How to Support Your Baby’s Reflexive Development

Your Baby’s Brain Was Built to Adapt

The beautiful thing about your baby’s brain is that it’s constantly growing and adjusting. While it can feel scary to think about that because there is so much discussion about helping your baby's brain develop (because who wants to be responsible for messing that up!?), a more positive reframe is that reflexes aren’t one-time events that have a strict expiration date.

They live in the brainstem, ready to do their job whenever movement activates them. If a baby didn’t have as many opportunities to practice certain movement patterns early on, those reflexes don’t vanish — they simply wait for more opportunities. The brain is built to catch up when given the chance.

That means you haven’t missed a window because there is no window. The earlier you proactively start letting your baby move as often and as freely as they can, the easier it will be for them to move freely and easily.

Helping Reflexes Do Their Job

As I described in the first blog, reflexes build your baby’s brain through practice and repetition. That means the more your baby moves, the more those brain-body connections get wired. And while how those brain cells are building and connecting is a beautifully complicated process, supporting reflexive development on your side is very simple.

It’s just giving your baby a chance to move all of their body as symmetrically as they can, as often as they can, starting from birth. How you help that happen changes as your baby gets older, but it’s all the same principle. Movement supports more movement.

Here are some ways you are already doing this:

• Holding your baby skin to skin, with their chest touching yours.
• Giving your baby plenty of time on firm, flat surfaces where they can move freely.
• Mixing up positions throughout the day — tummy time, side-lying, back-lying, carrying them upright.
• Letting your baby use their whole body during feeding, including their arms and hands.
• Encouraging playful movements through natural daily activities: diaper changes, stretching, reaching, kicking.

Movement doesn’t need to be complicated or scheduled. Your baby’s job is to move — and your job is to give them safe space to do it.

What Can Sometimes Get in the Way

Sometimes, things we use to help babies stay calm or comfortable also limit how much they’re able to move. None of these things are “bad” on their own — but when they reduce movement for long stretches of time, they can slow how quickly reflexive patterns get to finish their brain-building work:

• Extended use of swaddles, especially if very tight or used all day.
• Spending many hours in containers: swings, bouncers, car seats, loungers.
• Feeding that doesn’t support reflexive movement.

The goal isn’t to eliminate every swaddle or never use a swing — it’s simply to balance times of containment with plenty of free movement opportunities throughout the day, as often as you can.

Does your baby have to spend time in the car seat because you have a long commute? That’s OK. Allow them to move freely when you get home.

My third child took a whole lot of naps in her car seat because I was constantly on the go with dropping off and picking up my older two children from all the things.

We don’t always live in an ideal world, and we don’t have to for our babies to grow up to be healthy and happy. What’s key isn’t doing any of this perfectly, but looking for ways to support movement when you can.

10 Simple Ways to Support Reflexive Development Right Now

With that in mind, here are easy things you can do every day to play and interact with your baby in ways that support movement and reflexive development:

• Allow your baby to spend as much time skin to skin with you as possible, while awake and even during naps.
• Engage with your baby on the floor — tummy time, side-lying, back-lying — on all parts of their body.
• Use firm, flat surfaces like a blanket on the floor for free movement time throughout the day.
• If your baby sleeps near you, flip their head and feet positions to encourage looking both directions.
• Use your voice on either side of your baby’s head to encourage head turning in both directions.
• Uncover their hands so they can explore through touch and bring hands to midline.
• Allow arms, legs, and body to move freely during feeds when possible.
• Let your baby lead latching when you’re both calm, supporting their reflexive feeding patterns.
• Use containers and swaddles thoughtfully — balance them with open movement opportunities.
• Wear your baby when possible — babywearing supports movement and allows reflexive head control and body awareness while being held close.

These can feel like small, simple things. But they add up powerfully over time.

How to Check In On Your Baby’s Movement

The most important thing you can do — besides giving your baby the space and safety to move — is to simply watch them. But when you're a new parent, it can be hard to know what "normal" movement looks like. Here are a few simple things you can check for symmetry and ease of movement:

• Does your baby turn their head equally in both directions?
• When turning left vs. right, do they rotate both ways similarly? Or do they tilt one way and rotate the other?
• When lying on their back, does their body curve to one side consistently (forming a C shape)?
• If your baby has hair, is one side more worn or flattened than the other?

If you find yourself answering "yes" to some of these questions, that doesn’t mean something is wrong — but it may be helpful to dig a little deeper. You don’t need to do anything drastic, but you can start exploring some intentional ways to support more symmetrical movement using the ideas above, adding gentle exercises, or working with a professional who can assess your baby more fully and offer individualized support if needed.

Hard Babies

Some babies are just more challenging than others. Intense humans often start out as intense babies. It can feel impossible to practice any of these things if your baby hates tummy time, cries when you put them down, and doesn’t seem to connect any sleep cycles without a swaddle.

These babies exist — and they aren’t rare. I’ve seen them in practice, and I had one myself. You can absolutely support movement in these babies too — it just takes a bit more creativity.

Wearing them is one of the best ways to support movement, because they feel the movement in your body through theirs. Holding them skin-to-skin allows them to lift their head and turn it from side to side. Often, these babies do best on the ground when you're actively engaged with them — finding small, gentle exercises and ways to interact while they move can make a big difference.

If you have a hard baby, practicing self-care can also be hugely important — because these intense babies often feel calmer when you are internally calm too.

Moving Forward Confidently

You’re not supposed to get all of this perfect. Nobody does. You don’t need to create a perfectly balanced schedule of movement and containers. You don’t need to panic about what you didn’t know before today.

The beautiful thing about reflexive development is that it’s always happening — even while you’re still learning. You’re already helping your baby every time you give them space to move, hold them close, or let them stretch their little bodies. Small moments, repeated often, create powerful wiring. Your baby’s brain is learning and growing right alongside you.