Sleep Train My Baby?

It’s 12:30 am and my son has woken up three times already since falling asleep at 8 pm. That’s a normal night cycle for us—waking up still every hour or two at night. He wakes, cries, I pick him up, he nurses, falls back asleep, then I put him back down, then wait for two hours again. This happens night after night since the time he came home from the hospital. The longest he has ever slept through was about four hours. That’s happened only once so far. At nine months old (10 days shy of being 10 months), I’ve resorted to “full-on” co-sleeping to give my back some rest and to get more sleep. When he was younger, and lighter, I would nurse him sitting down (so I won’t fall asleep), then put him back down to his crib again and again, thinking that at least my husband and I can enjoy our double-sized bed. But now, I can’t stand carrying him while he nurses at night as I get too exhausted. So when he cries to be picked up by the time my bedtime rolls around, I make space for him in our bed and all three of us sleep soundly—at least for two hours. Co-sleeping has definitely made it so much more bearable. There are nights when I don’t remember how many times we have woken up because he simply rolls to my side and nurses while I am still half asleep. And I do love having my baby sleep beside me, so close for me to kiss and cuddle.

But knowing about sleep training, I wonder if I’m missing out on something? Sure, co-sleeping is practiced here in the Philippines by practically everyone but what I’m more concerned about is the frequency of my son’s waking, and why crying is his very first reaction upon doing so. Nursing is his go-to plan of action to “soothe himself” and put himself back to sleep, so that’s why we do it each time he wakes. But I wonder, is this part of Gabbie’s personality or is this a “problem” that I should be addressing?

I welcome your thoughts J