In such a short period of time, Oakdale has become almost all about babies: Sofie is pregnant, Meg is pregnant, Gwen wants a baby, Alison pretends to be pregnant and Katie wants babies. We even saw Nancy Hughes for a few minutes this week and Dr. Bob sort of has a storyline with Chris being back in town.

Munson Baby Drama
Gwen and Will want a baby very badly and have no idea that Grannies-to-be, Barbara and Iris are pulling the strings to give them Cole and Sofie's baby. This will not end well - especially now with Aaron and Alison investigating the situation and digging up clues by the second. I feel so sorry for Gwen and Will because they just cannot be happy for a moment. Why couldn't Gwen be like Meg and miraculously become pregnant without having a miscarriage?

This story seems to be ending with the truth coming out next week. The characters of Cole and Sofie have never really caught on as Cole is always angry and Sofie is always so wimpy. I certainly hope when the truth comes out that they both exit Oakdale quickly.

Meg Baby Drama
Meg wants her baby to be Paul's and for now, this is what she believes. Craig, as a father, has never been a good thing for the child or the mother of that child. We have so many examples of that: Betsy Stewart, Sierra Esteban, Jennifer Munson and now Meg Snyder. If we remember the previous stories, he did not rate well as a father.

Paul is really torn right now as well. He wants to be by Rosanna's side as she is slipping back and forth into her coma but he also wants to be with Meg whether it is his baby or not. Maybe he senses that this is his baby - after all, he used to have visions: what if he touched her stomach maybe he could tell if that is truly his baby?

Carly and Jack and Katie and Brad
Why it is every time that Jack is having a moment with Katie there is a phone call about Carly is in some type of trouble? Is that getting old? Even if it is old, it makes Katie see time and time again that Jack and Carly have a real connection. Katie has admitted that she can't handle that anymore and she is being honest with Jack by telling him that.

However, she does seem to be getting closer and closer to Brad. Brad is allowing her to call the shots with them and it is working in his favor. I find myself rooting for Brad to be with Katie; Brad is showing himself to be a good guy while changing a lot since he first reappeared in Oakdale. Most of the time, Brad is more likable than Jack these days. The writers have almost ruined the character of Jack with this recent story of Carly's near death.

Carly is moving on with her life without Jack. I like that it looks like she is having a life away from Jack, Katie and Brad. I like her forming this partnership with Kit. I was glad to see the character of Kit back. Lauretta Vaughn was great on InTurn and is adding some much needed excitement to Oakdale right now. I am anxious to see how Wally Kurth is going to fit into this story - it good to see Carly doing something different than pining over Jack and scheming to get him back.

Holden and Lily
Lily has moved on with Dusty and Holden seems to be interested in Bonnie. Is Bonnie the right person for Holden or is she the only available woman in Oakdale right now? Bonnie has just ended her marriage as well so is she ready for a new relationship?

We can see from Dusty's actions that he may not be as into Lily as she is into him. He still has some strong feelings for Emily and Emily definitely has feelings for him. It looks like she is using Chris to make Dusty jealous or more importantly, shield herself against further pain. If someone were to trap them in an elevator or lock them in a storage room then they would come out a couple in no time flat. (Okay, I have been watching soaps for a long time.) Chris and Lily are going to come out losers in the long run.

On the subject of Chris, what is up with his constant battle with his father? Dr. Bob is giving him an opportunity but he continues to want to do his own thing. Kim wants him home and I don't know how long he will be here the way he is acting with his father. He has left town before when things were not going his way.

Here are some comments from some readers:

Janice said, "Perhaps the writers' strike will give ATWT writers a chance to think about some fresh and more realistic storylines. For example, Iris and Cole should have fallen by the way instead of Maddie (Alexandra Chando). Gwen's family is nauseating and you keep expecting at some point in the "story" there is a trailer parked out back. Why Barbara would "buy" Gwen's niece or nephew and trust Iris or Cole to honor the adoption arrangement, with the mom's history well established of being a con-artist and her comment to the Cole, "you're a chip off the old block" is far-fetched. Bring back the Slasher and get Iris and Cole out of Oakdale! Please.

The rise and fall of Carly's misdiagnosed brain tumor, was good story-telling. In contrast, the perpetual lying to smart cop Jack emasculates everything about "G-Man" as well their "love." Like the Lisa Hughes, et al (Eileen Fulton) from the old days, viewers loved to hate her, was a sentiment I felt towards Carly once; now, the character is simply not likeable anymore. She makes Jack seem an even more "simple" character. In the past two weeks, I have watched less and less of ATWT out of annoyance with trifling and boring storylines."

Sherry said, "It's a good thing that Rosanna is going back into her coma. I just hope that she fixes the mess she made by changing the paternity results first. Paul and Meg should be together more than Meg and Craig."

Carol said, "When will Gwen and Will have a moment of happiness? I may have to stop watching if this continues. I thought things were bad when Cleo was in town but this constant doom and gloom for this young couple is painful to watch. Can't the writers do something positive with this couple for one?"

Finally, Casey is coming back to Oakdale soon, who should he become involved with? Should they bring Maddie back (same actress, of course) or should he find someone new?

That's all I have for now.
Reggie Jackson