My niece Bella has been around us for almost 3 years--all of her life thus far and now her mother will not let her see us. I know that some people may not have this problem in their families but it is a problem in ours. My brother and Bella's mom had a thing and BAM--here is Bella. They never married and everyone around town said that my brother was not the father--but after a paternity test--which was 99.9% sure he was the father we were thrilled. We have no girl babies in the family and could not wait to get to know Bella. We went to the hospital when she was born-November 9, 2004. In January 2005 we started watching Bella everyday for her mother. She is in nursing school and needed someone to watch her--so it was the least we could do. We paid for everything--the mother had to do nothing--I drove to town every morning and picked Bella up at 6am and would bring her to her at the end of the day--around 3pm or so. In May of that year the mother decided that she did not want us to see Bella so we were not allowed to see her during the summer--it was VERY hard. Then in August '05 when school was starting back up she had no one else to watch the baby so she came to us again--we were thrilled to be a part of her life-- My sisters boys are very attached to her and love her dearly. We have watched her up until May '07 and her mom and my brother got in an argument(which happens off and on all the time) and that was it--she wants my brother to pay for Bella --WHICH HE SHOULD(he wants Bella to have his last name and have visitation to her and the mother does not want that but wants his money)-- she should not punish us when we do everything for Bella. So as it stands now--we have no contact with her--she has changed her phone number so we can not even call her. I saw her at a restaurant in town on Friday night and it just about killed me--I do not know what to do--we all want to see her and we are not allowed. We have done nothing wrong to the mother or Bella. I hope and pray that one day everything will work out for the best. I do not think that Heavenly Father intended for this to happen in the world. I feel like not ONLY are we hurting from this but Bella will to. She has a whole other family that loves her and wants the best for her. I just do not know what to do to make her mother understand we want to do for Bella--you see the mother gave us nothing for watching Bella and we bought all the diapers, clothers and anything else she might need. I just do not understand jerking her away from us. Any suggestion?
2 comments:
Oh Laura, I'm so sorry. From the countless stories you have told me about Bella, I know how much you all love her. You've spared no expense in making her happy. I can't believe how much she has grown.
Is there anything you can do legally to get some visitation? That is all I can think of -- and to keep praying. I'll keep you in my thoughts and prayers too. Good luck!
We have friends whose parents sued for Grandparent Rights, when in a similar situation. The grandparents now have visitation rights, holidays and a couple weeks each summer. It may be something to look in to.
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