http://www.themilestonementor.com/

The Milestone Mentor, Tampa, FL (2026)

12/20/2025

Give the Gift of Development this holiday season!

As a “first time, type B, clinic owner” mom, I’ve realized that I am totally behind on checking off my Christmas shopping list. 🙈

Last minute shopping for baby’s first Christmas has never been easier now that has partnered with ! You can find the expert-curated Cascading Colors Toy Set and Sensory Fidget Toy Set at your local target today - in store or online!

If you’ve been around my account (or my clinic) for any amount or time, you know that I genuinely love and use Sassy toys regularly.

With the ease of purchasing, accessibility of pick up, and the exceptional value, this was a no brainer purchase for me!

Pro tip - the busy baby bead ball goes everywhere with us! Attach it to a pacifier clip when running errands or out and about to keep it clean and close by.

💬What’s on your baby’s wish list this year?

firsttimemom

12/18/2025

Baby’s arm stuck in tummy time?

If you want to help your baby fix this without having to physically correct it over and over again…

We need to address WHY it’s happening.

Instead of pulling their arm out from under them, help to weight shift their hips towards the opposite side. This will help baby to bring their arm out in front themselves.

When assisting with milestones, my objective is to do as little as possible for baby and jump in only when needed. This will help baby to problem solve how to progress in that milestone independently.

For this example in particular, the key is weight shifting!

🗣️ What milestone goal is your little one currently crushing?! Let me know in the comments below!

👀 Peep some of my favorites shown in this video!
Comment if you’re interested and I’ll send you any links & promo codes that I have available!

floor mat (15% off)
EMF shielding blanket (10% off)
toys (Amazon link to my favs!)

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———

Hi there! I’m Dr. Amy! Pediatric PT, new mama, and creator of ! I specialize in supporting families through their little one’s milestone journey, focusing on symmetry and purposeful play. We talk a lot about torticollis, tension, and head shape, too! With a passion for nurturing your child’s potential, I’m here to answer your burning questions, provide guidance, and cheer you guys on every step of the way! 📣💕 new here? DM me to say hi!👋

12/05/2025

🔗Comment ANNABELLA for the link!

A pump with natural tongue-like motion, a pain free experience, and clinically shown to increase milk output?

SIGN ME UP!

As I return to the clinic post-maternity leave, I’ve had to implement pumping into my routine. With my clinical knowledge of how important oral mechanics are, I was curious if there was a way to replicate this with pumping.

In my search, I found the Annabella breast pump - a lactation supportive start up that prioritizes honoring the postpartum experience.

Reasons I’ve been loving the Annabella so far:

👅This pump has a patented tongue-like movement that replicates the natural feel of baby’s latch.

👀My favorite feature has been, what I call, viewing window on the top of the fl**ge. I can see exactly what’s happening and how much “milk spray” I’m achieving.

👩🏼‍⚕️ Amazing technical support, customer service, and IBCLC assistance… all I’ve which I have personally utilized.

💰 Covered by most major insurance plans.

If you’re curious to see how this pans out, follow along as I share my real life thoughts and experiences with the .

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Hi there! I’m Dr. Amy! Pediatric PT, new mom, and creator of ! I specialize in supporting families through their little one’s milestone journey, focusing on symmetry and purposeful play. New here? DM me to say hi 👋

11/24/2025

The best item on your baby registry that you didn’t even know you needed:

A high quality floor mat!

You might think to register for clothes, a swing, a few toys, maybe even a tummy time mat… and while all of those things are useful for a time, baby either grows out of them, or gets bored with them.

A floor mat will not only provide a safe space for tummy time in those early days, but also grow with your child for years to come!

My absolute favorite, and the one in this video, is the !

Toki Mats are
⭐️ Non - Toxic (this was my top priority)!
⭐️ Soft, Supportive, and Gorgeous
⭐️ Portable & Lightweight
⭐️ Vegan Leather or Cotton Options

And if you missed out on adding it to your registry… don’t worry! It also makes the perfect practical yet exciting birthday or holiday gift for your little one.

PROMO: Comment TOKI and I will send you my direct link for 15% off 🤗🎉🙏

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Hi there! I’m Dr. Amy! Pediatric PT and creator of ! I specialize in supporting families through their little one’s milestone journey, focusing on symmetry and purposeful play. New here? DM me today HI 📣💕

11/14/2025

THE AGE OF FRUSTRATION!

I call the 3-4 month old timespan “the age of frustration.”

And rightfully so.

Baby isn’t a newborn anymore 😭 but they still really aren’t able to do ANYTHING on their own.

Their sleep is maturing, as well as some of their feeding skills.

😵‍💫 They are cognitively soooo much more aware of their surrounding, their hands, their toys… but still can’t do anything about it.

They can see their toy, but they can’t reach for it. They can grasp a teether, but can’t coordinate it to their mouth. They know they want to roll, but have no idea how.

It’s frustrating! But, if I’m being honest, it’s also very exciting.

So much growth and development happens in months 3-4.

So if your baby flips a switch from 0-60 or is constantly screeching like a pterodactyl during this phase… take a deep breath. It’s totally normal and this too shall pass!

💬 What’s the most frustrating this for your baby right now?!

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———
Hi there! I’m Dr. Amy! Pediatric PT, mama, and creator of ! I specialize in supporting families through their little one’s milestone journey, focusing on symmetry and purposeful play. New here? DM me to say HI 👋 📣💕

10/31/2025

When your baby starts sucking on their hands… it’s a *huge* developmental win 👏🏼

Hands-to-mouth is a milestone that emerges around 2-3 months old, and is the *perfect* time to introduce a lightweight teether!

Here’s why ⤵️

🦷 Supports oral motor development skills
😋Encourages oral exploration and oral mapping
⭐️ Compliments feeding skills (breast, bottle, and solids)
💆🏼‍♀️ Helps release oral tension (especially with ties or torticollis!)
👅 Encourages tongue, jaw, and lip coordination
👀 Beginning oh hand eye (and mouth) coordination
🧠 Provides calming sensory input through the nervous system

So, all in all, hands to mouth is about so much more than teething. And, no — it’s *not* “too early” to introduce a teether at 2–3 months.

You can see in the video, after I’ve assisted baby to grasp the teether, he’s going wild with it! For reference, he’s 10 weeks in the first 2 videos and 12 weeks in the 3rd.

💬 The teether shown is actually my FAVORITE “first” teether. Comment TEETHER and I’ll send you a link + a promo code to save! Be sure that you’re following so it doesn’t go to spam!

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Hi there! I’m Dr. Amy! Pediatric PT , boy mama, and creator of ! I specialize in supporting families through their little one’s milestone journey, focusing on symmetry and purposeful play. We talk a lot about torticollis, oral ties, milestones, tension, and head shape, too! With a passion for nurturing your child’s potential, I’m here to answer your burning questions, provide guidance, and cheer you guys on every step of the way! 📣💕

New here? DM me to say HI 👋

10/22/2025

One of my absolute favorite things about the O-ball…

👅 Encouraging tongue movement!!!

Look at him go!

For some background… we had oral ties released but still struggling with some tongue and jaw tension. At 10 weeks, I’m holding the ball for him while his tongue goes wild. My goal is generally to hold the bottom of one of the circles at his bottom gumline, encouraging the tongue to poke out through the hole as far as possible.

Did you know that achieving this tongue movement is important for many reasons… proper feeding mechanics, tension release, tongue posture, etc?!

There are actually so many more ways to use the O ball.

Should I do another post with more?! Let me know below.

⭐️ Bonus - it’s super affordable, too! It’s in my Amazon storefront if you’re looking for a link!

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——————
Hi there! I’m Dr. Amy! Pediatric PT, boy mama, and creator of ! I specialize in supporting families through their little one’s milestone journey, focusing on symmetry and purposeful play. We talk a lot about torticollis, tension, and head shape, too! With a passion for nurturing your child’s potential, I’m here to answer your burning questions, provide guidance, and cheer you guys on every step of the way! 📣💕 New here? DM me to say hi!👋

07/31/2025

💙✨ He’s here ✨💙

Introducing Beauden Douglas Braase

At 1:20 AM on July 29, 2025, we welcomed our son “Beau” after an unforgettable labor filled with intensity and surrender.

My water broke early Monday morning on 7/28 at 2:20 AM, but this was pre-contractions, so nothing really changed. I attended my scheduled prenatal visit at 10:30am, where mommy and baby both checked out as healthy. At this appointment, we were informed that if I wasn’t in active labor (7cm dilated) within 24 hours of my water breaking that I’d have to transfer my care from the birthing center to a hospital. Our birth plan has always been a natural birth at the birthing center, so this added some unexpected pressure. Since there were no signs of contractions, we made the decision to employ the help of castor oil (and a lot of patience). Contractions finally started around 1:30 PM—and boy did they immediately come on strong and steady.

The thing about castor oil is that it can potentially induce contractions (and GI upset) without progressing dilation, which is essentially what happened to me. I was having very intense contractions every 1.5 minutes for a few hours at home, even though the anticipated time line is about 4-5 minutes apart. We made the call to head to the birth center around 6:30 pm. When we arrived… we were taken aback to find out that, despite these contractions, I was only 2-3 cm dilated. At this point, it was inferred that hospital transfer by 2am was very likely.

I asked if there was some way to slow my contractions since I couldn’t bear the thought of continuing labor this intensely, without any breaks, for who knows how long?! My midwife agreed to allow me to get in the warm tub… which resulted in about an hour of glorious relief.

I told my husband and mom to alert everyone that was reaching out to “pray specially for dilation!”

Contractions spaced out a bit but quickly intensified. After a number of positional changes and techniques, I was officially dilated to 6-7 cm around 8:30 pm and knew that I no longer had the lingering thought of a hospital transfer over my head. Hallelujah!!! Everyone on the team was shocked that my body progressed in this way!

After a few more hours of powerful labor, I was fully dilated to 10cm at 12:00 AM and ready to push. Again, everyone was shocked! My midwife began to fill the tub, which seemed like it took an eternity. I got in the tub around 12:30 AM and patiently waited for my body to began pushing around 12:45 AM. From the initial push, we brought our sweet boy into the world just 35 minutes later. He was born naturally, with no intervention, in the water at our birthing center. So thankful for the coaching of my midwife in those final moments, allowing me to trust my body and my instincts. It was everything we had hoped and prayed for—challenging, primal, and spirit filled.

Even though we fully anticipated making it to 40 weeks full term, Beau decided he wanted to meet us a week early. We’re soaking up every moment of the newborn bliss and learning how to adjust to life as a family of 3 + Abby 🐶💙.

PS - Doug was an absolute rockstar behind the scenes while I was practically incoherent for hours! I honestly don’t know that I opened my eyes more than 5 times… but when I did, he was right there for me (and everyone else who was reaching out)

Thanks to everyone who has already reached out and thank you in advance to everyone for your congratulations and support!

07/15/2025

“My baby isn’t clapping yet…”

If you’ve ever spiraled after a pediatrician check-up because your baby isn’t meeting the desired milestones — I see you. 🫶

Clapping is often asked about around 9 months, but the truth is, it’s not just a simple “yes” or “no” answer. Let’s dig deeper.

👏 Clapping is not just about social engagement.
👏 It’s an important motor milestone, too.

In order to do something as seemingly simple as clapping, babies need core stability, midline control, and postural balance to do so successfully. To me, this means that if baby is delayed with clapping, they might actually be telling us something about the rest of their gross motor development.

The key take away:
👏 We have to have proximal stability before distal mobility.
👏 This essentially means that the center of our body (core/trunk) has feel stable before we are able to confidently and efficiently move our limbs.

So even though the pediatrician’s checklist might actually be a simple “yes” or no,” we want to ask WHY?! Let’s stop looking at milestones in isolation and start looking at the baby as a whole. 💛

PS - I have many parents come to me with the complaint of “my baby isn’t clapping!” Once I point out things like, core weakness for example, and treat accordingly… the clapping comes flawlessly 🥹

Wondering if your baby needs a little extra support? 💬 Comment “CLAP” if you want me to DM you to chat more about your little one.

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Hi there! I’m Dr. Amy! Pediatric PT, soon to be boy mama, and creator of ! I specialize in supporting families through their little one’s milestone journey, focusing on symmetry and purposeful play. We talk a lot of torticollis, tension, and head shape, too! New here? DM me to say hi 👋

03/14/2025

It’s official! We are hiring at The Milestone Mentor!

Calling all pediatric therapists and bodyworkers looking for

❤️ An amazingly rewarding position
❤️ A chance to live in the beautiful sunshine state
❤️ A flexible work schedule for work/life balance
❤️ an opportunity for mentorship with Dr Amy

✅ Pediatric experience required
✅ Bodywork/manual therapy experience preferred

This position will begin as part time but will likely increase to full time quickly, if interested.

To get more information or to apply, comment APPLY and I’ll send the link straight to your inbox.

Know of an amazing therapist who would be a perfect fit? SHARE this post so that they don’t miss out!

Therapists - have additional questions? DM to chat more!

Thank you for all of your support. I am so humbled by the fact that I get to do this for a living!!! I can’t wait for the opportunity to expand our team and provide even more support to this community.

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Hi there! I’m Dr. Amy! Pediatric PT and creator of ! I specialize in supporting families through their little one’s milestone journey, focusing on symmetry and purposeful play. We talk a lot about torticollis, oral ties, tension, and head shape, too! With a passion for nurturing your child’s potential, I’m here to answer your burning questions, provide guidance, and cheer you guys on every step of the way! 📣💕

09/05/2024

Did I just say to ditch the swaddle??? 😲

Well, ultimately that’s up to you.

I’m really not here to tell you exactly what to do or not to do.

I am here to provide you with education so that you can make a confident decision for you and your family.

Check out all 10 slides in the post above. I’ve included a ton of detail on why I am personally less and less a fan of the swaddle the longer and longer that I practice.

I do think swaddles have a time and a place… but my overall outlook on regular use for a typically developing newborn is not great.

I already feel a sequel coming to this post, by the way, because I know that it’s going to hit home with a lot of you.

Did you have a gut reaction one way or the other when you started swaddling your baby??? 💭⬇️

Providers, do you agree or disagree with me?

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Hi there! I’m Dr. Amy! Pediatric PT, craniosacral fascial therapist, and creator of ! I specialize in supporting families through their little one’s milestone journey, focusing on symmetry and purposeful play. We also talk about how having healthy nervous systems can help to regulate the entire family!

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*Not medical advice. For education purposes only.

05/09/2024

Tummy Time Milestones

… or rather, MINIstones?

Tummy time is sooo much more than just simply spending time on the tummy. Countless skills develop during this floor time activity…. Skills that you might not have even realized existed!

Check out this post for a breakdown of tummy time over the first 7 months. From lifting the head to pushing up on hands & knees… it’s all so exciting to see 💕

What questions do you have about the ages/milestones listed?

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Hi there! I’m Dr. Amy! Pediatric PT and creator of ! I specialize in supporting families through their little one’s milestone journey, focusing on symmetry and purposeful play. We talk a lot about torticollis, tension, oral ties, and head shape, too! With a passion for nurturing your child’s potential, I’m here to answer your burning questions, provide guidance, and cheer you guys on every step of the way! 📣💕

The Milestone Mentor

12/20/2025

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