I hope you didn't think I was questioning your parenting I believe you are a wonderful mother and would never jeapordize your child's safety! I was just simply asking why your MIL left her and what the reason was since you simply didn't state it in your original post. I think I and maybe some other's needed to better understand the situation and now we certainly do. You just never know what's gonna happen ya know. Heck even though my kids are older and I now leave them in the car for a few minutes, they too could get snatched up! There is no age limit to "crazy" people out there. And I totally agree with you that when you are "single parenting" because hubby is working or whatever, life is tougher and sometimes we do some things to make our lives a bit easier. Maybe it's not the right thing but it's what works at the time. I've done the bring the groceries in while baby is sleeping thing numerous times. Or I've even left them in there so that they could nap longer on nice days. Nothing wrong with that at all!!
As far as your mother goes, I don't have quite that relationship that you have but with your mom but I can tell you that my very favorite Aunt who is not too much older than me watched both of my children while I worked. One till he was 5 and the other until he was 3 and my mother was VERY jealous of her I think. But my mom worked part time and chose to continue to do that and never offered to take care of my children so that's the way it was. I can also say that my mom is not your typical grandmom either. Never does she offer to take the kids overnight. I always have to ask and I don't ask often. It has to be under her terms. She likes to babysit only on Friday nights because it messes up her Sunday morning schedule with church and all. What kills me most is that when we were little, she and my dad would drop my sister and I off FOR THE WEEKEND at MY grandmother's house. THE WEEKEND! My grandmom was much older than my mom is now too. My mom is actually a younger grandmom. Anyway, my point is, I understand where you are coming from with the mom and issues thing.
Big HUGS to ya Shannon. You and your family will get through this. It's certainly just one more curve balls that life throws us out of many that will happen in our time of parenting!!!