When your baby won’t stop crying, start with the basics: check if they’re hungry, need a diaper change, are too hot or cold, or simply want to be held. Most crying has a straightforward cause, and working through these one at a time solves the problem more often than not. If you’ve checked everything and the crying continues, there are proven techniques that tap into your baby’s natural calming reflexes, plus a normal developmental phase of intense crying that peaks around two months of age and passes on its own.
Check the Basics First
Babies cry to communicate, and the most common reasons are physical needs. Run through this quick checklist before trying anything else:
- Hunger: Look for early cues like head turning (rooting), sucking noises, or hands pulling up toward the face. Crying is actually a late hunger signal, so if your baby does any of these things and it’s been a while since the last feed, start there.
- Diaper: A wet or dirty diaper is an easy fix that’s easy to overlook when you’re tired.
- Temperature: Feel the back of your baby’s neck or chest. If the skin is hot and sweaty or cool to the touch, adjust their clothing or the room.
- Need for closeness: Some babies simply want to be held. Carrying your baby skin-to-skin or in a sling against your body can settle them quickly.
Five Soothing Techniques That Mimic the Womb
If the basics are covered and your baby is still upset, try a set of techniques designed to trigger what’s sometimes called the calming reflex. These work because they recreate the sensory environment of the womb, where your baby spent months feeling snug, hearing a constant rush of sound, and being gently rocked by your movement.
Swaddling. Wrap your baby snugly in a light blanket with their arms close to their body. This mimics the tight, warm feeling of the womb and reduces the startle reflex that can wake or upset a baby. Make sure the swaddle is firm but not so tight that it restricts breathing or hip movement.
Side or stomach position (while held). Hold your baby on their side or tummy against your forearm or chest. This position is calming while you’re holding them, though you should always place them on their back when it’s time for sleep.
Shushing. A loud, steady “shhhh” close to your baby’s ear imitates the sound of blood rushing through the placenta, which is surprisingly loud inside the womb. You don’t need to whisper. Match the volume of the crying, then gradually get softer as the baby calms.
Swinging or swaying. Gentle, rhythmic motion like rocking, swaying, or a slow bounce recreates the movement your baby felt every time you walked during pregnancy. Small, controlled motions work best. Never shake your baby.
Sucking. Offer a pacifier, a clean finger, or the breast. Sucking is one of the strongest self-soothing reflexes newborns have. Even when your baby isn’t hungry, non-nutritive sucking can bring calm within seconds.
These techniques often work best when combined. Swaddling plus shushing plus gentle swaying, for example, layers multiple calming signals at once.
Relieving Gas Discomfort
If your baby pulls their knees up, arches their back, or seems to strain while crying, trapped gas could be the issue. Lay your baby on their back and gently move their legs in a cycling motion, alternating each leg as if they’re pedaling a bicycle. This helps move gas through the digestive system. You can also try holding your baby face-down along your forearm with their belly resting against your arm and their head near your elbow. The gentle pressure on the abdomen can bring relief. Burping your baby more frequently during feeds, rather than only at the end, helps prevent gas from building up in the first place.
Watch for Overstimulation
Sometimes babies cry not because they need more of something, but because they need less. Overstimulation happens when a baby takes in more sensory input than they can process, which is common after visitors, outings, or even an active play session. Signs include jerky movements, clenched fists, turning their head away from you, or general irritability that builds into full crying.
The fix is to reduce input. Move to a dim, quiet room. Speak softly and slowly. Wrapping your newborn can help by limiting the physical sensations reaching them. If you’re out and about, covering the pram with a light breathable cloth creates a calmer space on the go. The goal is to give your baby’s nervous system a chance to reset.
The Normal Crying Peak at Two Months
All healthy babies go through a phase of increased crying that typically peaks during the second month of life and tapers off by the end of the fifth month. During this window, your baby may cry for five hours a day or longer, often clustering in the late afternoon and evening. The crying can start and stop for no apparent reason, and your baby may look like they’re in pain even when nothing is wrong. Soothing techniques that worked yesterday may not work today.
This phase is sometimes called the Period of PURPLE Crying, where PURPLE stands for: Peak of crying, Unexpected, Resists soothing, Pain-like face, Long-lasting, and Evening. It’s a normal part of brain development, not a sign that something is wrong with your baby or your parenting.
If the crying follows a more specific pattern, lasting at least three hours a day, three or more days a week, for over three weeks, your pediatrician may call it colic. Colic isn’t a disease. It’s a label for this intense crying pattern, and it resolves on its own, usually by three to four months.
Using White Noise Safely
White noise can be remarkably effective at calming a crying baby, again because it mimics the constant background sound of the womb. You can use a dedicated sound machine, a phone app, or even a running shower or vacuum cleaner in a pinch.
One safety note: keep any white noise device at least 30 centimeters (about 12 inches) from your baby and avoid the maximum volume setting. A study testing 14 popular infant sound machines found that nearly two-thirds exceeded safe noise levels when set to max volume and placed close to the baby’s head. At 30 centimeters or farther away, none of the devices exceeded recommended thresholds, even at full volume.
When the Crying Gets to You
If you’ve been trying everything and the crying won’t stop, your frustration is completely normal. What matters most in that moment is what you do next. Place your baby on their back in a safe space like a crib or playpen, leave the room, and take a few minutes to breathe. Your baby will be fine crying alone in a crib for five or ten minutes. You will not be fine if frustration pushes you past your limit.
Call a partner, family member, friend, or a parenting helpline. Even a brief conversation can bring you back to baseline. Then return to your baby and try again, or let someone else take over if that’s an option. Rotating caregivers during intense crying periods is one of the most practical strategies available.
Signs That Need Medical Attention
Most crying is normal, but certain signs alongside the crying warrant a call to your pediatrician or a trip to urgent care:
- Fever in a young baby: A rectal temperature of 38°C (100.4°F) or higher in a baby under three months is considered high-risk and needs prompt evaluation. For babies three to six months old, the threshold is 39°C (102.2°F).
- Signs of dehydration: Fewer wet diapers than usual, a sunken soft spot on top of the head, sunken eyes, few or no tears when crying, or unusual drowsiness.
- Changes in behavior: A high-pitched or unusual-sounding cry, extreme limpness, refusal to eat, vomiting, or a rash that doesn’t fade when you press on it.
Trust your instincts here. If the crying feels different from your baby’s usual fussiness in a way you can’t quite explain, that’s reason enough to get it checked.