If you’ve got a baby under 6 months who:
Let me tell you — it’s probably not “bad habits.”
It’s probably a nervous system that’s overstimulated — and trying to tell you something.
Today, I’m going to help you understand what overstimulation really is, what it’s not, and how you can support your baby without spiralling.
The Milestone Decoder - What to Look For (and What to Stop Worrying About)Today’s episode is a little different — because I want to walk you through one of the most useful tools I’ve created for parents:👉 The Baby Milestone Decoder — my free PDF guide to understanding development through a nervous system lens.So if you’ve ever asked:“Is this milestone normal?”“Why does my baby roll but hate tummy time?”“Why are we being told to wait, but something feels off?”This guide was made for you.
“Is this normal?”
“Should I be worried?”
“Or am I just overthinking it?”
In other words, this episode is all about - how to DECODE baby development with the Google spiral.
Whether it’s a movement, a habit, or something you just feel is off — this episode will help you trust your instincts without spiralling.
Because most parents aren’t overreacting.
They just need better tools or a better lens through which to interpret what they’re seeing.
Today we’re tackling one of the most common — and most casually dismissed
— concerns I hear in practice:
“My baby just skipped crawling. That’s okay, right?”
And look, it might be okay.
But it also might be a sign worth decoding.
Let’s talk about what skipping crawling actually means — and why it’s not just
“one less stage” in development.
Today’s question is probably the one I hear the most in practice:“Is my baby behind?”It usually comes with a hint of worry, a side of shame, and a little too much Googling.So in this episode, I want to help you zoom out — and look at your baby’s development through a lens that actually makes sense.Not age.Not checklists.But function.Let’s start here: milestone charts aren’t evil.They’re helpful as rough guides.But when they’re used as performance reviews? That’s when the panic sets in.Here’s the problem: Milestone charts tell you when things might happen — but not how well they’re happening, or why they’re not.And most of the charts floating around out there? They’re based on averages. Which means some babies will do the thing earlier… some later… and some in their own unique order.But that doesn’t tell us how their nervous system is actually integrating those movements.
This is the final part of our primitive reflex series — and today we’re talking about what happens when reflexes don’t integrate on time.A retained reflex is just a reflex that’s still running in the background past the age we expect it to fade.It doesn’t mean your baby is broken.And it is most definitely NOT a diagnosis. There is no one singular primitive reflex bone. There is no one singular solution.It’s simply a sign the nervous system might need a little help.
The Big Three — Rooting, Moro, ATNR🎯Dr SCL dives into 3 of the primitive reflexes commonly seen in new borns in order to help mums spot and understand the three reflexes they’re most likely to notice, without overcomplicating or pathologising them.
So — primitive reflexes. The name makes them sound ancient or outdated, but here’s the truth:
They’re built-in, automatic movements your baby is born with. Think of them like your baby’s autopilot mode for survival and early learning.
From the moment they arrive, these reflexes:
And the amazing part? They’re supposed to show up, serve their purpose, and then fade away as the brain matures.
Today we’re digging into a topic that a lot of people avoid — or at best, misunderstand:
Birth trauma.
Not the kind that shows up in the delivery room as an emergency.
I’m talking about the kind that shows up later —
👉 in your baby’s body
👉 in their movement
👉 in their sleep
👉 or in the way they settle (or don’t)
So let’s talk about what birth trauma actually is — what it’s not — and how you can recognise the signs without spiralling.
Now, before we move on, I want to acknowledge that there is one final and super important way that birth trauma shows up later
👉 and that is in your body as the mum
We touched on this in episode 2 about the overloaded, overwhelmed and ultimately neurologically dysregulated mum….and I promise it will not be the last episode we do on that topic!
Today we’re talking about two of the most celebrated — and most misunderstood — milestones:
🦶 Standing
🚶 Walking
You’ve probably heard: “They’ll walk when they’re ready.”
Or: “The earlier the better!”
The truth?
Neither statement tells you the whole story.
Today we’re looking at two mid-year milestones that parents obsess over:
🪑 Sitting
🐾 Crawling
If you’ve been told:
“Don’t worry, some babies skip crawling.”
Or you’ve heard:
“They should be sitting on their own by now.”
— this episode will give you the nervous system lens that changes everything.
Today we’re tackling two early milestones that get way more stress than they deserve:
🛏 Tummy time
🔄 Rolling
If you’ve ever thought:
“She screams the second I put her down.”
“He rolled at 8 weeks — is that good?”
“We’ve been told to just do more tummy time, but it’s a disaster…”
— this one’s for you.
Milestones.
Those developmental checklists that every parent (and many health professionals) obsesses over… and every baby seems to completely ignore the “rules” of.
So if you’ve ever thought:
This episode is for you.
You’re not crazy.
You’re not broken.
You’re not failing.
You’re just dysregulated.
Let’s unpack what that means — and why it’s probably the most important concept nobody ever explained to you in the first year of parenting.
DR SCL introduces Episode 1 of Decoded: The First YearWhat is it?Why has it come about?What is it NOT?
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