Tomorrow night, my mother-in-law is visiting. Lucky her, she gets the bottom (full-sized) bunk, being that it's the only guest bed we currently have in the house. I plan on sticking my three-year-old in with us, but gave my five-year-old the option of sleeping on the top bunk or camping out in our room.

"Oh, I'll sleep in my own bed. It's where all my babies are."

Do you know how long I've waited to hear those words? FIVE YEARS. Still, shortly after I got done jumping for joy, I felt sad. My chronic co-sleeper didn't want to sleep with me anymore. Isn't motherhood weird?

Frederic G. Melcher, former editor of Publishers Weekly, once said, "A great nation is a reading nation." Recognizing that the love of reading starts in childhood, Melcher and others came together back in 1919 to celebrate the very first Children's Book Week. Eighty-nine years later, the Children's Book Council carries on the tradition of encouraging reading among children.

This year, Children's Book Week is celebrated May 12-18 and children's author Terry Pierce has some suggestions for ways to promote a love of reading with your own children.

First of all, it is never too early to start reading to your child. Even if they don't understand a word you are saying, it is a wonderful way to bond. Plus, early exposure to books helps develop memory skills as well as symbol recognition, hearing and speaking.

To extend the learning beyond the pages of the book, Pierce suggests asking questions at the end of a story. You could ask your child what she thinks the author was trying to say, discuss the illustrations and even predict what happens next. Another way to enhance the story is to take it into the kitchen. A story that involves food can lead to a fun cooking activity in which your child can be involved in everything from the shopping, to the cooking to the eating.

If your child likes to draw, how about letting him create his own illustrations for a favorite book? Or maybe design his own cover? Reading can also be a springboard into writing. Whether your child wants to pen a letter to the author or begin keeping a journal, books can be inspiring.

For more ideas on celebrating books and promoting reading, visit the Children's Book Council for activities, suggested books and more. Happy reading!

My 3-month-old has started laughing, or more accurately, chortling. His version of laughing at this stage is much like I remember his brother's: a staccato "ah-heh-heh, ah-heh" sound, accompanied by a delighted grin. The thing that was cracking Dylan up a few days back was my comical choking sound as I loomed over him and he kicked his frog toes against my neck. "Aaaaauuucccch," I would say, bugging out my eyes and letting my tongue loll out of my mouth in the Universal Sign For Pretending to be Choking. "AUUCCH. You're KICKING my NECK! HELP! Someone SAVE ME from KARATE NECK-KICKING BABY!" And Dylan would bark his weird little robot chortle, practically slapping his knee with the hilarity of it all.

Since then I've caught him laughing at his brother's antics, too, although I have the feeling that is more of a joyous expression of the DEVOTION he feels towards Riley. For his part, Riley is quite tender towards his immobile younger sibling (with a few exceptions: notably, the ongoing forbidden Let's Throw Hard Plastic Balls In the Air Above the Baby! game, and what is the DEAL with those balls anyway, I keep getting rid of them and he keeps finding more, they're like Tribbles) and speaks to him in this weird ultra-high-pitched voice that makes my eardrums shiver and Dylan obviously loves.

A possible link between a vaccine additive and autism is in the news again. The courts will participate in three cases, the second of which was last Monday, to determine whether parents should be awarded millions of dollars to over 4,800 parents of autistic children.

in the second hearing parents are claiming that thimerosal, an preservative added to vaccines that contains mercury, is causing the autism. This issue has been on wildfire for quite some time now, and since 2001 pediatricians have declined further use of vaccines containing the preservative.

Several parents discussed in the New York Times article contend that their children were developing normally until they were vaccinated but that a build up of mercury in their brains stopped that development. The two cases are being used to determine what if any compensation will be given to other parents with similar claims.

If you looked at the name tags of an average size preschool class, you'd likely find a representative of nearly every one of 2007's most popular baby names, according to the latest list released by the Social Security Administration.

Without looking ahead, can you guess what they are?

The other day I found myself wandering the aisles of Babies R' Us looking for a few small items for my almost-toddler aged son. I was surrounded by hundreds--no, thousands--of items, and by nearly as many bewildered parents-to-be, all of them searching for just the right...everything!

Seems like first time parents have a really hard time making sense of what they really need, what can wait, and what is fad or just plain silly (see, in my opinion, wipe warmers). The second time around, though, it should be easier to figure out what you need, right?

And, what's moreso, you should already have all the stuff, or at least most of it, right? Here is the thing, though--well, several of them:

1. People tend to get rid of stuff, whether or not they need it.

2. Even if they do have the space to store baby items, it's entirely possible the old version will be covered with baby much OR, what's worse, the item will be declared unsafe or find itself recalled.

3. Some people really have an issue with using the same items--sheets, blankets, clothes--for children of the opposite sex. Not many of us really have that much green or yellow baby clothing. And bedding and that sort of thing tend to be very specific toward one sex or the other.

Ever get tired of eating at home or suffering through take out? Ever fantasize about going out to a nice meal that someone else cooks, someone else serves you and someone else cleans up? Ever figure out how to turn that fantasy into a reality and actually get you, your spouse and your kids out the door at a reasonable hour before things get too crowded and miraculously find yourselves seated at a table at--oh!--a restaurant?

You've finally managed to sit down and rest your aching feet, your aching back, your aching everything. You've got the kid's food and his toys and his diaper changer and your spouse has managed to put down the stroller and find a safe place for it out of the way. The server has brought the high chair. And, as you're sliding the baby down into it, you realize it's broken. The latches don't work or don't exist or whatever. You kindly ask for another one, explaining this one is broken.

The server obliges and brings you another one, which is, alas, also broken. Not only is it not safe, but it simply won't hold your son, who is more excited than ever to be in a new place with new faces and smells and ever so much excitement. He can't sit still. In fact, he won't sit at all and you have to hold him down to keep him from standing in the high chair.

You're having a baby, now where to put the car seat? According to a recent study, the most popular placement for car seats is the rear passengers side, most likely so that the driver can most easily see and attend to the baby.

But the same study found that the safest place for baby is actually in the center position of the back seat, if the car seat can be installed correctly in that position. An analysis of data from car accidents in 16 states found that kids under age 3 who sat in the center were 43% less likely to get hurt.

Sometimes, placing the car seat in the center just isn't possible. In our first car, we couldn't get a snug fit. Our second is a minivan, with bucket seats in the back. If this is the case for you, safety experts remind you that any car seat that is properly installed in the rear offers excellent protection. But if you can get it installed correctly in the center, even better.

I've always wished I had detachable arms because they always got in the way when I try to sleep. (Of course, I've never solved the problem of how one would get them reattached when one woke up, but I'm still working on it.) Babies, according to just about everyone, have a similar issue. They prefer to be wrapped up with their arms tucked in tight at their sides.

This is called swaddling a baby. We did this for our first two and I assumed that I would remember how to do it for our third who was born earlier this week. Alas, I am old and forgetful, so the process didn't come back to me. Now, I could have just asked a nurse to show me how to do it, but being the complete nerd that I am, I turned instead to the internet. There are quite a few videos on YouTube that demonstrate various ways to swaddle an infant.

The one that I like best is the ultra swaddle, although the blankets at the hospital weren't long enough to do it right. If you're using a really big blanket, the Baby Burrito video makes it look pretty easy. Taking the simple swaddle one step further, this video uses a second blanket to create a burka-like wrap that seems pretty secure. Lastly, here's a fun pastime for new parents and their friends -- a swaddle battle. See who can swaddle the kid the best, the fastest, and the most successfully.

After watching all these videos, you'd think I'd be a swaddle master, but unfortunately, I'm not. It's not all my fault, however; I have a very uncooperative partner -- one who likes to wave his arms about and kick his legs like mad. Still, I'll keep practicing and, someday, I'll get it right. Probably right about the time he's ready to go off to college.

Are they funny? Are they creepy? Are they a little bit of both? Yeah--that last one. Pictures of manbabies have surfaced on the web, and they're a hit. Ah, what will they think of next?

This is the kind of thing that, when I see it, gives me a chuckle but also lets me know I have too much free internet surfing time on my hands. Still, these pics are pretty funny and perhaps worth a look. The idea is to take a picture of a man and his baby and switch their heads. The head of the baby is made bigger and the head of the man is made smaller to match the body sizes of both. Weird but true!

PopSugar was the first I've seen to get hold of the photos, which you can check out in a slideshow here. Want to get in on the action? All you have to do is provide your own family photo. While this seems more appropriate for Father's Day than the impending Mother's Day holiday, I thought it best to alert you to this site for your viewing enjoyment asap. ENJOY! Or, should I say, "Manjoy?"

And, yes, that is a normal picture of a man and his baby. You'll have to check out the ManBabies website if you want the real thing.

My toddler got sick this week and it was a feverish sort of malaise-inducing illness that completely erased his normal spirited personality. He was depressed, sunken-eyed, prone to picking random spots on the floor on which to stretch out and whimper, clutching his ever-present -- and increasingly filthy -- blanket to his runny nose. It was so utterly unlike him I felt he'd been replaced by Pod Toddler. A Poddler. A creature (surely an emo fan) whose presence was like a black cloud of mucusy despair.

While I tried to tend to my unhappy two-year-old with goopy doses of Tylenol and helpless words of comfort ("Dude, I know: colds suck"), the baby decided that it would be a fine day to refuse all naps and act as though his legs were being gnawed by piranhas every time I put him down. I eventually found myself staggering from one end of the house to the other, first trying to get the baby in a state where he'd be calm for five consecutive seconds, then heading back to the sobbing toddler while the baby's inevitable howls of dismay echoed down the hall.

Cookie Magazine and the AOL Body Website conducted a poll of 30,000 mothers to find out just what is going on in their bedrooms and in their minds. The survey, called Sex and the American Mom, asked some interesting questions and got some surprising answers.

Most surprising - at least to me - was the fact that 34 percent of married moms said they had cheated on their spouses after having children. Why all the sneaking around? The answer may lie in another statistic: only 36 percent said they are as attracted to their husbands now as when they first married.

And according to the survey results, even those who haven't cheated are thinking about it. More than half admitted considering an affair since having children. "That's a far cry from just fantasizing about it, which I think is an important distinction," said Pilar Guzman, editor-in-chief of Cookie magazine.

Clearly, most of us are not looking for love outside our marriages. And whatever the reasons for unhappiness in the bedroom, the survey shows that many wives are at least trying to work it out. When asked if they would have sex with their husbands if they weren't in the mood, 69 percent said they would. But 22 percent are thinking about George Clooney while they are doing it.

Take the survey yourself and see how your love life compares.

My 3-month-old has figured out that the starfish-like things at the end of his arms actually belong to him, and whenever he's not busy destroying our eardrums howling out his various commands ("MORE MILK! ENTERTAIN ME FOR I HAVE BECOME BORED! REMOVE THE POOP FROM MY BUTT CRACK IMMEDIATELY!") he's staring at his waving fingers, all tripped out.

He's also testing his growing ability to manipulate his sticky little monkey paws, which is causing all sorts of problems. For instance, he tends to get his hands all up around the bottle while he's eating, or goes ahead and shoves a finger or two into his furiously suctioning mouth, sending milk all down his face and into his neck-folds before it's eventually absorbed by my bra strap. If he's not doing that, he's pulling my shirt halfway down to my waist, yanking my hair, or just giving me an out-of-nowhere hook to my upper jaw.

One article--and one set of research--would have us think so. Perhaps this story is more the sort that would fall under "Pregnancy Fact or Fiction," as breastfeeding in general is a REALLY hot topic, but let's investigate the findings.

To be honest, before we get started, I'd like to point out that this story feels very familiar. That's probably because it is. We never seem to stop talking about breastfeeding--those for it, those against it, etc.--I guess that discussion is a good thing. Way back when no one ever talked about breasts or using them for anything other than filling out a bullet bra.

In this most recent study, 14,000 babies were studied by an international research team. Their findings suggested that breastfeeding makes babies smarter, especially when not mixed with formula. The way the process worked was a little unsettling to me, though: half the mothers were strongly encouraged to breastfeed and the other half were given no encouragement.

As someone who was a recent new mom myself, I can't say that a lack of encouragement would be especially helpful. I guess I wouldn't want the medical staff breathing down my neck about it either, but it would seem especially unfair to a new mom to not encourage her to give breastfeeding a chance. I was able to breastfeed, but I was also given a ton of support and encouragement from everyone from my family to the OBGYNs and nurses to our ParentDish readers. Not everyone gets that kind of support.

What really upset me about the article are some of the other assertions made by the researchers, namely that mothers who breastfeed are "different" because they are smarter and more invested in their children. Say WHAT? So, someone who chooses to not breastfeed or can't breastfeed given the circumstances is not as invested in her child? I disagree. Completely.

When it comes to avoiding allergies, my kids weren't dealt a good genetic hand. I have asthma, and my husband has fairly severe seasonal and year-round allergies. Needless to say, we're hyper alert when watching for signs that they're developing allergies. So far so good.

According to MSNBC, maybe we should thank our dog. A recent study of 9,000 children found that having a dog in the home during infancy reduces the risk of developing allergies, asthma, and eczema. Though no one is exactly sure why, experts theorize that when kids are exposed early on to germs that the dog carries in the house on their fur and paws, their immune systems become less sensitive to things like pollen and other inhaled allergens.

Though previous studies have also found that having pets in the home can have a protective benefit, this study is considered more reliable because of the way it was structured.

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to give my dog a milk bone for all of her "hard work."