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CALMS: A Guide to Soothing Your Baby
Contey, Carrie & Takikawa, Debby (2007).Los Olivos, CA: Hana Peace Works. 96 pages, 26 photos. Orders: www.whatbabieswant.com
Reviewed by David B. Chamberlain, Ph.D.
Nevada City, California
This book is the first in a series of parenting books flowing from the legacy of an important video that captured wide attention, What Babies Want, directed by Debby Takikawa. Innocently small and a cinch to read, this little book is a gem! Wherever you dip into it, you get helpful information, a profoundly true point of view about babies, and yes, wise counsel on every page. It is tailor-made for new parents.
The title CALMS is an acronym standing for an indispensable 5-step process that parents can use to maintain composure during the inevitable stresses and strains encountered in the first weeks of parenting after the birth. The secret method is disclosed in Part One. The steps make good sense and are good psychology. The novelty and simplicity of CALMS may startle you.
Part Two presents infant development information from the expanded view made possible by studies in prenatal psychology over the last 25 years. This view brings new depth to the challenge of bonding and opens the door wider than ever to unlimited communication between babies and parents. In a series of 13 very brief messages—which are the heart of the book—the authors have packed essential information about the real nature of babies.
In Part Three, three couples illustrate how they used the CALMS method to deal with situations they faced in real life: trying to soothe their babies at the outset of breastfeeding, with nighttime sleep problems, and enhancing their teamwork with each other.
Additional tips and resources are given in Part Four, including how to cope with feelings of guilt, how to read the baby's body language, a helpful guide to rapid development early in gestation, and a list of reliable internet sites where more information is available for parents.
If new parents take this information to heart, their babies will be abundantly blessed.