Fitness mom’s newborn baby needs squats to settle down — and fellow parents can totally relate

Babies are often comforted by things that feel familiar, sounds, rhythms, or movements they experienced in the womb. For this newborn, that familiar feeling is squatting. In a video that has now crossed 4.7 million views on Instagram,  fitness influencer Rafaela Ruiz (@rafaelaruiz.fit) is seen holding her crying newborn. But as soon as she squats down, the baby begins to calm down.

On her Instagram account, Ruiz is seen regularly sharing glimpses of her fitness journey, including workouts well into her third trimester. Even just days before going into labor, she was seen lifting weights, squatting, and moving through routines with determination and ease. As she was committed to staying active throughout all nine months of pregnancy, it seems to have left a lasting impression on her newborn, who, as seen in the viral video, instantly calms when she begins to squat, a motion likely familiar from those months of constant prenatal movement.

The moment struck a chord with parents everywhere. One viewer @redemption.song.d joked and said,  “Poor baby came out addicted to running marathons,” while another @joze_denovo added, “The baby was like yes, this moment feels familiar.” The comments poured in, many from parents who’d experienced similar things. @lmj126 shared, “My son was so colicky, we had to wrap him in a baby wrap, and I did squats, it was the only way he would settle. I lost all my baby weight and then some before I went back to work.” Another commenter, @writesalott, said, “This tracks. In my first pregnancy, I played video games. My first baby loved to lie there and chill. Second pregnancy, I ran after a toddler. The second baby never sits still.”

Some took the video as inspiration, while others decided it reaffirmed their own choices. “Good to know I’ll be lying down and sleeping when I’m pregnant,” wrote @s.alwadaani. Another user, @kashlynrae, humorously added,  “I guess it’s going to keep you working even after giving birth.”A mother’s physical activity and mental state during pregnancy also influence the baby’s stress regulation. For instance, moderate prenatal exercise supports emotional stability in newborns, while maternal stress can lead to irritability in infants.

The overlay text on the video reads, “What happens when you work out your entire pregnancy, you have to squat to calm the baby.” This is not a singular incident but is backed by research. Babies are often soothed by familiar rhythms and sensations they experienced in the womb, like low-frequency sounds, movement, and even vibrations of a mother's breathing or heartbeat. It has been shown how these prenatal experiences can comfort newborns: recorded womb-like sounds calm cranky infants in over 80% of cases, even putting 30% to sleep.

Similarly, newborns exposed daily to a specific nursery rhyme before birth showed reduced heart rates and more restful sleep when hearing it again after birth. In the case of fitness influencer Ruiz and her newborn, the squatting motion mimics the familiar movement pattern from pregnancy, offering exactly the kind of vestibular and rhythmic comfort the baby had grown accustomed to in the womb. And that’s why a simple squat can soothe a crying infant; it feels like something they are already familiar with. 

For more such videos, you can follow @rafaelaruizfit on Instagram.