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‘Why another baby book?’ This is how Dylis Daws and Alexandra de Rementeria start their introduction. Indeed, it seems that today, more than ever, there are an overwhelming number of books aimed at helping new parents care for their baby. Finding Your Way with Your Baby seems to be a bit different in that the authors state at the beginning that they will not tell parents what to do. Instead, they speak to the complexities inherent in the experience of becoming a parent. They emphasise the importance of not knowing (as well as knowing), of wondering, of being curious, of observing the baby, getting to know her/him and of reflecting upon what is seen, felt and thought. I wondered whether this urging of parents to engage in thinking and reflecting upon their experiences could actually be advice. New parents may feel that this is easier said than done and, as the authors say, they often want and need clear answers and advice on how to deal with particular issues in relation to their baby. I believe that many parents will find answers to their questions in this book as it covers an enormous range of possible scenarios they may encounter during the first year of their baby’s life. These are all placed in the context of parents’ relationship with each other, with their baby and with the wider social context, so that it really offers a comprehensive ‘guide’ to parents in discovering and navigating the ‘new territory’ of their experience, indeed to ‘finding their own way with their baby’.
The book is written in clear, jargon-free style and is therefore accessible to a wide audience. The layout is friendly in that it uses different boxes to delineate different kinds of knowledge: from baby observation, psychoanalytic theory, developmental psychology and neuroscience. It provides scientific research results without overwhelming the reader with hard data and facts. The authors talk directly to new mothers and fathers and they often generously point readers to other books that ma