Beloved singer and actor who made her mark in the '70s and '80s, Olivia Newton-John will be coming to AOL tomorrow to chat with ParentDish. What would you like us to ask her?

Parents wait with bated breath to learn the gender of their unborn baby -- and sometimes, the answer isn't what they wanted to hear. Gender disappointment is a real and often heartbreaking matter for mothers and fathers who had their hearts set on a boy or a girl.

We chatted about this in the office when our colleague, an AOL editor who's expecting his first child, admitted that had his heart set on a girl.

"Everybody in my family has girls," he tells us, preferring to remain anonymous. "I guess we need a boy in the family, but when the doctor told us we were having a boy, I was so disappointed."

Dear AdviceMama:

My five-year-old son seems to be obsessed with talking about poop and his penis. Is that normal? He tells me that a group of kids in school always joke about these things at recess. I'm a little worried.

Signed, It's soooo not funny!

"When you have shopping on the brain, it helps to have a song in your heart."

So says Lou Carlozo, award-winning songwriter and columnist at our sister site, WalletPop. In his latest number, "Black Friday," he kicks off the 2009 shopping season with such lyrics as: "Tell me who needs XBox or the Nintendo Wii?
What we need is a video game called Shopping Spree. Jockey for your parking space, set debit cards on stun. Fight the mobs with martial arts, now don't that sound like fun?"

This is an excerpt from Susan Stiffelman's new book, Parenting Without Power Struggles.

Newsflash: Kids don't like to be bossed around!

In her infinite wisdom, Mother Nature has designed children to resist being told what to do outside of the context of connection. Kids are wired to Just say no! when an outsider attempts to get them to do something and to only do the bidding of those to whom they are appropriately attached. This makes a lot of sense. Consider what would happen if a child's instincts told her to follow and obey people who weren't part of her village? Imagine the worries you would be saddled with if your little ones didn't instinctively refuse the demands of strangers?

No, Mother Nature knew what she was doing when she wired our children's brains to resist being pushed and pulled outside of the context of attachment.

So, let's start off with the understanding that, as frustrating as it is when your kids refuse to come to the dinner table or clean up their toys after being asked five times, there are powerful-and invaluable-instincts at work that bias our children towards resistance.

November is National Adoption Month and ParentDish is giving a shout-out to all parents who've opened their hearts and homes to adopted children. Check out the famous folks who share the love as well.

Fertility calendars or calculators can help couples who would like to increase their chances of getting pregnant by helping the couple determine if and when the woman ovulates.

By charting the woman's basal body temperature, also known as the temperature of the body at rest, the couple can learn more about their fertility. Women have slightly lower temperatures before ovulation and slightly higher temperatures after ovulation.

During ovulation, which last for about 14 days before the menstrual period, women are most fertile. That's why women who want to become pregnant should focus on trying to conceive during this period.

Most online fertility calculators determine when women will be most fertile based on the date of their last menstrual cycle, the number of days their cycle usually lasts and some site-dependent additional information. Once you have supplied this information, the fertility calculator will tell you when you're most likely to conceive.

As women age, fertility calendars can help women understand her chances of conception. At 30, a woman's chance of conceiving each month are approximately 20 percent. By the time she's 40, her chances of conceiving drop to five percent.

AOL Health's Pregnancy Center and ParentDish's Pregnancy and Birth Section can help you prepare for your new arrival.

Knowing the signs of labor can help a pregnant woman feel more comfortable and confident as she approaches her due date. A woman's body begins preparing for delivery as much as a month before she will actually give birth. Even though she may not notice all of these symptoms, they are sure indications that her body is preparing for labor and delivery.

Lightening - This is when the baby "drops" into a lower position in the pelvis. This can happen quickly or gradually and may not even be obvious to the mother. However, some women will notice less discomfort under the ribs and more pressure on the bladder after lightening. All pregnancies are different, but in 65 percent of first-time moms, the onset of labor usually begins up to two weeks after lightening. In pregnant women who have given birth before, lightening often doesn't occur until immediately prior to going into labor.

Braxton Hicks contractions - Some women never notice Braxton Hicks contractions, which begin about six weeks into the pregnancy and continue throughout. In the last few weeks of pregnancy, some women experience more frequent and intense Braxton Hicks contractions. These are sometimes difficult to distinguish from true labor contractions.

Ripening Cervix - In the days and weeks prior to delivery, a woman's cervix will begin to thin and perhaps open a bit. This cannot be felt by the mother but can be determined by a practitioner through a vaginal exam.

Mucus Plug - The thickened mucus that is sealing the cervix will be discharged as the cervix begins to dilate. The mucus plug may come out all at once as a "bloody show" or over a period of weeks as increased vaginal discharge. It may be tinged brown, pink or red.

Breaking Water - The fluid that has been protecting the baby in the womb will discharge through the vagina when the amniotic sac ruptures. Whether a small trickle or a gush, this is a sign that birth is imminent and the doctor or midwife should be contacted.

Contractions - Some women experience contractions prior to the water breaking, while others do not. Contractions feel like a cramping or tightening in the lower abdomen or back and may radiate down the legs. Labor contractions may be as far apart as 10 minutes in the beginning and gradually become more painful and closer together. Every pregnancy is different, but in general when the contractions begin lasting about a minute each and come every five minutes for about an hour, it's time to contact the doctor or midwife.

Read more about Pregnancy and Birth at ParentDish.

Two parents struggling with the ups and downs of raising a large family made up of two pairs of twins and a set of sextuplets: Sound familiar? Meet the Hayes family, stars of the TLC reality show "Table For 12."

"Table For 12" is about to launch its second season, and the Hayes' story sounds remarkably similar to that of feuding TLC super-stars Jon and Kate Gosselin. The network introduced the Hayes' last season with a special and followed it up with a series about the New Jersey family.

Mom Betty is a "stay-at-home supermom" to 10, according to the show's official Web site, and dad Eric is a police officer. The two have 10 kids: 13-year-old twins Kevin and Kyle; 11-year-old twins Kieran and Meghan; and 5-year-old sextuplets, Tara, Rebecca, Ryan, Rachel, Connor and EJ. Rebecca has cerebral palsy, and her condition figures heavily in the show.

They say a mother's work is never done, but one survey says mothers are falling down on the job of saving for the kids' college.

A new poll found while mothers push kids harder than dads to succeed in school and get into college, they're not as involved in planning how to pay for it.

He grew up entertaining the children who tromped into an Iowa library for story hour, so it was only a matter of time before this furry friend, aptly named Dewey Readmore Books, starred in his own children's books.

In fact "Dewey: There's a Cat in the Library" is the follow up to Vicki Myron's best-selling memoir "Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World," which is set to be made into a movie by New Line Cinema. Meryl Streep has signed on to play Myron, but the former librarian, who discovered Dewey as a kitten abandoned in the Spencer, Iowa library drop box on a chilly winter morning in the 1980s, isn't done telling this feline's tale.

A diaper cake isn't really a cake at all. It's made up of dozens of disposable or cloth diapers, layered in such a way that the finished product resembles a tall, white wedding cake.

Diaper cakes range from the simple to the elaborate. Rolled up diapers secured with rubber bands are the foundation of a diaper cake. Ribbons, bows and other trimmings are then used to decorate the cake. Some diaper cakes consist entirely of diapers while others have hidden gifts for baby or mom concealed within the layers.

Diaper cakes can be purchased from specialty stores or hand-made at home.

Diaper cakes are often given as gifts to pregnant women and make for a unique and practical table centerpiece at a baby shower.

Read more about baby showers at ParentDish.

Little Red Riding Hood is a character in a fairy tale about a wolf and a young girl. The most widely known version of Little Red Riding Hood is based on a Brothers Grimm story.

In the story, Little Red Riding Hood wears a red, hooded cloak as she makes her way through the forest alone to deliver food to her sick grandmother. Along the way, Little Red Riding hood encounters a wolf. The wolf intends to eat Little Red Riding Hood and tricks her into picking flowers while he runs ahead to the grandmother's house.

Having eaten the grandmother, the wolf dons her clothes and goesinto her bed to await Little Red Riding Hood's arrival. Little Red Riding hood notices that her grandmother looks different and comments on her appearance. When she declares "what big ears you have!" the wolf leaps up and swallows her whole.

A hunter arrives and cuts open the wolf, releasing Little Red Riding Hood and her grandmother unharmed. Note: There are many variations of this ending, some more graphic than others.

Read more about books on ParentDish.

Attachment parenting is a parenting style developed by William Sears, M.D., a pediatrician and father of eight who believes that children form a strong emotional bond with parents or caregivers during childhood with lifelong consequences.

Attachment Parenting International has developed eight principles of attachment parenting that stress forming an immediate bond with the child.

The principles include:

1. Preparing for pregnancy, birth and parenting.
2. Feeding with love and respect.
3. Responding with sensitivity.
4. Using a nurturing touch.
5. Ensuring safe sleep both physically and emotionally.
6. Providing consistent and loving care.
7. Practicing postive discipline.
8. Striving for balance in personal and family life.

To help parents achieve these principles, Dr. Sears has identified "The Baby B's," seven tools designed to improve the parent-child relationship.

They include:
1. Baby bonding
2. Breastfeeding
3. Babywearing
4. Bedding close to baby
5. Believing in the language value of your baby's cry
6. Being wary of baby trainers
7. Balancing

Naturally, attachment parenting has come with some controversy. Some mothers choose to formlua feed. Some feel babywearing spoils children. There are claims that co-sleeping can cause SIDS. Sharon Hays, sociologist and author of "The Cultural Contradictions of Motherhood"," feels this parenting philosophy imposes unrealistic obligations on parents, particularly for working women.

Despite the criticisms, attachment parenting has grown in popularity, giving birth to a network of support groups across the country. Advocates claim that this parenting style encourages a secure view of the world.

Experts, including Dr. Sears, agree that parents must use these guidelines and tools to create a parenting style that works best for their family.

Have more tough questions? ParentDish can answer your childcare questions.