Hi, thanks for taking my call. I've gone back and forth on whether to share this for a long time now. It's been over ten years and I still don't like talking about it. But I think people should know that these things happen. That they're real. This was in 2013. Late September. We'd just moved into a house in Westerville, that's a suburb north of Columbus. Nice neighborhood, older homes, the kind with big trees and those wide front porches. We got it for a good price because it needed work. The previous owners had let it go. Peeling paint, overgrown yard. But the bones were good, if that makes sense. And we needed the space because we'd just had our daughter Emma. I remember I was stressed about my mother-in-law coming to visit that week. She had opinions about everything. The house, the nursery color, how I was feeding Emma. Stupid thing to remember, but I do. I was more worried about her visit than unpacking boxes.
The nursery was at the end of the upstairs hallway. Small room, maybe ten by ten. We'd painted it this pale yellow color. Put up curtains with little elephants on them. Emma's crib was against the far wall, under the window. We had one of those video baby monitors. Not a fancy wifi one that connects to your phone, just the basic kind with a dedicated screen. The camera sat on the dresser across from the crib, pointed right at her. The monitor stayed on our nightstand. We could see the whole room. My husband Jake was traveling a lot that fall. His company was opening a new office in Phoenix and he was out there most of September. That whole first week when things started happening, I was alone with Emma in that house. Just me and a six-month-old in a house I barely knew yet.
Emma was born the day after Valentine's Day. February 15th, 2013. She was six months old when this started, just starting to smile at everything, making those little babbling sounds. Happiest baby you ever saw. The first night was a Tuesday. I remember because Tuesdays were when Jake called from Phoenix, and I'd just gotten off the phone with him when I went to bed. It was late, maybe eleven. I fell asleep with the monitor on the nightstand, the screen glowing that green-gray color from the night vision. I woke up at three fourteen in the morning. I know the exact time because I looked at the clock right away. And the reason I woke up was because Emma was laughing. babies in their first fall are so precious - Leo' Not crying. Laughing. This delighted little giggle, like someone was playing with her.
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