MY BABY WOULDN’T STOP CRYING—UNTIL I CHECKED HIS CRIB AND FOUND OUT WHY
Becoming parents was meant to be magical, but lately, it felt more like a nightmare. Our newborn son, Noah, had been crying nonstop for days. No matter what I tried—rocking, singing, white noise, swaddling, feeding—nothing worked. I was running on empty, barely sleeping or thinking. My husband, Ben, did his best to help, but with his long work hours, I was alone most of the day. Something wasn’t right. I could feel it. That night, I decided to check on Noah one more time. And thank goodness I did. When I looked into his crib, I froze.
THE SHOCKING DISCOVERY
I gently woke Ben. “Come with me.” He groggily followed me, rubbing his eyes. When we reached Noah’s crib, he was whimpering, his tiny fists clenched. His face was red and streaked with tears. And then, I saw it. Something was in the crib with him. My breath caught. “Ben… what is that?” He grabbed his phone and turned on the flashlight. That’s when we saw it clearly—a small, black device tucked beneath Noah’s mattress. A device I didn’t recognize. Ben reached for it, and as soon as he picked it up, we heard it—a high-pitched buzzing sound. Almost like a dog whistle or a frequency only a baby could hear.
THE TERRIFYING REALIZATION
My stomach churned. “Where did this come from?” Ben inspected the device, his face darkening. “It’s an ultrasonic pest repeller.” My heart skipped a beat. “A WHAT?!” He turned it over in his hand. “It emits high-frequency sounds to keep pests away. Humans can’t hear it, but babies can.” That’s when it hit me. Noah’s crib had been next to the wall outlet for days. And plugged into that outlet? This device. It had been torturing our baby the whole time.
WHO PUT IT THERE?
I yanked the repeller out of the outlet, shaking with rage and guilt. Noah’s cries softened almost immediately. I felt sick. My poor baby had been in agony for days. But the real question was… Who put this thing in his room? Ben and I never bought one. So who did? Then, I remembered something.
THE UNINVITED VISITOR
A week ago, my mother-in-law had stopped by while I was putting Noah down for a nap.
She had been pacing the nursery, complaining that we should’ve hired a nanny. “I don’t understand why you two refuse help. You can’t handle this alone.”
I brushed it off at the time, but now, a cold realization hit me.
She had been alone in this room, long enough to plug something in.
I turned to Ben, my voice trembling. “Your mother was here last week.”
His eyes widened. “You think…?”
I grabbed my phone and called her.
She answered right away. “Oh, sweetie! How’s my grandson?”
My hands clenched. “He’s finally calm—NOW THAT WE REMOVED THE THING YOU PLUGGED INTO HIS CRIB!”
There was silence. Then she sighed. “Oh, so you finally noticed?”
I nearly dropped the phone.
HER UNFORGIVABLE EXCUSE
“Mom,” Ben snapped, his face flushed with anger. “Why the HELL would you do that?!”
She huffed. “Oh, stop being so dramatic. I was just trying to help. The house is old, and you don’t know what kind of bugs come out at night. I thought it was safer for the baby.”
“SAFER?!” I nearly screamed. “You TORTURED him, Linda! He’s been crying NONSTOP because of YOU!”
She scoffed. “Well, if you’d listened and hired a nanny, maybe this wouldn’t have happened. But no—you had to do EVERYTHING yourselves.”
My hands shook with fury.
Ben didn’t hesitate.
“You’re done here, Mom. Don’t come near our son again.”
And he hung up.
A LESSON LEARNED
After we removed the device, Noah slept peacefully for the first time in days.
But I couldn’t sleep.
I’d learned something that night: Not all dangers are visible. Sometimes, they’re hidden, plugged into a wall, disguised as “help.” And sometimes, those dangers come from the people you trust the most.