4 month Sleep regression & dummy

[gemsie23]

My DS will be 5months next week and for the last 12 nights he has been waking between 5-10 times and crying/screaming instantly. Before this he slept so well, only waking once a night since 5 weeks for a feed between 6:30-6:30 and he wouldn't cry, just open his eyes and babble. He has a dummy and it instantly settles him but this could last 5 minutes or a few hours, we just don't know. With out DD we got rid of her dummy at 5.5months as we had to keep giving it to her, but then she still wasn't a great sleeper after and we would end up being in with her to settle her for hours sometimes. Should we get rid of DS dummy to help with settling himself or would it be better to just let him keep it and instantly settle him using that? I just hope this sleep regression doesn't last for months!!!

My DS is 19 weeks old and has been waking since he was 13 weeks when he previously was sleeping through. He has a dummy and I would be completely lost without it when he wakes as if he doesn't settle after a feed, that helps him. I sometimes worry that I'll never be able to get him to sleep without it but I guess they're there to soothe babies and if it works, why not?
Us mums need our sleep so if it helps your little one to sleep maybe pursue with it a little longer.

Every child is different so I imagine you'll get a range of different responses. In my experience, my DS was a generally good sleeper from the off but we did have some unsettled times between 4-5.5months during that regression. He had a dummy and I'd often pop it back in (it fell out and he was too small to know to replace it himself) and he'd settle .... only to wake as soon as it dropped out again. Eventually I just took it away and his sleep hugely improved within two nights and he was sleeping through again. I kept dummy for naps but eventually gave up with having it at all by 6mo as we'd have the same issue with it falling out and waking him during nap time. Once I dropped the dummy for naps he went from cat napping to doing a good 2 hr nap at lunchtime and became so much happier (he was a really grumpy baby!)

I guess you could give it a try for a few nights and see?

My advice as mother to a non sleeper is to ditch the dummy - you might be in for a few hairy nights at first but it will save you long term pain! I found The Sleep Nanny book/method to be a lifesaver after a few months of nightmarish nights

I wish I could do that! My DS is quite reliant on his dummy for naps and bedtime! It also sometimes wakes him up if it falls out but I'm pretty nervous of him screaming and never settling without it.
This sleep stuff is super hard with a baby! No one warns you before you have one do they! 
And if sleep regression at 4 months IS a thing, he's been going through it for 6 weeks now!

It's just so hard to know what to do isn't it! I don't know if it will be harder work to settle him without it after taking it away or if it's more annoying putting it back in - he would do that himself in time I guess but then I don't want him having a dummy forever either & if he did then only for naps! He does seem more reliant on it that his sister was though! He has an awful cough and cold currently too so wanting it but he is more unsettled and needing me to go in much more and sort him out! Aaaaa what to do!!! Is it not confusing to allow it for naps but not bedtime at first??