There is a common mistake made by most first time parents when their babies are fussy, especially if baby has colic. It’s not so much a mistake regarding what they do, or what they don’t do as much as it is a mistake regarding how long they try something before giving up and moving on to the next thing.
This is especially true of young parents with a colicky baby. In all fairness, it’s understandable why you would come to the conclusion that nothing you’re trying is working to calm your baby down after she’s been screaming her little head off for two hours. But often the problem isn’t so much what you have or haven’t tried, but that you haven’t stayed the course long enough with any particular soothing method for it to work.
There are many different things you can try to help calm a fussy baby, but all of them require the ingredient of T-I-M-E. Don’t assume that rocking your baby isn’t helping her calm down just because she doesn’t immediately stop crying. It takes time for her little brain to register the idea that she’s starting to feel better now.
The same can be said for just about anything you use to try to calm a crying baby, whether it’s white noise, a rocker, singing to her, or something completely different. Whatever you try, keep at it for at least an hour before switching to something different. Often, the constant switching from one thing to another is exactly what aggravates your baby and makes them cry harder.
Even if you are completely unable to get your baby to stop crying until she has completely worn herself out, don’t take it personally. Your baby isn’t mad at you, and you aren’t a bad parent. Your baby is simply using the only method she has of communicating that something in her little life is unpleasant right now. The time you spend soothing her now will be rewarded by the way she learns to trust you as she grows, even if it isn’t immediately rewarded with a calm baby.