white noise works wonders for some babies.. fan noise works for my girl. i gave her the pacifier when she was a baby and just managed to wean her off at 15 months old. pacifier actually can be a good help also if really cannot calm the baby down. i use it as last resort and limit only to sleep time. other than white noise the best method i feel is consistency. i also like u not keen to holding or shaking. so i made sure she had the same schedule everyday and once she got used to it she falls aslp immediately. hth
