[sugarbabysmommy]

The sooner you tell her, the better. I know it's hard for so many reasons to do this, especially after so much time has past, but do it. She will ask questions and be honest always. There are things she shouldn't know now and if the conversation heads toward them you can say to her, "Some of what happened is pretty grown up stuff between (insert name here) and me and we'll talk about them when you are older," or something to that effect. She needs to know you want to and will share with her what you know, even if it's over time. A sure way to kill trust is to answer a child's question, "Is that everything you know about my birthparent?" with yes when more is actually known but deemed not age appropriate, because it will eventually come out.

As I see it, one of the hardest parts might be the timing of her birhtfather's leaving, that she may worry she was the cause given it was so close to her birth.

Keeping things simple and following her lead are important, answering questions as she has them. It may also be good to to let her know that there are all sorts of families in the world, in the neighborhood for that matter, and each is special.

Finally, I just wanted to add, that feeling all the love from her dad is no gaurentee she won't want to know about her birthfather. I am loved to the ends of the Earth by my dad, but that doesn't change that I have another man's DNA and will forever wonder about him.