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Baby shaking leg while feeding


Newborn Reflexes and Behavior

Is this your child's symptom?

  • Normal reflexes, noises and behavior questions in newborns
  • These are normal and not signs of illness
  • Flying and mountain travel with newborns is also covered

Newborn Reflexes - Topics Covered

These harmless behaviors fall into 11 general groups. If your baby is healthy, skip the "What to Do" section. Go directly to the topic number that relates to your question for advice.

  1. Normal primitive reflexes from immature nervous system
  2. Normal jitteriness when crying
  3. Normal sleep movements
  4. Normal breathing sounds and noises
  5. Normal irregular breathing patterns
  6. Normal GI sounds and noises
  7. Normal sleep sounds and noises
  8. Normal feeding reflexes
  9. Normal protective reflexes
  10. Flying with newborns, safety of
  11. Mountain travel with newborns, safety of

When to Call for Newborn Reflexes and Behavior

Call 911 Now

  • Can't wake up
  • Not moving or very weak
  • Weak or absent cry and new onset
  • Severe trouble breathing (struggling for each breath)
  • New moaning or grunting noises with each breath
  • Bluish (or gray) lips, tongue or face now
  • You think your child has a life-threatening emergency

Call Doctor or Seek Care Now

  • Age less than 1 month old and looks or acts abnormal in any way. Examples are a poor suck or poor color.
  • Fever in baby less than 12 weeks old. Caution: do NOT give your baby any fever medicine before being seen.
  • Breathing stopped for more than 10 seconds and now it's normal
  • Trouble breathing, but not severe
  • Seizure suspected
  • Your child looks or acts very sick
  • You think your child needs to be seen, and the problem is urgent

Contact Doctor Within 24 Hours

  • You think your child needs to be seen, but the problem is not urgent

Contact Doctor During Office Hours

  • You have other questions or concerns

Self Care at Home

  • Normal newborn reflexes and behavior
  • Flying or mountain travel with a newborn

Seattle Children's Urgent Care Locations

If your child’s illness or injury is life-threatening, call 911.

  • Bellevue
  • Everett
  • Federal Way
  • Seattle

Care Advice for Newborn Reflexes and Behavior

  1. Normal Primitive Reflexes From Immature Nervous System:
    • Startle Reflex (Moro or embrace reflex). Brief stiffening of the body, straightening of arms and opening of hands. Follows noise or abrupt movements. Frequent at birth. Slowly resolves by 4 months of age.
    • Tonic-Neck Reflex (Fencer's Reflex). When head is turned to 1 side, the arm and leg on that side straightens. The opposite arm and leg flexes. Goes away by 4 months of age.
    • Chin Trembling
    • Lower Lip Quivering
    • Jitters or Trembling (see Topic 2)
  2. Normal Jitters or Trembling when Crying:
    • Jitters or trembling of the arms and legs during crying is normal in newborns. It should stop by 1 to 2 months of age.
    • If your baby is jittery when not crying, it could be abnormal. Give her something to suck on. (Reason: Normal trembling should stop with sucking.)
    • Seizures are rare. During seizures, newborns are more than jittery. They have muscle jerking and blinking of the eyes. Babies can also make sucking movements of the mouth. They don't cry during seizures.
    • Call Your Doctor If:
    • The jitters get worse
    • The jitters occur when your baby is calm
  3. Normal Sleep Movements:
    • Sleep is not quiet. Expect some of the following:
    • Sudden jerks or twitches of the arms, hands or legs. If they only occur during sleep, they are most likely normal.
    • How Long: last a few seconds, but can recur
    • Timing: soon after falling asleep
    • Normal at all ages, not just in newborns
    • Suspect a seizure if: jerking occurs when awake or lasts more than 10 seconds
  4. Normal Breathing Sounds and Noises:
    • Throat Noises. Caused by air passing through normal saliva or refluxed milk. These gurgling noises are likely to build up during sleep. Slowly, the newborn learns to swallow more often.
    • Nasal Noises are usually caused by dried mucus in the nose. Your baby most likely doesn't have a cold. A blocked or stuffy nose can interfere with feeding. This is because your baby can't breathe when the mouth is closed with feeding. Therefore, babies need help opening the nasal passages.
    • Nasal Saline. Clean out the nose with saline (salt water) nose drops (such as store brand). If not available, can use bottled water. Use 1 drop at a time and do 1 side at a time. Repeat this several times. This will loosen up the dried mucus. Then, it can be sneezed out or swallowed. If needed, use a suction bulb. Avoid Q-tips which can injure the lining of the nose. Saline nose drops or spray can be bought in any drugstore. No prescription is needed.
    • Tobacco Smoke. Avoid tobacco smoke which can cause nasal congestion or sneezing. Avoid dust or any strong odors for the same reason.
    • Call Your Doctor If:
    • Nasal washes don't work
    • Breathing becomes hard
  5. Normal Irregular Breathing Patterns:
    • Transient Breathing Pauses of Less Than 10 Seconds. Also Called Periodic Breathing. Often, the pause is followed by some faster breathing to "catch-up." These breathing pauses are normal if the baby is comfortable during them. A normal rate should be less than 60 breaths per minute. Usually resolves by 1 month of age. Call your doctor if: Your baby is breathing fast or turned blue.
    • Transient Rapid Breathing. Sometimes, newborns take rapid, progressively deeper breaths. This is so they can expand their lungs all the way. This is normal if the breathing slows to normal within a minute or so.
    • Seesaw Breathing. With breathing, the chest seems to contract when the stomach expands. The cause is the soft rib cage of some newborns. It tends to pull in during normal downward movement of the diaphragm.
    • Yawning or Sighing (off and on) to open up the lungs
    • Call Your Doctor If:
    • Breathing becomes hard
    • Breathing pauses last more than 10 seconds
    • You have other questions or concerns
  6. Normal GI Sounds And Noises:
    • Belching air from stomach
    • Passing gas per rectum
    • Note: Both of these are releasing swallowed air. They are normal, harmless and lifelong. They do not cause pain or crying.
    • Gurgling or growling noises from the movement of food through the intestines
    • Normal grunting with pushing out stools
    • Hiccups. Hiccups are often caused by overeating. They can also be from a little acid irritating the lower esophagus. Give your baby a few swallows of water to rinse off the lower esophagus.
  7. Normal Sleep Sounds And Noises: Normal sleep is not motionless or quiet. Expect some of the following:
    • Moving during sleep transitions
    • Occasional startle reflex or jerks
    • Breathing noises - especially gurgling from secretions that sit in the throat.
    • During light sleep, babies can normally whimper, cry, groan or make other strange noises.
    • Parents who use a nursery monitor often become concerned about these normal sleep sounds.
    • GI tract noises from normal movement of digested food
  8. Normal Feeding Reflexes:
    • Rooting Reflex. When the side of the mouth or cheek is touched, your baby turns to that side. He will open his mouth in preparation for nursing. Present until 6 months of age.
    • Sucking Reflex. Will suck on anything placed in the mouth. This survival reflex does not imply hunger. It is even present right after a feeding. This reflex fades between 6 and 12 months of age.
  9. Normal Protective Reflexes:
    • Sneezing To Clear Nose of Any Irritant. Sneezing helps to open the nose. It's usually caused by dust, fuzz, tobacco smoke or other strong odors. If sneezing becomes frequent, use nasal washes. This is not caused by an allergy.
    • Coughing to clear lower airway
    • Blinking. After spending 9 months in darkness, newborns have light-sensitive eyes. At first, they prefer to keep their eyes closed. They blink often with light exposure.
  10. Flying With Newborns:
    • Never fly during the first 7 days of life. If flying is needed, it's safe to fly after 7 days of age.
    • If your newborn is not healthy, do not fly. Your child's doctor should give medical clearance first before flying.
    • Your baby can be exposed to infections aboard aircraft. Therefore, it is preferable not to fly before 2 or 3 months of age.
  11. Mountain Travel With Newborns:
    • Avoid mountain travel above 8,000 feet (2,438 meters) for the first month of life. (Exception: family lives there year-round)
    • Travel to destinations below 8,000 (2,438 meters) feet is safe.
    • Brief drives over higher mountain passes are safe.
    • If your newborn is not healthy, don't travel above 8,000 feet (2,438 meters). Your child's doctor should give medical clearance first.
  12. Call Your Doctor If:
    • Your baby starts to look or act abnormal in any way
    • You think your child needs to be seen

And remember, contact your doctor if your child develops any of the 'Call Your Doctor' symptoms.

Disclaimer: this health information is for educational purposes only. You, the reader, assume full responsibility for how you choose to use it.

Last Reviewed: 11/23/2022

Last Revised: 01/13/2022

Copyright 2000-2022. Schmitt Pediatric Guidelines LLC.

Why Does My Baby's Leg Shake?

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One day you glance over and see your baby’s leg (or body part) shaking? That’s an odd thing to witness as a parent. Most of us might assume it is a seizure of some form – when it’s a harmless cause of the shaking.

Most of the time shaking in babies is completely harmless, and they grow out of it in time. That’s not to say there haven’t been infants having a seizure, so it’s important to know when to be concerned.

You want to be able to recognize if there is a true cause to call an ambulance. 

While there are plenty of reasons your baby’s leg or body part can be shaking due to causes that are natural for some growing babies like an immature nervous system or a bit of caffeine in mom’s breast milk.

Table of Contents

  • 1 The Nervous System Is Reacting
  • 2 Mucous Myoclonus While Asleep
  • 3 A Startle Reflex Called Moro
  • 4 Getting A Diaper Changed
  • 5 Your Baby Is Ready To Eat
  • 6 Reasons To Be Concerned When Your Baby Is Shaking
  • 7 Other Parents Share Their Experience With Their Own Babies
  • 8 Conclusion

The Nervous System Is Reacting

Your baby’s brain tells the rest of the body when to go, what to do, and how to respond to outside activities. If the brain tells your baby that it’s time to move the leg, but the nervous system is not fully developed, the leg can twitch or jerk harmlessly. 

This is sort of like a practice run for the nervous system. It’s simply a matter of time before your infant’s nervous system matures and the brain to limb connection will happen without any shaking. 

Any limb or body part can be affected by an immature nervous system, so if you see your baby shaking in multiple locations or random places, it’s even more of a sign of an immature nervous system.

Your baby probably won’t even notice it happening and continue interacting as usual.

Mucous Myoclonus While Asleep

Correct me if I’m wrong, but we adults have all experienced times where we drifted off to sleep only to be woken abruptly feeling like we’ve been forced awake.

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This happens either due to reflex response within the body or an outside noise interrupted their sleep causing them to shake and fully wake up again.

Though they will still be sleepy once they do wake up again, they’ll probably drift right back to sleep after doing this. Sleep Myoclonus has another name: nocturnal myoclonus. 

Daily activities that are happening around your soon to be asleep infant can also cause this kind of reaction, like if you turn on or off a light. It’s a non-intentional reaction in your baby while drifting off to sleep.

A Startle Reflex Called Moro

Moro Reflex is when an infant suddenly reacts sprawling out their arms or legs. This is caused when outside factors surprise your baby. They are fully alert when Moro happens to them, it’s not something they do on purpose. 

Infants who have Moro will outgrow it as their reflexes become more controlled. Until then, you might see your baby involuntarily arch their back for a few seconds, spread their hands and fingers, while reaching out as far as possible with their arms and legs.

The baby looks slightly startled, and like they need a little hug after doing this. Some babies’ eyes widen as they arch back as this happens too.

This occurrence is nothing you have to worry about as a new parent and will see this most often between 3 – 6 months of age.

Getting A Diaper Changed

Who likes diaper changes? Not your baby. Some might even shake when you start to change their diaper. Some babies tell their parents how much they dislike having their diaper changed by shaking while they are having it done. 

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This happens to a lot more parents than you’d think. One mother commented on Community Baby Center that her baby would do this at 3 years old while having a diaper changed.

She even went as far as to ask teachers if anything happened to her son at preschool. Reassured nothing had, then she connected with other mothers who also had babies who would do this during every single diaper change.

If you’re experiencing this with your infant baby, they might just shake and cry while it happens. Once they become a toddler, they would be more outspoken about it and involve a panic like a scream or a holler while shaking.

Your Baby Is Ready To Eat

Food is the culprit. Well, your baby needing it right then is.

If you find your baby is shaking after they’ve already been crying for food, it’s probably due to your baby needing some food, and not being able to hold back the intense feelings happening within their body. 

Sometimes, as parents, we have to get through the last block of the car ride until we can pull our baby out and feed them. Little babies don’t get this, and they might freak out when they’ve run out of patience.

They are overwhelmed with emotions, hunger pains, and not getting their way, causing their bodies to twitch, shake, or tremble. 

If this happens, soothe your baby until they are completely calmed down, give them the food they are stressing over as soon as possible. Keeping a bottle handy in the car will keep this from happening on road trips and long drives.

Another important aspect of this type of shaking in babies is that low blood sugar contributes to it. That’s not a good feeling especially as a small human who has to keep up with growing physically at a rapid rate. 

If this happens even after feeding your child, or often soon after they’ve already had a meal, mention it to your pediatrician to get an informed opinion.

Reasons To Be Concerned When Your Baby Is Shaking

Seizures are every parent’s worst nightmare. Whenever they watch their babies fall down or bump their heads, a breath of air is held in extra long until their baby starts to cry or gets up again.

Rightfully so, a seizure can be harmless like from heat exhaustion too.

Even though babies might be okay having a seizure once or twice, over time there would be harmful effects within the body if seizures and spasms happen often. 

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It’s a good measure to have a baby looked over by a doctor for outside causes or brain damage, every time a seizure takes place until diagnosed.

Pediatricians will walk you through the signs and symptoms of a seizure, how to handle one best possible, and what possible meds are used for frequent seizures in small kids. 

But, here are the most obvious signs to look for that caregivers can recognize in babies experiencing a seizure – harmful or harmless.

  • The episodes repeat in the same manner each time, with indicating symptoms that are identical each time.
  • If the baby is alert, and no change in the environment has happened to cause the reaction. The posture of the baby has not changed at the time of shaking.
  • Symmetric movements are happening, in a rhythmic way. If you notice that there is a certain pattern or vibration to the strange movements then this indicates seizure-like movements in a small child. Their hands, feet, arms will be shaking simultaneously in the same manner.
  • If you’ve grabbed your baby’s arms or legs that are shaking – with no sign of them calming down it is probably a seizure. With shaking that is not a seizure happens, it stops when you grab the body part shaking. When a true seizure is happening it does not stop even with your touch.
  • All growth and development milestones are otherwise healthy and on track. Babies who have seizures tend to have no other issues aside from the seizing episodes.
  • Behaviors that are unlike any other children in that age range are happening, then it could indicate a seizure. Do a bit of research if your unsure, and check if the behaviors are usually experienced within the age range.

Other Parents Share Their Experience With Their Own Babies

You aren’t alone in the bit of concern you might be experiencing due to your baby’s random shaking. Many other parents have gotten through harmful baby leg shakes to full-blown seizures here’s what they saw, heard, and went through initially.

Some mothers suggested that it was acid reflux. Others knew intuitively their baby would grow out of it, and some mothers were advised to seek assistance from the pediatrician to truly pinpoint the cause of the shaking.

Another parent noted that she had to take her baby’s temperature rectally the previous week, and since then the baby would shake while being put on the changing table from the situation.

The next case for the very concerned mother of a newly walking boy stated that her son’s leg would twitch quite noticeably, even while he was walking.

It would affect his walking to the point of him sitting down each time it would happen. At around 12 months of age, her son grew out of it, and the pediatrician said it was perfectly normal.

It was his body’s way of “working out the nervous system twitches” a perfectly normal part of his growth.

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Conclusion

Most shaking that your baby is having will end up being harmless, and not long-term. Babies go through various ages, stages, and physical changes too.

Most babies who shake, twitch, or jerk randomly can be explained by connecting with other parents who have experienced this as well.

If you’re feeling uncertain about your babies shaking or it happens often it’s a good idea to see the pediatrician regarding the newfound shaking.

Remember to keep an eye out for symptoms of seizures. You can even start a journal for your babies shaking especially if it’s happening often. This would be helpful to your child’s pediatrician too if needed.

Remember to remain calm and reflect back on the research you’ve done here to better pinpoint why and be there fully for your baby throughout the episodes.

There is plenty of support out there for new parents experiencing new events with their babies. After all, there’s no one size fits all handbook that tells you what your child goes through or why.

Most shaking in a baby’s legs, limbs, or through spontaneous reactions will be outgrown eventually as their nervous system develops too.

Mirisa Jewell

Hello, I'm Mirisa. I'm a mother to five children, in which I aim to raise through a holistic-practical approach. My goal as a triathlete mom, health, and wellness enthusiast, and an avid entrepreneur - is to inspire other parents that it's completely possible to be a wholesome and loving parent while chasing down your own goals!

Peculiarities of infant development

All parents are anxious about the health of their baby. They are especially attentive to the child in the first weeks and months. after his birth: is everything all right with your beloved baby? If the child is the first, then moms and dads may not know about some of his features. development, and sometimes they are surprised or even frightened by the most ordinary phenomena. What worries young parents most often?

The child's arms and legs are tense all the time.

Maybe it's hypertension and you need to start some kind of treatment?

One from the manifestations of physiological hypertonicity - incomplete breeding of the hips in the baby. This condition can be up to 4-6 months, after this period, the legs of the crumbs should be bred. If this does not happen, it is necessary to show the child to the doctor, since the difficulty dilution in the hips can be a sign of pathology of the hip joints

Yes, this is hypertonicity - an increased tone of the flexor muscles, but this is a completely normal phenomenon, which is present up to a certain age in all babies. If you look at a newborn, you can see that his arms are bent in all joints, to the body and pressed to the chest, the hands are clenched into fists, the thumbs of the hands lie under the four the rest. The legs of the baby are also bent at the joints and abducted at the hips, dorsiflexion predominates in the feet. Muscle tone usually higher in the arms than in the legs. Attentive parents will see that muscle tone can change, for example, when turning head to the side, it is higher on the side opposite to the turn of the head. Changing tone in the same muscle group called muscular dystonia - this name of mom and dad is often heard at a neurologist's appointment, but you should not be afraid of this, it also quite common in infants. By 3.5–4 months, physiological hypertonicity in children weakens, movements become more coordinated, the hand opens, so-called locomotions develop - body movements in which almost all muscle groups are involved. There is no need to treat physiological hypertonicity, but it can be done general strengthening massage, it will contribute to the development of the muscular system and coordination of movements.

The baby constantly makes some movements, they are very chaotic. Why is this happening?

A newborn child's nervous system is still immature, which is why he cannot make coordinated movements. nervous the baby's fibers are just beginning to be covered with a special myelin sheath, which is responsible for the speed of transmission of the nerve impulse to muscles. The faster the transfer occurs, the smoother the movements of the crumbs become. In the meantime, the nervous system has not matured, a small child may be in constant motion, which sometimes persists even in a dream. How as a rule, chaotic twitches disappear in the second month of life. Then the movements of the arms and legs gradually become more even and orderly.

The baby's arms, legs, chin are trembling - maybe he is cold or has some kind of neurological disease?

Immediately after the birth of the child, a pediatrician must examine every month, and in 1, 3, 6, 12 months - and specialist doctors: neurologist, ophthalmologist, orthopedist. It is they who will reliably assess the condition of the baby and help parents to control his development

Trembling, or tremor, is a physiological phenomenon that occurs in most children in the first 3 months of life. Tremor appears again due to the immaturity of the nervous system. Shivering usually occurs during crying or after some kind of exertion (for example, after bathing), but sometimes it starts quite suddenly, maybe even at rest. With a tremor, a child usually trembles in the chin and lower lip, arms and legs may still tremble. Tremor can be symmetrical (both arms tremble) or asymmetrical, when different parts of the body tremble separately (for example, chin and arms tremble at the same time, or one arm and one leg tremble). As soon as the parents notice that the baby has a tremor (and he may appear not immediately after birth, but even a month later), they are very worried. However, as we said, this is normal occurrence in young children. Nevertheless, it is necessary to pay attention to the following points: physiological tremor does not last long - just a few seconds.; if the tremor increases, the episodes become more frequent and longer, it is necessary to show the baby to a neurologist.

The child often shudders and spreads his arms to the sides. Is this normal or should I take my child to the doctor?

This is a manifestation of one of the innate reflexes - the so-called Moro reflex (spreading the hands with subsequent reduction). He lasts up to 4-5 months and usually occurs in response to sharp sounds or when changing body position. Parents call this reflex wince. Moms and dads notice that if you change the position of the baby in space (for example, lift him out of bed, and then put again), the child will throw up the arms slightly bent at the elbows. The same thing can happen with any sharp sound (clap in hands, door knock). Sometimes the Moro reflex occurs spontaneously, that is, the baby throws up his arms without any stimuli. All these phenomena are completely normal for young children and do not require any treatment. The only thing to watch out for: the Moro reflex should not become more pronounced; after 4-5 months it should disappear.

The child constantly wants to suckle (pacifier, breast, finger), maybe he is hungry and does not have enough milk?

In children under 1 year old, the sucking reflex is pronounced: any irritation of the lips, tongue, the child makes sucking movements. This the very first and most important unconditioned reflex, it is the ability to suck (and therefore satisfy hunger) that ensures the survival of the baby. The sucking reflex completely disappears only by 3-4 years. Even in infants, you can notice the search reflex (it persists up to 2–4 months): when the corner of the mouth is irritated, the baby turns its head in the direction of irritation; proboscis reflex (it can be observed up to 2–3 months): when tapping on the lips, the child stretches his lips with a tube. Before eating, these reflexes appear brighter and are called easier, but by themselves they are not an indicator that the baby is hungry.

The baby spit up a lot, I heard that this may be due to neurological disorders. Is it so?

Regurgitation is a very common complaint in the first months of life. Most healthy children spit up to 3-5 times a day. For regurgitation of infants is more the norm than a pathology, since the structure and functioning of the gastrointestinal tract in them predispose to vomiting. The stomach of newborns is located horizontally, has a rounded shape and small volume - only 5-10 ml: that's why a few drops of colostrum are enough to just the born baby ate. The entrance to the stomach of the baby is relatively wide, and the sphincter (the muscle that closes the entrance to the stomach) underdeveloped. Therefore, the movement of food through the gastrointestinal tract is somewhat slow. Immaturity of some enzymes and lack of coordination in the processes of breathing, sucking and swallowing, more characteristic of preterm infants and small children also predispose to regurgitation.
Spitting up can also be associated with overeating, frequent feeding, aerophagy (swallowing air). Yes, they can be a manifestation of some kind of neurological pathology, but this is very rare, especially if there are no other symptoms of the disease.

The baby often "goggles". The doctor said that this is a symptom of Grefe and does not need to be treated. What is this symptom and why does it appear in young children?

Graefe's symptom in infants is a white line that remains between the iris and the upper eyelid when the child looks down. By itself, Graefe's symptom is not indicates the presence of any health problems in children. It is often observed in healthy children with a change in lighting or body position, and also Graefe's symptom may simply be an individual feature of the structure of the baby's eyes (it is often present in children with large eyes). Sometimes this symptom occurs due to the immaturity of the nervous system of the child. In these cases, Graefe's symptom does not need to be treated, it usually disappears during the first 6 months of the baby's life.
But if, in addition to the Graefe symptom, the child has increased excitability, tremor, strabismus, developmental delay, if he often throws head back - this already indicates that he has neurological problems. For an accurate diagnosis, a series of additional studies: neurosonography, electroencephalography.

A tiny man, barely born, can practically do nothing, his movements are erratic, his hands cannot grab and hold an object and it seems that the only thing the baby does is only eat, sleep and cry.

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