past 48 hours, and since he was at our house for a very large chunk of time, they have officially transferred the case to my county....

The phone conversation with J's parents was non accusatory, but it still left me a little shocked. I have been over and over the day on Monday, and NOTHING happened that even hurt him, let alone would have caused a broken bone.

He was happy as a clam all day, and at 3:15 pm, when he woke up from his nap, he greeted me with a smile. I changed his diaper after getting him up, and there was absolutely no bruising on his legs, and he didn't express any discomfort during the diaper change. Then, he pulled himself up on our couch just five minutes before his mom arrived at 3:30! He was smiling and proud of himself, and then he bent his knees, plopped down on his bottom, and crawled over to a toy on the floor.

He smiled and got excited to see his mom when she walked through the door, and he wasn't fussy at all. She held him for five minutes or so while we chatted about J's day, and then I carried him out to the car for her. She is pregnant and due with their second at the end of March, and J is a big little boy so I aways help her get him into his car seat.

I honestly cannot figure out for the life of me how any of this would lead to the conclusion that the break occurred at our house. However, J's parents told me to be expecting a call from a social worker, and they said that social services may come over to our house to ask questions and investigate...

I don't think that J's parents are accusing me, but it seems like they can't figure out any other possible scenario...

I don't think there is anything I can do other than just be honest and open and answer any questions truthfully. I have nothing to hide, and I hope that will come across in whatever manner that this situation proceeds.

If you could please pray that this all goes smoothly, I would truly appreciate it. I am praying that Child Services will know that I would never hurt a child be it my own or one in my care.