Being a daddy

I absolutely adore my daughter. She is five years old and such a joy to be around. Her personality is strong and so is her will. I do struggle wondering how well I would be as a father if I had stuck around with my wife. I know I made the right decision in leaving because I couldn't give my exwife the kind of traditional relationship at the time. We also just weren't right for each other and in my impulsive way I jumped into things.
Being impulsive is a problem many people with bipolar encounter. I now have found a woman I love and feel is right for me, but it is still important for me to not say yes to any plans that I haven't thought through. This of course involves my daughter too in that I need to make sure that she is protected by me so she has consistency in her life. However, I also feel it is okay for her to see that I show emotion and that showing emotion is okay.
One day when we were getting ready to go to her mother's house she started to cry. I thought it was cause she couldn't finish watching The Lion King, but she said it was cuz she wanted to spend more time with me. I told her she was going to make me cry and indeed I did. I don't see anything wrong with that as long as I can stabilize myself. I hope to maintain stability, but if I do need inpatient hospitalization while she is young I hope that my ex will not try and hide too much info as I think it is important she understands that daddy has an illness that with help he will get better. This sounds better to me than to just disappear for a while and have her wondering why I disappeared or thinking I abandoned her. Well, I am off to pick up my brilliant and amazing Hannah!