You are doing really well hun. Hopefully things will get easier soon

I am a firm believer in mums' instincts, so I think following your gut is the way to go. Many babies that age have 8 or more feeds in 24 hours, so perhaps you could try not using the dummy, and squeezing an extra feed in instead to see what happens? Some times just a minor change to the routine can make a difference. Does that sound do-able?