Six months in with my own kid, I noticed something: the visual noise from a phone or TV overstimulates babies right before sleep, but complete darkness and silence doesn't calm them either — it's too abrupt a change from a busy day.

The sweet spot is low-motion, high-contrast visuals paired with soft, repetitive sound. It's the same principle behind those black-and-white newborn cards, just adapted for older babies (6-12mo) who need a bit more stimulation to actually settle.

That's the whole idea behind Baby Beams — I made it free because every parent should have access to a wind-down routine that actually works, not because it needed to be gatekept behind a paywall. If you're in the trenches with a baby who fights bedtime, give it a look. Would love feedback from other parents on what's worked for your wind-down routine too.