Terry Hohlmeyer, Waterloo, Iowa

Editor’s Note: This story was originally published in the January-February 1977 issue of La Leche League News. The first issue of La Leche League News, the bimonthly publication for members, was published in 1958. The name changed to New Beginnings in 1985. New Beginnings continued to be published by La Leche League International until it was transferred to LLL USA in 2010. In 2014, it transitioned to its current blog format at www.lllusa.org/blog/.

My daughter, Lori, two years old, has been bringing me her “baby” and telling me it was crying. My usual response was something like, “How come?” or “Oh, poor baby!” Then one evening when she presented her baby crying, I noticed her expression of worry and the note of expectancy in her voice. Only then did I realize that, maybe, even at her young age, she was wondering why babies cry and what to do about it.

This time I responded differently. I asked if her baby was wet or hungry. She shook her head “no.” I asked if her baby was cold. Again, her answer was “no.” I picked up her baby and hugged it and said, “Lori, when a baby cries, we hold her and love her until baby is happy again.” She smiled and carried her baby back to her bedroom. I felt she had begun to learn a valuable lesson that had taken me a long time to learn.

The emotional needs of our little ones are just as great as their physical needs. Hopefully we can pass this knowledge on to our children so they can pass it on to their children, and so on.

Please send your story ideas to Amy at [email protected].

Supporting Breastfeeding Families–Today, Tomorrow, Always

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