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I'm not married and my baby is due in February. My relationship with the child's father ended a couple of weeks before I found out I was pregant. We have had on and off contact over the past 6 months. He says he wants to be part of our childs life. I feel that is appropriate. I just don't know how to handle visitation. I can't bear the thought of handing my infant over for him to take. I don't care for some of the company he keeps and would like some input as to who he can have my daughter around. Neither of us really want to end up in the legal system, I need to find out about resources available to me. My initial reaction was to not put him on the birth certificate and request support, being afraid of forced visitation. I don't think he's bad person or would intentional hurt our daughter. It's just that he really doesn't think about his actions and the consequences of them. I'm also wondering how the amount of child support is determined? If we work this out ourselves instead of the courts, I'd like to be sure the arrangement is fair to all of us.

The answers might depend on what state that you live in.
Child support is calculated differently in every state.
Usually child support is a seperate issue from visitation. You could file for child support and HE would have to file for visitation or custody of the child.
In some states an unwed mother has automatic full custody unless there is court order stating otherwise. In some states the father has equal rights to the child and could just come and take the baby at any time.
Unless you can prove (with documentation) that he is a danger to your child he will likely get the standard visitation of everyother weekend +1/2 holidays +weeks in the summer.

IF you tell us what state you live in the answer will be more specific.

I live in Louisiana. He is willing to work with me and "do whatever it takes". He says he just wants her to know her father, whatever that means. He has also said I can't worry about what happens to her when she's not with me. That's enough to make you nervous! Intitally I need full custody and visitation to be supervised. Are there any age restrictions to custody in these situations? If he is dating someone are there any rules about her access to my child? I want this to be as peaceful as possible and knowledge of the legal boundaries will definitely help. So much can happen in a few years time. The choices and actions we make now set the precedent for the rest of our lives. The legal uncertainties make a stressful situation even more difficult. Any information you can share is very much appreciated.

What will have to happen is that he will have to file for visitation/custody in order to have any rights (once paternity is established, of course...either by acknowledgement of paternity or DNA testing).

Now, you need to get used to the fact that if he does, unless you have anything to show a court that he is a danger to the child, you will have no control over visitation. He will get visitation (and most likely, joint LEGAL custody...meaning he gets to have a say in decisions that affect the child). During his visitation, again, unless you can prove that a certain person is a danger to the child, he will be able to take the child around whomever he deems appropriate. It is a possibility that you could have a clause included in the order that bars any overnight, unrelated guests of the opposite sex during the hours of visitation, but YOU would be bound by the same clause.

So, the question is...what proof or evidence do you have to present to the court that his visitation should be supervised or restricted in any way?