Can I know what's the first thing I should do when my baby starts screaming and crying - other than calming down (i'm working on that!). I always get flustered and try to soothe her, but I think I only make it worse. This really frustrates both baby and me!

I think first of all we mommies need to understand that babies cry .. A lot for some. How old is your baby? They cry a lot when they are below 4mo. And different babies have different character , some are just naturally more fussy and crybaby. I used to be very scared when my baby cries and I try to calm her down but she won't and I get so irritated at times. But I realized babies can feel our emotions and be affected so if you feel flustered it will make baby feel the same too. Sometimes they really just need to cry it out so no choice just carry them and wait for it to end. I usually find distraction is the best. A nurse taught me to shake a small tin of sweets to distract them. For my gal what worked when she was younger was to rub a plastic sheet for eg those wet tissue wipes plastic sheet. Rub it hard and she will stop crying. Perhaps you can try.

I think it's still the standard. Pick them up and rock them little and comfort them by making white noise like hushes...then talk to the baby in repeat mode that u are going to check baby diaper or something. If baby is feeling discomfort like colic, gassy, fever, teething - all these will cause baby to cry - u can try babywearing to comfort them during long periods of distress