Keep going the way you're going, because in my experience neither method of settling is going to guarantee you sleep.

I've done everything by the book - establishing a feed, play, sleep routine, sleeping in their own bed, using the "correct" sleep associations, putting down for regular naps etc etc - and I have a baby that still wakes quite frequently in the middle of the night.

My friend did the opposite - breastfeeding and rocking to sleep, co-sleeping etc etc - and her baby wakes just as frequently.

Loads of people I know have babies that wake frequently in the middle of the night, despite following all of the rules. Therefore, I would conclude that babies will sleep when their ready and you can't do anything to control it.

If I could have my time again, I would have spent less time angsting over sleep-training and more time enjoying my baby. However, now that I have realised this I'm enjoying things much more despite the sleep deprivation.