Sunday, 3 June 2007

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Anne Heche defends her parenting skills

Actress says she has good bond with her son

Anne Heche denied claims from her ex-husband she's a bad parent, saying she has a close relationship with her 5-year-old son despite her show-business obligations.

Heche, 38, is seeking full custody of son Homer, according to a Superior Court filing released Friday in her bitter divorce battle with Coley Lafoon.

The actress says that from the very beginning she bonded with their son.

"We hired a baby nurse before he was born, but before she came through our front door, I asked Coley to let her go," Heche writes in the filing. "I wanted the responsibility. I changed his diapers. I burped him. I bathed him. I held him close to my body all day, keeping him in a sling around me even when I was cooking or walking."

She maintained the mother-son bond, she says, even after she began shooting her TV series Men in Trees in Vancouver, where Homer would come for visits.

"Homer has strong relationships with each of the cast members and a lot of the crew members who play with him," she writes. "Each director calls Homer the 'little director,' letting him call 'action' and 'cut' for my scenes."

But when Laffoon showed up, Homer "cried and screamed and wrapped his arms around my neck, and screamed, 'I wanna stay with mommy,'" Heche says.

Laffoon, 33, filed for divorce in February. In his court papers, he claimed Heche has made poor parenting decisions and has repeatedly demonstrated "bizarre and delusional behavior."

The two are scheduled for mediation June 5, and for a hearing on June 11.