When I had a dream about me as a little girl getting affection like this, this was the message from my subconscious that I was finally willing and able to take care of my inner child. Soon after this happened she integrated and I was whole for the first time in my life and I was then able to be kind to myself (because the self hate stuff frequently if not always involves the inner child and the hating the inner child keeps her seperate and you not integrated).