Cry at the Top of Your Lungs - It's OK

Last night my husband had to work late, so I brought the Twinks to book club with me.

So far, EVERY time we have taken them out, they have been on their very best behavior - either sleeping through the outing or smiling and cooing. Last night my luck ran out.

As soon as we entered my friend's house, they both started wailing at full volume. No matter what me or my girlfriends tried - snuggling, feeding, rocking, back-patting, burping - nothing seemed to matter. I was out of my very best tricks and both Twinks were miserable.

After about an hour, G finally calmed down. So, I scooped F up in my arms and took him for a short walk outside, but as soon as he reentered my friend's house, he was inconsolable again.

I have no doubt that a baby's senses are heightened - especially their smell and hearing. The fact that a newborn can smell when it's snuggled against mommy and knows when to suckle only further proves this point. Also, when my dogs suddenly bark, both babies wave their hands in startled surprised. I wonder if they smelled my friend's cats (even though I could not) and that's what set them off. I guess I'll never know.

Today, I was relaying last night's experience to a co-worker who asked me about the Twinks. He told me that his church sponsors programs in a church in South Korea and they will often work with parents who defected from North Korea with their infants or young children. In doing this work, they noticed that the infants they never cry. Why? Not because they don't know how, but because the babies have been trained to be ignored and know that crying will illicit no response. When the church starts to work with these families, one of their first goals is to get the babies to cry because they know that it's when their work is starting to make an impact.

So, the next time your little one throws a fit and you are short of patience, I hope you will remember this story and rejoice that your baby trusts you enough to cry and let you comfort them.