I'm anti-dummy unfortunately...I don't want to be chasing them all over the place when they fall out.
Me too Mrsr - I'm not too fond of them myself for a multitude of reasons, but it got to a point where we were willing to try almost anything!! He had never taken one previously, and I was kinda glad of that TBH...

But last night he was actually getting to that stage of distress where I couldn't even pick him up without him screaming more (I smell like food!), and because it was mostly wind pain that was keeping him awake, the dummy seemed to help because it was allowing him to suck (which apparently helps) without getting more food (which doesn't). My partner spent nearly two hours trying to settle him to sleep by carrying him and rocking him last night, at which point he was hungry again. I fed him, burped him, then the whole screaming cycle started again, I popped a dummy in and he went straight to sleep. Same thing again this morning. He did wake up momentarily today about 20 minutes into his sleep, started crying, I just popped the dummy back in and he went back to sleep for two hours, whereas normally it would take 20 minutes of walking back and forth with him to do the same thing. And this afternoon I have just managed to get him to self settle in the cot for the first time ever. It is the most sleep he's had in weeks!

Last night he slept solidly for 6.5 hours, and he'd spat the dummy out within 10 minutes of falling asleep (and stayed asleep), so hopefully this will work for us without too many negative repercussions! And like Trish said, it seems that he only wants it to settle with, once it's done its job he doesn't seem interested! Here's hoping anyway.

BTW I'm not suggesting that you should try anything you are against, and I understand exactly where you are coming from in being reticent about using a dummy - I was the same until today! I'm not holding hope that this is a miracle cure and it might not work all of the time - but it did get to a point of absolute desperation for us! I know where you are at right now - I've spent weeks carrying him to sleep during the day and there have been some days where he has barely slept at all! I also found that taking him for a walk in the sling would send him straight off - but usually meant that I would carry him around for hours just so that he'd get a decent sleep. It's hard on the back and hard to get anything done.

Sorry to hijack Queen Mab - I hope you have some luck getting Scally to sleep too - it is so frustrating and exhausting! And don't feel bad about letting her cry for a few minutes while you eat, or go to the loo - you have to eat otherwise you will pass out - I've done it as well and it feels awful but it's essential that we look after ourselves and sometimes there's no one else who can help! And what I learned today is that just because something hasn't worked in the past, doesn't mean that it won't now.

Good luck guys - I hope that you both find the solution that works for you!