Bobbing to sleep (endlessly) - next steps?

[girlrunningoncheese]

3 month old DD (14 weeks) is generally a pretty easy baby and usually sleeps 8-6ish with one wake up, although it has been 2 a few times recently. For the first 2 months we generally kept her up until we went to bed and then I fed her to sleep, usually 9-10pm. Recently we have started a vague bedtime routine of bath, bottle, bed and she goes down around 8pm.

My question is about HOW I get her to sleep - I've been bobbing her up and down and she normally drops off in 10-15 minutes but often starts by yelling her little head off before "giving in" and dropping off on my chest. Then I gently put her in her crib (sometimes this takes 2 attempts). I really don't know how to move from this to self-settling. It's upsetting that she cries herself to sleep at the moment and also I'm knackered from what is basically an intense squat session every night

She has never dropped off in her crib - always been put in whilst asleep, the phrase "rod for my own back" is dangling in my head

Any advice or suggestions gratefully received! My thighs would appreciate an alternative plan...

A dummy often helps reduce the crying. For a great many post-newborn babies, if they are not sucking as the go to sleep, they are crying. So if you can't get a dummy or similar accepted it might be you have to accept the crying.

You could transfer that 'crying while you sooth to sleep' into the cot. So put baby down and lean right into the cot to do lots of active comforting, accepting their will be crying but still comforting through that.

A sidecar cot (full sized cot with one side removed) helps with active in-cot settling.

Thank you - I did try quite a few times to get her to take a dummy but no good, she just spat it out with a look of disgust! Is it worth trying again or is it too late now? She quite often falls asleep sucking her fingers...

We have a next to me crib so I will definitely try the active settling. If she's going to cry either way I could have a rest!