Have I created a monster?

A conversation I had with a friend (another new mommy) the other day really made me think. We were talking about how much you can worry about how your actions and seemingly simple decisions could really have an effect on your baby in the long run. You really start to feel nuerotic when you start obsessing over vaccinations, introduction of solids, pacifiers, sleeping situations, the list goes on. Given the current sleeping situation that we are in, or not in because there is very little sleep to be had, I've started to question my instincts. Have we as parents inadvertently done something along the way to set him up for failure when it comes to night waking? Have I created a monster by giving in and cuddling him when he cries at 12 and 3am? It has been suggested that I use the Ferber method but there has to be something else, something less heart wrenching than listening to your baby scream his head off for an hour. I sort of wish that we hadn't been so spoiled in the first four months with the sleeping through the night because now I know what it's like to have a well rested, contented little baby and mommy/daddy. If he had been doing this all along, I'd be used to it by now. I keep asking myself, what can I learn from this stage? I think one of the biggest things I've learned thus far is that nothing is on my terms when it comes to making him do anything. I can't make him sleep through the night, I can't make him stop crying - I can only comfort him in hopes that he will calm down when he's been soothed. I cherish every little thing that he teaches me, everyday.