Chorevia

Day 8 of 60 · Week 2

Reflexes

Last reviewed · 3 min read · 11 sources · Plain-text version

The five built-in reflexes your newborn arrived with, what each one is for, when it fades, and two small games that use them.

Close on a newborn's hand gripping a white father's finger as the baby lies on their back on a floor blanket, the father lying beside them, morning light across a wooden floor.

Put a finger in your baby's palm and they'll grab it. Stroke a cheek and they'll turn toward it. None of that is learned yet. Today is about the reflexes your baby was born with, and what they're for.

Heart

That grip around your finger is a reflex, and it still does something to you. It's fine to let it. What's being built is the habit of noticing them, and of being noticed back. Everyday back-and-forth moments like that help build neural connections (Harvard Center on the Developing Child).

Head

Five reflexes to spot this week (AAP):

  • Rooting: turns toward a touch on the cheek to find the nipple. Fades around 4 months.
  • Sucking: starts automatically when a nipple is deep in the mouth.
  • Moro (startle): flings out arms and legs at a loud sound or sudden movement, then pulls them in. Fades around 2 months.
  • Grasp: grips a finger placed in the palm. Fades around 5 to 6 months.
  • Stepping: "steps" when held upright with feet on a flat surface. Fades around 2 months.

Body

Beyond the reflexes, expect jerky arm movements, tight fists, hands drifting to the mouth, and a head that flops without support (AAP). Keep the head well supported whenever you lift or carry them.

Try today

  1. A white father lies on a floor blanket in morning light beside his eight-day-old lying on their back, resting a finger across the baby's open palm and talking to them, wooden floor beyond.

    The finger-grip game

    Time: A minute, when your baby is calm and alert

    1. Lay your baby on their back on a soft towel or blanket.

    2. Gently open one palm and rest your finger across it; wait for the grip, a reflex newborns are born with (AAP).

    3. Say what's happening: "You've got my finger." Then try the other hand.

  2. Side-lying play, first try

    Time: A few minutes at a time during awake play · Side-lying play in the guide

    1. Lay your baby on their side on a blanket on the floor while they're awake.

    2. If they roll onto their back, tuck a rolled-up towel behind them for support (AAP).

    3. Lie down facing them so they can see your face and their own hands.

    4. After a few minutes, switch to the other side.

    Make it work:

    Side-lying is for awake play only, with you right there. For sleep, always on their back on a bare, flat surface, towel put away (AAP).

Watch for

  • Normal

    tight fists, jerky thrusts, a startle at a bang.

    Call 911

    if your baby is limp, floppy, or not moving (Nationwide Children's).

  • Normal

    swollen breasts or genitals, sometimes leaking a few drops of milk, from the birthing parent's estrogen; don't squeeze them (AAP).

    Call your pediatrician right away

    if a swollen breast turns red, streaky, or tender (AAP).

  • Normal

    peeling skin (AAP).

    Call right away

    about tiny blisters, purple or blood-colored spots, infected-looking skin, or a rash with a fever (AAP).

For you

The mother dozes on the bed in morning light while, through the open door, the white father lies on the floor blanket facing the awake newborn, who lies on their side with a rolled towel behind them.

Your body is doing a lot of lifting, holding, and hunching this week. Bend at the knees, not the waist, when you pick things up (AAP). When you feed, get your back against something and your arms resting on a cushion before the baby latches, not after. Change which side you carry on.

Some aches are not just aches. Seek care immediately for severe swelling, redness, or pain in a leg or arm, or for overwhelming tiredness that goes beyond new-parent tired (CDC). After a C-section, walking helps healing and helps prevent clots (MedlinePlus).

If you're the partner: take the floor shift today. Lie down beside the baby for side-lying play while she lies down somewhere else.

Sources

This guide is general education that summarizes published research and guidance from groups like the American Academy of Pediatrics, the CDC, and the WHO. It isn’t medical advice, and every child develops on their own timeline. Your pediatrician knows your child; if something feels wrong, call them. In an emergency, call 911.

Get each day’s note the morning it applies

Add your baby to a free Chorevia household with their date of birth, and every morning for 60 days the day’s note arrives in the app and by email: what’s developing, one thing to try, what to watch for, and a word for you.

Create your household