Product Description

Honest, short, sweet and scientific, CALMS A Guide to Soothing Your Baby offers parents and professionals a new view of babies and a tool kit for creating family harmony and parent-child connection. Written with compassion and insight into the world of new babies and new parents, this book provides the practical tools parents need to help their babies settle when they are upset and to create deep healthy bonds with their children right from the start. The title CALMS is an acronym standing for an indispensable 5-step process which 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. These steps make good sense and good psychology. The novelty and simplicity of CALMS may startle you. Part two of the book provides an overview of the latest research coming out of the field of prenatal and perinatal psychology and offers new insight into early infant development. Three real life examples of how families are using this method are presented in part three. Finally, part four is an addendum chock full of early parenting resources. This book is the "must have reference" for any new parent, parent-to-be or person working with families during the early years of life. It is the perfect gift for your new client welcome bag, and doulas, midwives, nurses and hospitals are already ordering by the hundreds! This essential guide is a great choice for parenting classes and it makes the perfect shower gift. "I received CALMS just after the birth of my fourth baby and the information has proved invaluable to our whole family. We find ourselves applying the techniques not just for our infant, but for our nine, seven and four year-olds as well. It turns out that what babies want is what we all want; compassion, understanding and patience. Every family new or not should have CALMS readily available." Bernadette, mother of four

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #474019 in Books
• Published on: 2007-05-12
• Binding: Paperback
• 96 pages

Review
CALMS offers parents a reassuring guide to effectively connect with their babies when they need it most. It starts at the beginning and brings in the important elements of connection. I recommend this Gem! --Wendy Anne McCarty PhD, Author of Being With Babies: What Babies are Teaching Us and Welcoming Consciousness

This book is the first in a series of Parenting Books flowing from the legacy of an important video which 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. All of it is tailor-made for new parents. The title CALMS is an acronym standing for an indispensable 5-step process which 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. These steps make good sense and good psychology. The novelty and simplicity of CALMS may startle you. Part Two presents infant development information from the expanded view made possible by 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 the situations they faced in real life trying to soothe their babies at the outset of breastfeeding, nighttime sleep problems, and 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 for parents is available. If new parents take this information to heart, their babies will be abundantly blessed --David Chamberlain PhD Author of The Mind of Your Newborn

This book is user-friendly and a little life-saver for Moms and Dads as they embark upon the grand journey of caring for their child. Easy to read - but make no mistake: this booklet is chock-a-block full of the most up-to-date, scientifically sound information and advice, and it will help you inject peace, harmony and pleasure into your relationship with your child. The beautiful and heart-warming family photos sprinkled throughout will keep you connected to our larger human family. --Robin Grille, Author of Parenting for a Peaceful World

About the Author
Carrie Contey, Ph.D. and Debby Takikawa DC Carrie is a leader in the emerging field of prenatal and perinatal psychology and currently serves on the board of directors of the Association of Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology and Health (APPPAH). She received her Ph.D. in prenatal and perinatal psychology from the Santa Barbara Graduate Institute in Santa Barbara California. As a nationally recognized coach, consultant, speaker and educator she trains professionals and provides parents with the support, information and tools to create conscious, connected and balanced lives in all stages of early parenting from before conception through childhood. For more information, or to contact Carrie, please visit her website www.earlyparenting.com Debby is the producer and director of What Babies Want, an award winning documentary film about babies. Since then she has launched several more product lines that babies want. They include organic cotton baby apparel, and baby skin care products using only organic ingredients, some of which grow on her family farm. Babies want their parents to keep up with the latest information about infant development, so Debby is making a What Babies Want Audio Lecture Series and a What Babies Want Parenting Book Series. Debby received her BA in Human Development and her Doctoral Degree in Chiropractic. She had a family practice for 20 years and, in 2001, founded Beginnings Inc., a non profit clinic for babies and their families to learn more about bonding and attachment. Debby lives on an organic flower and vegetable farm with her husband Shu and two of her three children. To learn more, or to make contact with Debby, visit her website at www.whatbabieswant.com

Customer Reviews

BEST GIFT for new parents or parents-to-be
As I birth and postpartum doula I am always looking for new resources for my clients. After reading this brief but incredibly informative little book - it will become my #1 pick. In such a short amount of pages, this book packs in information compiled from the latest research in psychology and communication with babies, but in a easy to read and understandable language. Parents who may already be overwhelmed can rest assured that the methods are broken down into siimple steps for understanding and bonding with their babies. These skills can easily spill over into adulthood and dealing with relationships in general. This could easily have a huge impact on the future of our children everywhere. I will be gifting this little gem to my clients and spreading the word.
Thank you Carrie and Debby!!
Cheri Masek, CD (DONA)
Vice-President, Board of Directors DASC (Doula Association of Southern California)

A life saver for any parent striving to connect to their baby
This book has been a life saver to me and has offered me a simple method and a simple guide for reaching out to and connecting with my baby. The method too can be applied to older kids as well in a way that makes one feel simultaneously grounded and elated at maintaining calm in a stressful situation.

This book will surely be a gift for every baby shower I attend from now on.

Transformative!
I read this book immediately before adopting my first child, a one-year- old baby. It transformed my thinking and planning for how I would receive my little one from day one. This is a terrific, quick-read, return-to-again-and-again-type book. Now we have added two older children into our family, and I still practice the techniques described. It's the kind of book that you can leave by the toilet and read a quick chapter when you only have a minute to yourself.There is great wisdom in this book.