Today, we’re exploring one of the most exciting — and often misunderstood — phases of your baby’s journey:
9 to 12 months.
It’s the leap phase.
The moment everything starts to click… and then suddenly, nothing feels the same.
Because this is where your baby moves from being a passenger in their world — to an explorer.
But here’s the truth most people miss:
The magic isn’t in the walking.
It’s in everything that happens before that step.
And today, we’re diving into one of the most transformative stages of development: 6 to 8 months.
It’s where everything your baby has been building — head control, midline stability, and reflex integration — starts coming together.
This is the phase of integration.
But — it’s also the phase where little imbalances or skipped steps start to show up.
So if you’ve ever wondered, “Is my baby actually ready to sit?” or “Does skipping crawling really matter?” — this one’s for you.
Today we’re looking at one of my favourite stages: the 4–5 month phase.
It’s when your baby starts waking up to the world — literally and neurologically.
They’re starting to integrate reflexes, control movements, and explore how their body works.
But here’s the catch: it’s also when a lot of parents start comparing.
“This baby’s rolling already!”
“Mine still can’t lift her head long enough!”
So before you fall down the Google rabbit hole — let’s decode what’s really happening.
Today we’re diving into the 0–3 month window — what I like to call “the foundation phase.”
Because this stage isn’t about “skills” or “achievements.”
It’s about connection, regulation, and adaptation.
This is the time your baby’s nervous system is learning the single most important lesson:
🧠 The world is safe, and my body is mine.
I’m Dr SCL — chiropractor, dad, nervous system decoder — and this episode is for every parent who’s Googled “is this normal?” at 2am while bouncing a baby who should be asleep.
So let’s just say it:
Sleep in the first 6 months is wild.
It’s unpredictable, it’s broken, and it often feels like your baby didn’t get the memo on all those “settling” techniques.
But what if your baby’s sleep isn’t broken…
What if it’s a clue?
Today I want to reframe baby sleep as more than a routine or habit — and show you how it’s often a nervous system signal.
In today’s episode, we’re talking about one of the most stressful, emotional, and weirdly guilt-loaded parts of early parenting: feeding.
Whether you’re breastfeeding, bottle feeding, expressing, combo-feeding, or gearing up for solids — this episode is for you.
Because if your baby:
You’ve probably asked yourself:
“Is it my supply?”
“Is it my technique?”
“Is something wrong with my baby?”
Let’s unpack that — and explain what’s really going on underneath.
If you’ve got a baby under 6 months — this episode’s especially for you.
Because today we’re talking about:
“Is my baby behind?”
“That other baby’s already rolling…”
“Everyone else seems to be hitting milestones — should I be worried?”
Let me be real with you: the comparison trap is brutal.
And worse? It’s normalised.
Let’s break that cycle today.
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.