I have a job where I watch a baby monitor, but something feels off

I was super excited to get this job because it was an actual career, a great opportunity and the pay was really good. My cousin works as a nanny for a wealthy family, and they have a night nanny. She had been talking about it for a while, how the night nanny literally just watches LO (little one) and makes sure they’re healthy. Apparently they’re super common and some even travel with the families. But this family was in my area, so I didn’t have to travel. <br><br>I felt like it was an ideal job for me because it would only be nights, so I wouldn’t have to quit my day job. <br><br>My cousin was able to get me the job and it’s been great up until recently. <br><br>The family lives in a huge house and the kid is about 2 I think. They call her Emma. They do everything for her, give her the best life and take great care of her. They’re one of those families that have literally everything they could ever want. <br><br>So they have a night nanny and a day nanny, and they work and sometimes take turns. <br><br>My shifts are usually midnight to 8am, sometimes 10pm to 7am. I only work 2 nights a week, usually Friday and Saturday but sometimes Monday and Tuesday. <br><br>The family is very wealthy and they were able to create a room for me, so I don’t have to travel back and forth. It’s expected, since I have to be there ASAP if there’s an emergency. <br><br>I have a monitor in my room and I keep it on all night. If Emma wakes up I go check on her, but I’m only supposed to do the bare minimum. I’m not allowed to play with her or give her treats. I’m supposed to just be there to make sure she’s alive and healthy. I give her water or formula if she wants it, and change her diaper. <br><br>The family doesn’t usually get home until 10 or 11pm most nights since they’re usually out at parties or events. Sometimes they leave before I get there, and they always call to check in. <br><br>But the dad is just off. He’s very controlling and makes sure I follow the rules. He always calls me at the end of my shifts, literally at 7am, to make sure I got everything done. <br><br>And the mom… she’s different. Sometimes she’s really nice, but other times she’s not. She’s very unpredictable and I can never tell how she’s gonna react to anything. <br><br>I also feel like they’re over-preparing me for an emergency that may never happen. They threw a book at me filled with what to do in case of an emergency. They also had me do all these practice exercises. <br><br>Like for instance, how to react if there’s a fire. They literally had me practice grabbing the fire extinguisher and running through every possible exit. <br><br>I told my cousin about it because I was a little concerned, but she said it was protocol for most wealthy families. They just want to be safe and they want to be able to trust you with their children. <br><br>But some nights, I feel like something is off. There’s a camera in the hallway outside my room and it creeps me out, but my cousin said it’s protocol as well. <br><br>I just feel so safe when the parents are home. Like even if they’re asleep, I feel better knowing they’re there. <br><br>My cousin has convinced me to take more shifts because they pay really well and she’s right, I can use the money. <br><br>But it’s been making me more paranoid, I think. I just don’t feel right and I feel like I have to constantly be on edge. <br><br>Especially the past week. <br><br>Last week I had a shift on Monday, Tuesday and Saturday. There was one night in particular that just bothers me. <br><br>It was around 3am and I was sleeping. I don’t know what woke me up but I remember feeling like something was wrong. <br><br>I immediately checked the monitor but it’s one of those monitors where you have to hit a button to turn it on. <br><br>And when I hit the button there was something black where Emma should be. <br><br>I’m talking a completely black screen. No night vision at all. <br><br>At first I thought it was just the monitor, but then it hit me. The blackness wasn’t just covering Emma, it covered her whole room. <br><br>I’m talking the whole bed, the whole crib, the changing table, literally everything I could see on the screen was black. <br><br>My first thought was that it was the shadow from the curtains, they’re really thick and black to block out sunlight. But it wasn’t in the right position for it to be the curtains. <br><br>I didn’t even think about it, I just ran to check on Emma. I ran as fast as I could and when I got to her room I hit the light. <br><br>And there she was. She was sleeping like normal, completely unharmed. <br><br>I’m talking, she was breathing perfectly, her chest was moving up and down like it’s supposed to. She was actually sleeping peacefully. And nothing was wrong. <br><br>I literally circled her room to make sure there wasn’t anything out of place or anything blocking the camera. But I didn’t find anything. <br><br>I ran back to my room as fast as I could and checked the monitor again. <br><br>And it went back to night vision. <br><br>I was so confused and I didn’t know what to do. I thought maybe I had dreamt it or maybe I had imagined it. <br><br>But I remember being so relieved that Emma was okay. <br><br>Like I have never been so happy in my life to see her breathing. It’s not like her. <br><br>But when I told my cousin, she thought I was crazy. <br><br>She said I was just being paranoid and I think she’s right. <br><br>The rest of my shifts went smoothly, but I just can’t get over that feeling. <br><br>I can’t describe it. It just feels like something is off and I don’t know what it is. I just hope it goes away.