4 month sleep regression advice needed

[Maisie2019]

Please help??
So my DS (my first) is just turned 4 months. From birth he was a “good” sleeper - would wake twice a night to feed which then went down to once a night around 8-10 weeks old. I thought - I’ve got this! How wrong I was!!!
3-4 weeks ago his sleep went haywire and it’s getting worse and worse. It started with one extra waking where we started giving him a dummy to get him back to sleep, previously he hasn’t had one at night because he would feed to sleep and then feed back to sleep. Last night he was awake a grand total of 7 times. The dummy sends him straight back off and he only has 1 night feed still.
long story short I’ve got my head in a right tizz. I’m exhausted from the constant dummy wakes, he will settle again quickly and I barely even open my eyes I just find the dummy put it in and sshh but sleep is so broken. So these are my questions and I just don’t know what to do so would appreciate insight from anyone who has been through this!

1. will he ever leave the sleep regression if I keep giving the dummy. From what I’ve read they need to learn to link sleep cycles and if I keep giving the dummy is this stopping him from learning? Until he can put it in himself? If so - should I ditch the dummy? Will he keep waking for it forever?!
2. he is 4mo but out of habit we have still been covering his hands at night. I think we should uncover them so he at least has a chance of re-inserting his own dummy or maybe sucking on his hands to self soothe. DP thinks he wakes himself rubbing his face but I think he’s too old to have his hands covered.
3. he is in a magic merlin sleep suit which was a swaddle transition. He loves it and seems cosy but I wonder if I should now move him to a normal sleeping bag because I’m going to have to anyway and I’m thinking maybe restricting his movement now is making him worse
4. I think he is outgrowing his next to me. He can touch the side when his arms are out straight I wonder if he is bashing his hands into the sides as well waking himself.
5. how the hell do I help him learn to self soothe, genuinely, I’ve spent so long helping him learn to fall asleep on his own at the beginning of the night but he still wakes up crying between sleep cycles.
6. THE MAIN ONE - will this regression go on it’s own. I keep reading about that it won’t go unless he learns to self soothe. Surely when our parents had us they didn’t know all this about sleep cycles etc and I speak about regressions and they all look at me blankly and can’t remember. This gives me hope that it will just pass but then I speak to people who tell me horror stories of it lasting until they can do their own dummy or they resort to CIO etc.

If anyone has any pearls of wisdom please send them my way. I’m drained. I need help! Signed, Weary FTM

Have a 4 month old and think sleep regression is hitting her naps more than at night as she’s been sleeping through the night recently. Started paying attention to wake windows when she was about 12 weeks old and just putting her down awake for naps when it was an appropriate time and then doing that at night time as well when she got used to getting herself to sleep and I’d say it works about 80% of the time at the moment.
Is he getting enough milk in the day? Might be easier to just do a feed instead of the endless dummy resets if he keeps waking up. Especially for your own sanity!

You can’t sleep train this young anyway so you will need to ride it out a bit! You can usually sleep train by 6 months.

what i did during the 4 months regression was just co sleep - had a mattress on the floor pushed against the wall (she was fed to sleep at the time and this was the only way we got any sleep tbh

when she was about 6 months old we did teach her to fall asleep independently / self sooth herself back to sleep if she woke in the night.

@Heyahun - how did you teach your little one to self soothe/fall asleep on her own? I’m just absolutely exhausted and would love some pointers! X