4mth DS won't take a dummy - how do I soothe him?

[Holymoly321]

DS1 took a dummy with no problems and self soothed a lot using it. DS2 will not take one for love or money - won't take a bottle either but that's another thread! What do you do if your lo won't take a dummy?

Hi - none of mine would take a dummy except dd1 (i have 4) - she only started having a dummy at 6 months when she started teething - so maybe when your lo starts teething he might be more likely to take it.
I never pushed the other 3 to take a dummy as i dont really like them and use them as a bit of a last resort.
ds is 6 months and i sometimes give him a peeled raw carrot to suck on (supervised of course)which he really likes - although it is not going to help get him to sleep!
I always assumed that a baby will only take a dummy if they need it and if they refuse they have some other way to soothe themselves (thumb, fist, dont have a strong urge to suck etc).
How is your ds - does he seem as though he needs a dummy or does he get along ok without it?