Dummy - AP or not a problem?

[AMSxx8]

I'm not entirely sure if I'm doing accidental parenting or not? = Help please.

So my little girl has had a dummy pretty much since week 2. Only really uses it when she is winding down for sleep and sleeping. I try to avoid use during the day as much as possible.

She was always a good sleeper, went to sleep on her own, good routine etc. However since 4 months has gone a bit off the rails, I think this is because of various reasons. We have been away on holiday, Christmas and I think she is ready to transition to 4 hour easy so I'm starting that Monday.

Now here's the thing.....
What do bedtimes/nap times look like for all your children with dummies? She goes down, she's always done a bit of mantra crying to go to sleep. Sometimes she shouts so much her dummy comes out then gets upset about that, so I tend to sit in the room where she can't see me and pop it back in until she winds down enough and nods off. Is this wrong? Should she be self settling? I have tried leaving her but she escalates, and then gets really OT. So I try to get to her as soon as possible to pop it back in until she's nodded off.

She also never used to pull it out, but she's recently found her thumb and quite likes that, so I just wonder if she would prefer that, but when it falls out maybe 2/10 times she will shove her thumb in?

Once she's asleep if it falls out then she's fine, doesn't wake up or anything, she also doesn't need it after her dream feed.

How do your little ones settle without dummies?  Is it just because she's been a bit off routine and napping so short that she's overtired and therefore struggling to sleep a bit more - will she be better once routine is better?

Sorry for the rant! - I've just been so good with letting her sleep by herself for a young age and trying to avoid doing anything wrong.

Thanks!

Xx

[trimbler]

Interestingly we seem to be getting quite a few questions about dummies at the moment. I never used them - neither of mine wanted them at all, but it sounds like it's been great for your DD for her first few months Problem is that sleep changes around 4mo, every baby experiences some sort of 'regression', so actually now would be a great time for her to learn how to sleep without it. It will likely be a bit bumpy as you teach her a new way, but it does sound as if it's starting to cause problems for her (and you) and it would be easier to wean it now than later, IMO. You can use shh pat but you 'll need to be consistent if you do decide to ditch the dummy (which I'd recommend now) and not give in and give it back to her - over a few days you should start to see improvements in her attempts to self settle  albeit with some ups and downs.

As an aside - she may well need an increase in her A times, most 4mo LOs do