Welp, it's done. I searched birth records yesterday, and it appears H/OW's baby was born July 10. Apparently, that was a couple weeks early -- 16 days to be precise.
We haven't heard anything from OW ... yet. My gut feeling is that she's going to try to allow H and I to feel "safe" for a while, or at least until the "bonding stage" has passed. Then -- once we haven't been given the opportunity to create a good relationship with the baby -- she'll come after H for everything we have. Under that scenario, we receive visitation rights for a baby who wants nothing to do with us in exchange for us paying OW up to $1,000 a month, at least. In other words, she wins everything; we get nothing.
I won't allow that to happen. OW has been hanging over my head, leading H and me by our noses, since January. I can't go one day longer with the uncertainty lingering in my mind. When will she rear her head? Now? Never? I can't live this way another day.
Our atty. is drawing up papers as I write. We are, obviously, ordering a paternity test and giving OW a choice: Either allow H to relinquish his paternal rights, or we get joint custody, which entails us having the baby at least 130 days a year. I'm not opposed to either, and it's only fair to give OW the choice.
H says OW will have a difficult time "allowing" me to be around "her" baby. Apparently in divorce papers she has with her XH, she included a stipulation that her H not have a girl over when their two daughters are with him. I hate to tell her, but she won't be able to stipulate such a thing in this case.
How am I feeling about it all? Confused, but finally somewhat relieved.
We'll see how things go from here. I don't want to jump the gun and project things when I don't know how things are going to turn out. I'll elaborate more as I receive more information.
