Mellors,

WW is giving you some very good advice here. Telling your son bad things about his mother will cause him to feel threatened and he will associate that feeling with you. I think it's wonderful that you are trying as hard as you are to get time with him. If you can make the time that you spend with him positive, and demonstrate your love for him and your honesty and willingness to be a good dad and to protect him, he will see for himself who you really are and will know that you care about him and are not abandoning him. Actions speak so much louder than words, especially to a child. You know how it felt to be told that your mother didn't care about you. It would feel the same way to him, and even worse when he depends on his mother to take care of him. I'm very sorry about what she has said about you, but the best way to counter that is by proving that you really are a loving father.