People actually thought OP was YTA?!

Being a parent means a lot of things. And one of them is that you are no longer eligible for spontaneous 4-day benders.

Did OP have a car seat? If not, how were they supposed to go buy formula, baby food, more diapers, etc. And OP was expected to pay for those things too? A child is not a plugged sink or a jammed printer you can Google in order to fix the situation!

The YTA crowd are nuts. The mom left the baby with her brother "for a few hours", then, after her brother had to go to work, the brothers GF is left holding a baby with no supplies. The mother refuses to come back, and turns off her phone. She has now abandoned the baby and put herself out of contact. The only thing OP should have done is called her BF or BF's family, and asked them to take the kid, before calling the cops. If they were unreachable, or unwilling, then reporting child abandonment is her only recourse. The felony charge is not OPs fault. If you abandon your kid on the spur of the moment to go party with friends and buy d***s, that is your own bad decision, and criminal charges are your own damn fault.

When I go out of town I spend more time and effort arranging for the care of my plants and pets then this lady did for caring for a human baby. She needs to be on social services radar. She needs to be terrified that someone with a clipboard is going to show up and walk off with her baby. Some people are too stupid and/or selfish to do the correct thing without the application of coercion and fear. She left her baby without sufficient clothes, diapers, and food in the care of a clueless but harmless idiot so she could go and get high. Next time it might be a a person who would intentionally hurt her child.

I hope the YTA and ESH crowd gets dumped with a child to care for a good few months while the parent/s disappear without a trace for that duration and see if they still sing the same tune. If you are a parent, it's up to you to find proper childcare, not baby-dump on someone you think is convenient. Claire got what's coming to her, she rode the high and now has hit an all-time low. OP did the absolute right thing. SMH!!!

I hope all the people saying YTA and ESH haven't got any children. They wouldbe hazards to them.

"in her defense..." baby girl, no. That twat HAS NO DEFENSE what-so-butt-f*cking-EVER!! that poor wee baby girl... I swear, cats are better mothers smfh. Did you tell the mother to go on a d**g bender? No! Did you tell her to get an insane amount of d***s, therefore catching a felony charge? Again, no!! When you have a baby, anything spontaneous is out the window. The only spontaneity anyone gets to do is the baby! A bazillion percent NTA, darlin 🖤 as for the f*cknuts who said YTA, y'all can go suck a hairy set as far as I'm concerned

Mom f****d around and found out. Once you have a kid there is no break. Even if you need to leave for a few days there are better options than to just spontaneously leave. WTF was going through her head??

Anyone who said YTA is a massive twat! It's just too bad they didn't take the poor kid away from mom.

As always, the YTA people are wild, like "couldn't you google how to take care of a baby"? Why would she, when she never agreed to baby sit a child for days. This is child abandonment, pure and simple, and it should be dealt by the authorities

How did children's services not take the baby out of the mother's custody??

These commwnters above are morons. Why didn't they jump in and care for the baby for 4+ days? And I assume the OP worked too. Should she just call off to take care of the child? How does she know what formula works with this baby? That stuff is expensive, as are diapers. This was obviously pre-planned, despite what OP says or believes. People that say babies are easy have never had to babysit one they did not have a bond/experience caring for. I have been the very first babysitter and it was nonstop crying for 5+ hours. It was not a good experience for the baby or me.

Oh Nose!!!! SIL got caught with the consequences of her actions!!! How Terrribles!!!! JFC, anyone who thinks ANYTHING but NTA is an absolute moron with the scruples of a flat duck on the highway...

NTA - As a parent you don't get to make" spontaneous decisions" & drop of a child for 3-4 days without planning.

The f is wrong with people who said OP was TA? Yes, she could have asked for help or go to youtube for the how-to's. But have you considered OP's personal business that she has to take care of? Also baby supplies/food aren't cheap.

In what world is a childless person suddenly required to take care of an abandoned baby she didn't agree to care for? There was zero requirement for OP to "check youtube to learn how to take care of a baby". What if there was a medical emergency? What if OP followed bad advice and the baby died and OP's life was ruined? Mama deserves her felony. But why does this sound so much like the anti-abortion stuff and how they feel it's ok to force someone who doesn't want a kid to take care of a kid anyway?

It sure sounds like all of the YTA folks think it was perfectly fine to do this! Unbelievable! As soon as the mom turned off her phone that constituted abandonment. Hello, 911? Yes, I have a situation here...

Wow. I can't imagine leaving my baby with someone without providing detailed information on their care and the necessary supplies to carry that care out. Even if they were kind enough to watch my baby, I wouldn't expect them to know what to feed them, etc. The fact that the sister was in possession of cannabis was hardly the OP's fault. Anyone this much of a dud as a parent needs parenting classes at the very least.

Single mothers do not get to make spontaneous decisions to abandon their child for a few days. There is nothing wrong with needing a break, but there is a right way and a wrong way to do it. Important to note she didn't get in trouble for what OP reported to the authorities (i.e., OP didn't "snitch,") she get in trouble for getting involved in (further) illegal activities. I wish OP could understand that she did absolutely the right thing, and that Claire's problems are due to Claire's choices.

All those who said YTA obviously have never been dumped with a child and had no previous experience looking after children on their own before. OP did the right thing, she contacted the mother; who had originally promised to be back that evening, she tried friends and they couldn't help, she knew enough that she can't give a 12 month old the same food as she would eat herself and at tgat age would probably still be on formula. She knew she didn't have the skills and having run out of other ideas called the police. Those who haven't had a lit to do with young children probably wouldn't kniw about other services. As for tge mum, she was incredibly irresponsible, she knew the baby didn't have everything she would need for 4 days, she changed plans without contacting her brother or op, she hot caught with a fair amount of d***s. Thus woman has dug her own grave. What really surprises me is she didn't lose custody because she definitely showed she doesn't put her child's safety first

I've been arrested and charged twice over cannabis and I have no sympathy for this woman because I knew that my lifestyle was not compatible with having children. It was really that simple. I have kids now and use legal cannabis and nothing else. If it were illegal the kids would be first and I would not have it around. If the op is not the a*****e here. She did what should have been done.

All the people who are saying she's the AH are the same people who have probably done c**p like that. She KNEW she was leaving town. She just assumed the brother would pick up the slack as he had before. And probably knew he could also afford milk, wipes and diapers. The MOMENT she found out the brother wasn't there she should have owned up to her lie and told the gf she'd see about getting her help till she got there and also walked her through what to feed her. She could have called their mom and said hey I did a stupid thing. I dropped off Alex at browser Apt thinking he'd be there but he had toeave can you help in any way till I can get back. Something. Anything would have been better than hanging up. Had she not had mj on her she prob would have gotten off with parenting classes.

Weed does NOT make anyone abandon their child!! I know many people who smoke and take good care of their kids. This woman is a piece of dog poo!!! NTA!!!

No car seat means no way to go buy diapers, formula, etc.

Anyone who voted YTA is a jerk who should never be allowed to have their own children if they think this story was ok. It never should have happened. She's lucky she didn't lose her kid. I hope she does better in the future. The YTAs need to do better also. Dummies.

Anyone saying yta/eta is an absolute idiot. Leaving a newborn with anyone that has zero knowledge of how to care for a baby just to go do d***s and get high is absolutely child abuse. OP did the right thing is calling the cops because if anything, A N Y T H I N G, had happened to the baby OP would have been held liable.

NTA. My opinion of marijuana is that it should be legalized, it at a minimum decriminalized, but that's completely separate. I don't have human children, but I have cats and my first thoughts are about them, I would NEVER leave them without enough food or litter for how long I'm gone, I sure as s**t wouldn't drop them with a friend or family member for a set time and then tell them they're going to have to watch them for 3-4x as long on a whim with no warning or supplies. Additionally, OP didn't make her buy or use the weed in a place where it's illegal, nor did she have ANY idea that bff's sis was doing so. She CHOSE to do that, she could've just gotten drunk, which is perfectly legal (I'm assuming she of-age.) OP reached out to friends and others, seeking help, none could help, only then did she call the police to track down responsible mother and get the baby care that she has NO clue how to provide, that was the RIGHT choice!

I swear some people just liking saying YTA to cause a bit of drama. If she had picked up the kid when she said she would and left a proper bag, no problem - but to just dump your child for 3 - 4 days so you can go get high with mates - you are very much TA and should not have children. My alcoholic mother used to neglect us as really small kids after getting custody - her own father intervened and got us to my father. It's neglect and a form of abuse. She did that to herself.

What the hell is wrong with those saying YTA?? This so-called mother left her kid with someone who doesn't know how to care for a baby, with nothing but diapers? No food? Not even a number where she could be contacted if the baby got sick? All so she could go get high for FOUR DAYS?? OP said she didn't have anyone she could ask for help, can't these people read? Not everyone knows how to care for a baby! The mother ruined her own life with her irresponsible stupid behavior. And where's the baby's father? Why isn't HE doing his part?

You can't look after a child using google!!! The negative commentators on here are an she already said she rang round for help. Where does she get milk, clothes, diapers, toys, bed other safety procedures from

On top of everything else the mom was prepared to leave her baby with someone the child was not too familiar with and who had no idea of her routines and how to comfort her when she was upset/ ready to sleep. These things are essential to know if the baby is to feel safe and happy. Now the police are aware of her and for the baby’s sake that’s nothing but a good thing.

The job thing is why, in an unfortunate twisted turn of fate, middle and upper class dads who abuse their kids are often not given any jail time or charged the minimum amount: because it is deemed in the better interest of the child to receive the financial support he'd be able to provide if he didn't get a felony charge and was working outside of jail, than the benefit of having him locked away. I think this bad situation is largely the result of the mom being poor, so she did not have a good lawyer and was likely pushed towards taking a plea deal without understanding the consequences. If the LW and brother feel bad, perhaps they can scrape together some funds for the sister to speak with a lawyer and see if there are any options for getting this off her record.

Look, Ma, it's the consequences of your actions! Seriously, the YTA and ESH crowd is fucƙing goofy, lol.

Since her in-laws are so upset at OP, why didn't they take the kid for four days without notice?