I wouldn't acknowledge the friend's email regarding getting back together with Dad. No need to do the high school drama thing. Stick to the child. 8 visits sets a strong precedence with the child that Mom is in charge and Dad is all fun (visits) If you are comfortable, then you should move forward and encourage him to take "parenting" time. NYP is right. He will eventually want overnights to feel like he is a normal parent. I STRONGLY disagree with EOWeekend parenting. It tends to put one parent in the position for all work and the other parent as all play. A 2/2/5/5 schedule allows more freqent parenting time for the child. It never puts the child more than 5 days away from either parent. Once her bond is strong and dad and daughter want to be together for real, 2 weeks away from any parent is awful for the child UNLESS distance is an issue. Then traveling every few days is more stressful on everyone. If dad lives near enough the 2/2/5/5 schedule works well. M/T with one parent W/TH with the other and then alternate weekends. Both parents get a weekend attached to weekdays which allows both parents to be involved with school/daycare/sports practices/etc. I know that this is a little bit down the road for you, but it is something to keep in mind since overnights and significant parenting time are something that dad will eventually want. Keep us posted and try not to be "stressed" any longer.