Don't you know that babies aren't supposed to interfere with the rest of our lives? hehe.

We do whatever works at the time. I've fed to sleep, rocked to sleep, sat for an hour on the bed with them... Both my older ones transitioned naturally to different stages and are now really good at going to bed. No insecurities or issues with bed or sleep.

DD1 actually self settled for the first 7 months or so... then the good ol' 8 month sleep regression hit and we ended up rocking her sleep for a while, then moved on to sitting with her in bed.

DD2 currently self settles (with a dummy... which I replace a few times.. and cos she's next to me at night I can do that! haha) but I'm not holding my breath that this will continue.

For some reason tho, sleep is the big indicator of whether you're doing things right or whether your baby is good or not. It's ridiculous isn't it. I would no more 'train' my baby to sleep than I would train her to change her own nappy or get her own food. Helping them to sleep (and sleeping with them) is all part of being a mum. And to be honest, I'd never trade all those snuggles getting them off to sleep. Yes it was frustrating at times.. but now they don't need me at night so much So enjoy those little rods on your backs I say