Create Thriving Families with Dr. Lisa

Lisa Pedersen

Are you raising your children without a clear roadmap? Create Thriving Families with Dr. Lisa is the podcast for mothers who want a brain-based, holistic, nervous-system-informed framework for their child's health and development. Hosted by Dr. Lisa Pedersen, a pediatric chiropractor with 23 years of clinical experience, this show covers neurodevelopment, holistic health, primitive reflexes, sensory processing, sleep, nutrition, and the real parenting protocols that support your child's thriving — from pregnancy through childhood. If you are done guessing and ready to build a clear model for your family's health, this is your show.

  1. Oct 2

    Ep 26 - Inside Your Baby’s Right Brain: Face & Eyes — The First Channel of Connection Part 2 of 4 | The Right Brain Series

    Inside Your Baby’s Right Brain: Face & Eyes — The First Channel of Connection Part 2 of 4 | The Right Brain Series Episode runtime: approximately 48 minutes The half-second your eyes meet your baby’s looks like nothing. It is anything but. Underneath that completely ordinary moment, two nervous systems are finding each other through the face and the eyes, with no words at all. In Part 2 of the Right Brain series, Dr. Lisa goes deep on the very first channel your baby uses to connect with you — the face and eyes— and what the research actually says about why it matters so much. A newborn’s clearest vision is at eight to twelve inches, almost exactly the distance between a feeding baby and their mother’s face. Within that window, babies preferentially track face-like patterns over almost anything else. Colwyn Trevarthen’s work on primary intersubjectivity shows babies arrive wired to seek out and engage with another person’s face, eyes and expressions — waiting for a face to meet them so they can start building the right hemisphere. Eye contact isn’t a one-way look; it’s a two-way circuit. Beatrice Beebe and Frank Lachmann’s frame-by-frame video analysis documents mothers and babies co-constructing split-second patterns of gaze and expression — what they call interaction structures — thousands of times a day. Allan Schore’s framework shows your facial expressions functioning as an external regulator for your baby’s nervous system: brightening and animating for an under-aroused baby, softening and slowing for an overstimulated one. The baby looking away is a nervous system pause, not rejection. Dr. Lisa also unpacks Edward Tronick’s famous Still Face Paradigm — what actually happens when a parent’s face stops responding, and what the research really teaches: ruptures happen in every healthy relationship, and it is the repair, the return, the reconnection, that builds resilience.  Your day is already full of natural windows to be working to help your baby develop a healthy right hemisphere of their brain — and face-to-face stroller positioning, baby-wearing turned toward you, and awareness of screens as competitors already do a lot of the work. What You’ll Take Away • Why the human face is the most sophisticated visual tool in your newborn’s world — and why no toy or flashcard can replace it in the first weeks and months • Why eye contact is a two-way proto-conversation, not a one-way look — and why the loop repeating thousands of times a day is what does the building • How your facial expressions function as a nervous system regulator — animated for under-arousal, soft and slow for overstimulation • What the Still Face Paradigm actually teaches: rupture isn’t the danger, repair is the mechanism that builds resilience • Why the windows are already in your day — feeding, diaper changes, the bath, the car seat — and how screens and phones can compete for them Episode Timestamps 00:00 The ordinary moment: your face as neuroscience 02:00 Why the right brain develops first  05:00 Why faces matter before anything else  13:00 What actually happens in eye contact: proto-conversations  23:00 Facial mirroring as a nervous system regulator  31:00 The Still Face Paradigm & why repair builds resilience  38:00 Building face-to-face connection into an ordinary day Free Resources for This Episode Reference list (PDF) — every researcher, study and book mentioned in this episode: https://www.createthrivingfamilies.com/offers/rqFLBTsi Related episodes — Episode 25 (Part 1 of the Right Brain series); Episodes 16–23 (8-part series on your baby’s first year) Connect with Dr. Lisa Website: www.createthrivingfamilies.com Substack: substack.com/@drlisapedersen Instagram: @dr.lisapedersen

    Ep 26 - Inside Your Baby’s Right Brain: Face & Eyes — The First Channel of Connection Part 2 of 4 | The Right Brain Series

  2. Sep 24

    Ep 25 - Inside Your Baby´s Right Brain: How Connection Builds the Self Part 1 of 4

    CREATE THRIVING FAMILIES WITH DR. LISA Episode 25 | Show Notes Inside Your Baby’s Right Brain: How Connection Builds the Self Part 1 of 4 | The Right Brain Series Episode runtime: approximately 44 minutes Long before your baby can say a word, they can read the whole room — your face, your tone, the tension in your body, the feeling in the air. That is the right brain at work. In this episode, Dr. Lisa opens a new 4-part series on the development of the right hemisphere of the brain, drawn from the work of Allan Schore and many other researchers looking at infant brain development. The right hemisphere develops earlier than the left and the reasons for that are essential for new parents to be aware of. From roughly zero to 18 months, the majority of brain-building is happening on the right side — the side wired for non-verbal, holistic, body-based processing: faces, tone of voice, touch, emotional state, the autonomic nervous system, the limbic system, threat and safety. The left hemisphere, which handles language, sequence, categories and linear logic, comes into its major growth spurt from around age two to three. The right brain has to come first because before your baby can think or speak, they have to regulate and stay safe. What builds the right hemisphere isn’t instruction — it’s right-brain-to-right-brain communication with a caregiver. Facial expression, eye gaze, tone of voice, touch, and the moment-to-moment timing of attunement and repair. Dr. Lisa walks through Schore’s framing of attachment not as “bonding” in a warm-fuzzy sense, but as architecture: the mechanism through which your baby’s implicit sense of self, their personality, their capacity for relationship, and the emotional foundation for the rest of their life are literally built. The takeaway for mothers: your presence is essential. Bids for connection — the look, the reach, the sound — are the raw material of right-brain development, and ordinary moments (feeding, diaper changes, meeting each other’s gaze) do more than any flashcard, screen, or brain-building toy. This episode sets up the series; Episodes 26, 27 and 28 will go deeper into all the different ways we can help our babies grow a strong, well-connected right brain. What You’ll Take Away • Why the right hemisphere develops earlier and faster than the left — and why survival, regulation and safety come before language and logic • What right-brain-to-right-brain communication actually is: face, eye gaze, tone of voice, touch and the timing of attunement and repair • Why Allan Schore frames attachment as architecture, not just bonding — the mechanism that literally builds your baby’s sense of self • Why bids for connection in ordinary moments matter more than structured activities • Why your own regulation and presence is the work — and what to do when you notice you’re physically there but emotionally somewhere else Episode Timestamps 00:00 Welcome & introducing the Right Brain series (Allan Schore, 2025) 05:00 Why the right brain develops first: structure, function & the autonomic–limbic connection 12:00 What builds it: right-brain-to-right-brain communication 19:00 The right brain as the origin of the self and implicit self-knowledge 25:00 Bids for connection: ordinary moments, not grand gestures 30:00 Presence vs. cognitive stimulation: the modern parenting trap 38:00 What’s coming in Episodes 26–28: All the ways we can build a strong and healthy right hemisphere at home Free Resources for This Episode Reference list (PDF) — https://www.createthrivingfamilies.com/offers/zFCWWRAe Related episodes — Episodes 16–23, the 8-part neurodevelopmental series on your baby’s first year Connect with Dr. Lisa Website: www.createthrivingfamilies.com Substack: substack.com/@drlisapedersen Instagram: @dr.lisapedersen

    Ep 25 - Inside Your Baby´s Right Brain: How Connection Builds the Self Part 1 of 4

  3. Aug 27

    Ep 24 - My Why: Sliding Doors and the Life I Want for Your Kids - a personal mission episode

    CREATE THRIVING FAMILIES WITH DR. LISA Episode 24 | Show Notes My Why: Sliding Doors and the Life I Want for Your Kids A personal mission episode Episode runtime: approximately 28 minutes Two paths. Two versions of a life. And so often, our health is what quietly decides which one we get to live. After a deep 8-part series inside the neurology of your baby’s first year, Dr. Lisa steps back from the clinical material and gets personal — telling you the story behind Create Thriving Families and why, after 23 years in private practice, she’s building this community now. She opens by explaining why the founding philosophy of anyone we learn from matters as much as their credentials, then uses the film Sliding Doors as a lens: the version of us who catches the train vs. the version who misses it. Health, she argues, is often the train — and the version of us who actually shows up in the world, in our relationships and in our children’s lives is deeply shaped by whether our body, brain and nervous system are functioning close to their potential. Her vision is clear: give kids as clean a slate as we possibly can. Build a proactive whole-health toolbox — brain, nervous system, gut, movement, sleep, connection, emotional regulation — so they don’t reach adulthood carrying a boulder in their backpack from something that could have been supported earlier. Create Thriving Families is being built for mothers who want that, and this fall Dr. Lisa’s first online courses on developmental neurology are launching. What You’ll Take Away • Why the founding philosophy of the people you learn from matters as much as their credentials — and how to tell when someone is actually in your tribe • The Sliding Doors reframe: how health quietly decides which version of a life we get to live, and why this applies to our kids more than to anyone else • Dr. Lisa’s personal story of the version of her mother she grew up with, and how it shaped the mission behind Create Thriving Families • Why proactive whole-health for kids is one of those invisible gifts they may never notice — the hard path they never had to walk • Why treating symptoms matters, and why building health from the start matters even more — the difference between reactive and proactive parenting Episode Timestamps 00:00 Why I’m changing gears after the neurodevelopmental series 02:00 Why shared ethos matters when we learn from someone 07:00 Sliding Doors: two versions of a life through the lens of health 10:00 My mother’s story: the version who missed the train 17:00 Why proactive whole-health is the gift we give our kids 22:00 The community I’m building & what’s coming this fall Free Resources Substack — long-form articles and free resources: substack.com/@drlisapedersen The 8-part neurodevelopmental series — Episodes 16–23, everything happening in your baby’s brain in the first year of life Coming this fall — Dr. Lisa’s first online courses on developmental neurology Connect with Dr. Lisa Website: www.createthrivingfamilies.com Substack: substack.com/@drlisapedersen Instagram: @dr.lisapedersen Music composition and guitar by Philippe Custeau This podcast is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical or professional advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider with questions about your child's health and development.

    Ep 24 - My Why: Sliding Doors and the Life I Want for Your Kids - a personal mission episode

  4. Aug 13

    Ep 23 - Inside Your Baby’s Brain: The 9–12 Month Window Part 2 of 2 | The 8-Part Neurodevelopmental Series — Series Finale

    Episode 23 | Inside Your Baby’s Brain: The 9–12 Month Window (Part 2 of 2) — Series Finale This is the finale! Your baby is on their feet, saying their first words or just about to, pointing at everything they can see, and quite possibly spending half the night standing up in their crib — all in the same window. Episode 23 is the eighth and final episode of the 8-part neurodevelopmental miniseries, and it’s the day-to-day, hands-on companion to Episode 22. Where Part 1 mapped what’s happening under the surface, Part 2 tells you what to look for at home and what to actually do about it. Dr. Lisa walks mothers through nine practical areas: the grand finale of locomotion — pulling to stand, cruising and those first unassisted steps; the mature pincer grasp and how it links to self-feeding, baby-led weaning and the division of responsibility; separation anxiety at its peak and why the protest itself is evidence the attachment is working; first words and why receptive language runs far ahead of expressive; declarative pointing and shared meaning as the earliest social cognition; early intentional behavior — the first refusals, preferences and “no” as the prefrontal cortex maturing, not defiance; sleep disruption at the 12-month mark as predictable disorganization before re-integration; how to tell watch-and-wait from get-it-checked; and pulling the whole first year together. This is the integration year closing. Motor, language, attachment, emotion and intention are being woven into a working whole. Your baby doesn’t need a walker, a jumper or a bouncer — they need floor space, low stable furniture, real conversation, responsive nights, honored refusals, and a calm nervous system next to theirs. This is also the closing episode of the series. You now have the whole blueprint for the first year — what’s happening under the surface in each window, what you should be seeing at home, and how to support it without over-managing it. What You’ll Take Away • What optimal locomotion looks like in this window — pulling to stand, cruising, first unassisted steps by 12–13 months — and why the quality of walking matters more than how early it happens • Why the mature pincer grasp is a self-feeding milestone as much as a motor one, and how it fits with baby-led weaning and division of responsibility • How to handle peak separation anxiety without sneaking out, distracting or “training out” the protest — and why the reunion is the brain-building moment • The single behavior to watch for by 14–15 months: declarative pointing, joint attention and intentional imitation — and what its absence warrants • Why early refusals, preferences and “no” are prefrontal cortex development, not defiance — and how to set warm, consistent limits without shutting them down Episode Timestamps 00:00 Welcome & closing the 8-part series 05:00 The grand finale of locomotion: pulling to stand, cruising & first steps 17:00 The mature pincer grasp, self-feeding & baby-led weaning 24:00 Separation anxiety at its peak & the reunion as brain-building 31:00 First words, receptive language & declarative pointing 41:00 Early intentional behavior, refusals & sleep disruption at 12 months 56:00 When to watch and when to get checked; closing the first year Free Resources for This Episode Downloadable PDF — your companion guide to this episode: [INSERT LEAD MAGNET LINK] Reference list (PDF) — every researcher, study and book mentioned in this episode: [INSERT REFERENCE LIST LINK] Related episodes — Episodes 16–22, the full 8-part neurodevelopmental series Connect with Dr. Lisa Website: www.createthrivingfamilies.com Substack: substack.com/@drlisapedersen Instagram: @dr.lisapedersen Music composition and guitar by Philippe Custeau This podcast is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical or professional advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider with questions about your child's health and development.

    Ep 23 - Inside Your Baby’s Brain: The 9–12 Month Window Part 2 of 2 | The 8-Part Neurodevelopmental Series — Series Finale

  5. Aug 6

    Ep 22 - Inside Your Baby’s Brain: The 9–12 Month Window Part 1 of 2 | The 8-Part Neurodevelopmental Series

    Inside Your Baby’s Brain: The 9–12 Month Window Part 1 of 2 | The 8-Part Neurodevelopmental Series They’re pulling themselves up. Any piece of furniture, any leg, any dog that will stand still — your baby is finding a way to get vertical. The 9–12 month window is the finale of your baby’s first year of brain-building: the cerebellum, motor cortex and myelination are catching up to intention, attachment is reaching its full expression, joint attention is opening the door to real language, and the way your baby´s memory is now working has changed. This is Part 1 of the 9–12 month window in the 8-part neurodevelopmental miniseries — the seventh of eight episodes in the series. Part 1 covers what’s actually happening in your baby´s brain and nervous system during this window. Part 2 (Episode 23) will bring it up to the surface — what you’ll see day-to-day and what you can do to support it. Dr. Lisa walks mothers through seven areas: postural reflexes maturing into upright skills — pulling to stand and walking along anything that will hold still; the cerebellum–motor cortex partnership that turns intention into smooth, coordinated movement; accelerated myelination of the motor and prefrontal pathways that speeds and stabilizes everything from walking to impulse inhibition; joint attention as the neurology of shared focus, pointing and purposeful imitation; attachment and the secure base reaching full expression; the receptive language explosion — why your baby understands far more than they can say; and the maturing hippocampus that turns implicit patterns into explicit, retrievable memory. This is the integration window. Motor, cognitive, emotional and social systems are all being wired together by long fiber tracts and myelination — the whole orchestra learning to play together, not just each section on its own. Your job is to protect floor time, respond to your baby when they want to point and show you something, be the reliable secure base your baby returns to, talk in real sentences, and stay regulated yourself. What gets wired now becomes the foundation for emotional regulation, executive function and language for the rest of your child’s life. What You’ll Take Away • Why upright skills (pulling to stand, walking while holding onto furniture, first steps) are cerebellar events and why “17 falls per hour” is the only way to do it • How myelination in the motor and prefrontal pathways explains the sudden jump in coordination and the first signs of impulse inhibition • Why joint attention (pointing, following your gaze, purposeful imitation) is the single most important new milestone this window — and what its absence by 13–15 months warrants • How the secure base reaches full expression: the paradox of an exploring, clinging baby, and why “training out” separation anxiety works against developmental neurology • Why your baby understands dozens of words before they can say any — and why real, in-person language (not screens) is what does the wiring Episode Timestamps 00:00 Welcome & where we are in the 8-part series 06:00 Postural reflexes maturing into upright skills: pulling to stand & cruising  14:00 The cerebellum–motor cortex partnership 21:00 Myelination accelerating in motor & prefrontal pathways 27:00 Joint attention & the beginnings of social cognition 33:00 Attachment & the secure base at full expression 39:00 Receptive language explosion & the maturing hippocampus Free Resources for This Episode Downloadable PDF — your companion guide to this episode: [INSERT LEAD MAGNET LINK] Reference list (PDF) — every researcher, study and book mentioned in this episode: [INSERT REFERENCE LIST LINK] Related episodes — Episodes 16–21 in the 8-part neurodevelopmental series Connect with Dr. Lisa Website: www.createthrivingfamilies.com Substack: substack.com/@drlisapedersen Instagram: @dr.lisapedersen Music composition and guitar by Philippe Custeau. This podcast is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical or professional advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider with questions about your child's health and development.

    Ep 22 - Inside Your Baby’s Brain: The 9–12 Month Window Part 1 of 2 | The 8-Part Neurodevelopmental Series

  6. Aug 2

    Ep 21 - Inside Your Baby’s Brain: The 6–9 Month Window Part 2 of 2 | The 8-Part Neurodevelopmental Series

    CREATE THRIVING FAMILIES WITH DR. LISA Episode 21 | Inside Your Baby’s Brain: The 6–9 Month Window (Part 2 of 2) Your baby is on the move. They’re sitting solidly with both hands free, starting to crawl, reaching for the food on your plate, protesting when a stranger holds out their arms, and babbling with an intonation that already sounds like language. The 6–9 month window is where months of quiet neurological work suddenly become visible in day-to-day life — and this episode is where we bring it all to the surface. This is Part 2 of the 6–9 month window in the 8-part neurodevelopmental miniseries. Part 1 (Episode 20) covered what was happening developmentally under the surface. This episode brings it up to the surface: what you’ll actually see at home, and what you can be doing to support each piece. Dr. Lisa walks mothers through nine areas: the sit-to-crawl sequence; solid-food readiness and how to introduce food; stranger wariness, object permanence and the 8-month sleep shift as one connected event; babbling as the first real conversation; pincer grasp and fine motor refinement; supporting the STNR reflex through movement; when to seek a pediatric neurodevelopment assessment; and the parenting model that ties it all together. Your job isn’t to teach, push or accelerate. It’s to protect floor time, share meals, honor stranger wariness, respect the crawling stage, respond to babbling like a conversation, and stay regulated yourself — your calm nervous system is the one your baby is borrowing from. WHAT YOU’LL TAKE AWAY • What healthy sit-to-crawl progression actually looks like day-to-day — and why crawling is so important • The readiness signs for solid food and how the Division of Responsibility keeps mealtimes from becoming a battle • Why stranger wariness, separation protest and the 8-month sleep shift are one connected event — not personality changes or regressions • How to support the pincer grasp, the babbling conversation and the STNR reflex through everyday interactions • The 9-month markers worth flagging to a pediatric neurodevelopment clinician — and why maternal intuition matters EPISODE TIMESTAMPS 00:00 — Welcome & where we are in the 8-part series 09:00 — Sitting to crawling: what you’ll see day-to-day 17:00 — Starting solid food: readiness signs & how to introduce 25:00 — Stranger wariness, object permanence & the 8-month sleep shift 38:00 — Babbling as language architecture & the pincer grasp 49:00 — Supporting the STNR reflex through movement 58:00 — When to seek an assessment & a parenting model for this window FREE RESOURCES FOR THIS EPISODE Reference list (PDF) — every researcher, study and book mentioned in this episode: https://www.createthrivingfamilies.com/offers/FVxHonNi Related episodes — Episodes 16, 17, 18, 19 & 20 in the 8-part neurodevelopmental series CONNECT WITH DR. LISA Website: www.createthrivingfamilies.com Substack: substack.com/@drlisapedersen Instagram: @dr.lisapedersen Music composition and guitar by Philippe Custeau. This podcast is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical or professional advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider with questions about your child's health and development.

    Ep 21 - Inside Your Baby’s Brain: The 6–9 Month Window Part 2 of 2 | The 8-Part Neurodevelopmental Series

  7. Jul 16

    Episode 20 - Inside Your Baby’s Brain: The 6–9 Month Window Part 1 of 2 | The 8-Part Neurodevelopmental Series

    Episode 20 | Inside Your Baby’s Brain: The 6–9 Month Window (Part 1 of 2) This is an exciting 3 months. Your baby is sitting up on their own, reaching further, remembering more, and suddenly noticing when you leave the room. The 6–9 month window is one of the most active mobility, cognition and attachment periods of the entire first year — and once you understand what’s happening under the surface, some of the things your baby is doing that seemed inconsequential become fascinating. This is Part 1 of the 6–9 month window in the 8-part neurodevelopmental miniseries. Part 1 covers what’s happening under the surface. Part 2 (Episode 21) brings it up to the surface — what you’ll see day-to-day and what you can do to support it. Dr. Lisa walks mothers through seven areas: postural reflexes and independent sitting; cross-lateral integration, crawling and the corpus callosum; the symmetric tonic neck reflex — the new primitive reflex that both emerges and integrates in this window; object permanence and mental representation; attachment made visible as the secure base; the neurological, oral-motor and digestive readiness for solid food; and how rhythmic babbling builds the architecture of language. This window is the biggest cross-hemispheric integration project your baby has taken on so far. The corpus callosum is developing, the higher brain maturing to be able to control initiation in a whole new way and sitting, crawling and babbling are part of the same coordinated shift. Your job is to give them the environment — floor time, face time, unhurried meals, a regulated nervous system to borrow from — and to be the safe, secure base that your baby can come back to when they begin exploring their world more and more. WHAT YOU’LL TAKE AWAY • Why independent sitting is a whole-brain integration event, not just a strength milestone • Why crawling is the biggest cross-lateral wiring job of the first year — and why skipping it can cost later • What the symmetric tonic neck reflex (STNR) is, why it appears during this window, and what a retained STNR looks like later • The neurological, oral-motor and digestive signs of solid-food readiness — and why age alone isn’t the marker • Why rhythmic babbling is the first draft of language — and why screens can’t do this work for you EPISODE TIMESTAMPS 00:00 — Welcome & where we are in the 8-part series 09:00 — Postural reflexes & independent sitting (Goddard Blythe, Melillo & Adolph) 22:00 — Cross-lateral integration, crawling & the corpus callosum (Hannaford, Goddard Blythe & Adolph) 30:00 — The symmetric tonic neck reflex: emerges & integrates (Goddard Blythe, Blythe/INPP & Melillo) 38:00 — Object permanence & the secure base (Gopnik, Stern, Bowlby, Ainsworth & Schore) 49:00 — Solid-food readiness & babbling as language architecture (Evans Morris, Rapley, Kuhl, Meltzoff & Trevarthen) FREE RESOURCES FOR THIS EPISODE Downloadable PDF — your companion guide to this episode: coming soon! Related episodes — Episodes 16, 17, 18 & 19 in the 8-part neurodevelopmental series CONNECT WITH DR. LISA Website: www.createthrivingfamilies.com Substack: substack.com/@drlisapedersen Instagram: @dr.lisapedersen MUSIC Music composition and guitar by Philippe Custeau. This podcast is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical or professional advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider with questions about your child's health and development.

    Episode 20 - Inside Your Baby’s Brain: The 6–9 Month Window Part 1 of 2 | The 8-Part Neurodevelopmental Series

  8. Jul 9

    Ep 19 - Inside Your Baby’s Brain: The 3–6 Month Window Part 2 of 2 | The 8-Part Neurodevelopmental Series

    Inside Your Baby’s Brain: The 3–6 Month Window Part 2 of 2 | The 8-Part Neurodevelopmental Series Episode runtime: approximately 1 hour, 16 minutes Sleep has changed. Your baby suddenly has preferences, opinions, and a personality that’s getting harder to miss. Reflexes are fading, hands are finding each other, and the belly laughs are food for the soul. The 3–6 month window is where all of that work from the newborn phase finally shows up where you can see it — and once you know what you’re looking at, you stop guessing. This is Part 2 of the 3–6 month window in the 8-part neurodevelopmental mini series. Part 1 (Episode 18) walked through what was happening developmentally under the surface. This episode brings it up to the surface: what you should be seeing in your baby day-to-day, which primitive reflexes should be present, which should be integrating, and what’s worth a closer look. Dr. Lisa walks mothers through eight areas: the 4-month sleep reorganization and why it isn’t a regression; the primitive reflexes — which should still be present (Babinski, Spinal Galant, Landau, Rooting) and which should be integrating (Tonic Labyrinthine, Moro, Palmar Grasp, ATNR); voluntary motor milestones; the social engagement system; bilateral integration and crossing the midline; the updated sensory soothing toolkit; the first signs of intentional cognition; and when to ask for help. During this window your job is not to push your baby into the next milestone or train them to sleep through the night. Your job is to provide the environment — floor time, face time, a calm regulated nervous system for them to borrow from — and let your baby’s brain do the work it was designed to do, in the order it was designed to do it.   What You’ll Take Away · Why the 4-month “sleep regression” is actually a reorganization — and what to do (and not do) while your baby moves through it · Which primitive reflexes should still be present at 3–6 months and which should be integrating — and what retained reflexes can look like later · The motor milestone sequence to watch for: head control, intentional reaching, rolling, hands at midline, and object transfer · How to update your sensory soothing toolkit as your baby’s nervous system matures (and why what worked at six weeks may stop working at five months) · The early signals that warrant a pediatric neurodevelopment assessment — and why “wait and see” is rarely the best call   Episode Timestamps 00:00  Welcome & where we are in the 8-part series 04:30  The 4-month sleep reorganization, not a regression (McKenna, Ball & Brazelton) 15:00  Primitive reflexes: which should still be present, which should be integrating (Goddard Blythe, Blythe & Melillo) 31:00  Voluntary motor milestones, the midline & bilateral integration (Thelen, Adolph, Pikler & Ayres) 39:00  The social engagement system: smiles, laughter & turn-taking (Tronick, Stern & Trevarthen) 49:00  Updated sensory soothing, first signs of cognition & when to seek help (Miller, Delahooke, Gopnik, Gerber &Melillo)   Free Resources for This Episode Downloadable PDF — yourcompanion guide to this episode: [INSERTLEAD MAGNET LINK] Reference list (PDF) —every researcher, study and book mentioned in this episode: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/jqhxxa3n4kcxihfzgo0ke/First_Year_Neuro_Series_Ep4_Reference_List_FORMATTED.pdf?rlkey=k7pcsligma4cdlbw9vdawjuqp&dl=0 Related episodes —Episodes 16, 17 & 18 in the 8-part neurodevelopmental series   Connect with Dr. Lisa Website: www.createthrivingfamilies.com Substack: substack.com/@drlisapedersen Instagram: @dr.lisapedersen   Music composition and guitar by Philippe Custeau Inside Your Baby’s Brain: The 3–6 Month Window Part 2 of 2 | The 8-Part Neurodevelopmental Series Episode runtime: approximately 1 hour, 16 minutes   Sleep has changed. Your baby suddenly has preferences, opinions, and a personality that’s getting harder to miss. Reflexes are fading, hands are finding each other, andthe belly laughs are food for the soul. The 3–6 month window is where all of that work from the newborn phase finally shows up where you can see it — and once you know what you’re looking at, you stop guessing. This is Part 2 of the 3–6 month window in the 8-part neurodevelopmental miniseries. Part 1 (Episode 18) walked through what was happening developmentally under the surface. This episode brings it up to the surface: what you should be seeing in your baby day-to-day, which primitive reflexes should be present, which should be integrating, and what’s worth a closer look. Dr. Lisa walks mothers through eight areas: the 4-month sleep reorganization and why it isn’t a regression; the primitive reflexes — which should still be present (Babinski, Spinal Galant, Landau, Rooting) and which should be integrating (Tonic Labyrinthine, Moro, Palmar Grasp, ATNR); voluntary motor milestones; the social engagement system; bilateral integrationand crossing the midline; the updated sensory soothing toolkit; the first signs of intentional cognition; and when to ask for help. During this window your job is not to push your baby into the next milestone or train them to sleep through the night. Your job is to provide the environment — floor time, face time, a calm regulated nervous system for them to borrow from — and letyour baby’s brain do the work it was designed to do, in the order it was designed to do it.   What You’ll Take Away · Why the 4-month “sleep regression” is actually a reorganization — and what to do (and not do) while your baby moves through it · Which primitive reflexes should still be present at 3–6 months and which should be integrating — and what retained reflexes can look like later · The motor milestone sequence to watch for: head control, intentional reaching, rolling, hands at midline, and object transfer · How to update your sensory soothing toolkit as your baby’s nervous system matures (and why what worked at six weeks may stop working at five months) · The early signals that warrant a pediatric neurodevelopment assessment — and why “wait and see” is rarely the best call   Episode Timestamps 00:00  Welcome & where we are in the 8-part series 04:30  The 4-month sleep reorganization, not a regression (McKenna, Ball & Brazelton) 15:00  Primitive reflexes: which should still be present, which should be integrating (Goddard Blythe, Blythe & Melillo) 31:00  Voluntary motor milestones, the midline & bilateral integration (Thelen, Adolph, Pikler & Ayres) 39:00  The social engagement system: smiles, laughter & turn-taking (Tronick, Stern & Trevarthen) 49:00  Updated sensory soothing, first signs of cognition & when to seek help (Miller, Delahooke, Gopnik, Gerber &Melillo)   Free Resources for This Episode Downloadable PDF — yourcompanion guide to this episode: [INSERTLEAD MAGNET LINK] Reference list (PDF) —every researcher, study and book mentioned in this episode: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/jqhxxa3n4kcxihfzgo0ke/First_Year_Neuro_Series_Ep4_Reference_List_FORMATTED.pdf?rlkey=k7pcsligma4cdlbw9vdawjuqp&dl=0 Related episodes —Episodes 16, 17 & 18 in the 8-part neurodevelopmental series   Connect with Dr. Lisa Website: www.createthrivingfamilies.com Substack: substack.com/@drlisapedersen Instagram: @dr.lisapedersen   Music composition and guitar by Philippe Custeau. This podcast is for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical or professional advice. Always consult a qualified healthcare provider with questions about your child's health and development.

    Ep 19 - Inside Your Baby’s Brain: The 3–6 Month Window Part 2 of 2 | The 8-Part Neurodevelopmental Series
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Are you raising your children without a clear roadmap? Create Thriving Families with Dr. Lisa is the podcast for mothers who want a brain-based, holistic, nervous-system-informed framework for their child's health and development. Hosted by Dr. Lisa Pedersen, a pediatric chiropractor with 23 years of clinical experience, this show covers neurodevelopment, holistic health, primitive reflexes, sensory processing, sleep, nutrition, and the real parenting protocols that support your child's thriving — from pregnancy through childhood. If you are done guessing and ready to build a clear model for your family's health, this is your show.

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