A newborn also tries to right himself. You will see one of your baby's righting reflexes if you pull him by his arms from his back to a sitting position. His eyes will open wide like a china doll's and his whole shoulder area will tense as he helps to pull his head. As long as you pull your baby to sit slowly and steadily, the wobbling of his neck won't hurt him. Once seated, he will try to keep his oversized head upright. As his head flops forward, he will try to keep it in line, but it will "overshoot" and fall backward. As he tries again, it will tilt forward. These valiant efforts are righting reflexes. In just four month’s time he will be able to hold his head upright.

The newborn can also avoid pain. If you hurt any part of him, he will withdraw from you if he can. Stroking one leg will make the other cross and push your hand away. If you poke the upper part of his body, his hand comes over to grasp yours. Then he will try to push or bat you away.

Doctors report that when they have to take blood from an infant's heel, the infant will pull his foot away. When this doesn't work, the other foot comes over persistently to push.

These reflexes are not just immediately useful. Your baby's brain stores and learns from all these reflex experiences, buildings for the future. The baby's righting reflexes probably contribute to the development of his concepts of space. For several months, the tonic neck reflex helps him learn to use each side of his body separately and to watch and use his hands voluntarily. If you or the baby turn his head to one side, the arm on the side to which his head is turned extends, the knee on that side flexes, and the opposite arm crooks like a fencer's.

Some reflexes, such as coughs, sneezes, and yawns, never go away completely, and traces of reflexes like the tonic neck reflexes and the Moro reflex show up in adult sleep positions and in your response to being startled. Newborns also swim reflexively. Like any amphibian, an infant can rhythmically extend and flex his arms and legs, swing his trunk from side to side, and stop breathing for short periods under water. Newborns rarely choke or breathe in water because their gag reflexes are still too strong. About a year later, swimming movements will reappear and signal an opportune time to teach your toddler to swim.