Sleep training

When the gals came home from the hospital they were automatically on a schedule - every three hours they ate and sleep just occurred naturally. We parents screwed with that schedule by being inconsistent with feedings. Also, as they matured, their sleeping needs changed. But they still couldn't have been more different from each other. Sophie slept when she was tired. Period. No help needed. Olivia was difficult to put to sleep, needing soothing, swaddling, and some praying on my part.

A month or two ago they more or less started regulating their own schedule and sleeping more through the night (thank God). It was better and slightly more manageable. For Sophie, we did a little bit of sleep training to let her cry it out but it never took much. Olivia needed a slew of things to fall asleep — pacifier, recitation of Goodnight Moon, music, white noise, swaddle, and something to keep paci in (we use a cloth book).

However, in the last two weeks, Sophie has decided sleep is no bueno and resists every attempt to sleep. She'll cry endlessly and start the screaming and work up a sweat. Nothing works. Holding her and putting her down drowsy doesn't work, cry it out doesn't work, and I'm just not putting her in my bed. So she stays up for 8 hrs at a time in the daytime and takes 2 hrs to sleep at night. Just completely exhausted and then she'll finally sleep. Olivia now sleeps like clockwork and takes very little time to put to bed.

I'm starting to wonder if it's because she has no routine and too many different people trying to put her down. Or is it some new stage?

Did I do a bad job sleep training? I'm very afraid it's just because she's my child and I was impossible to put to sleep as a baby and it's just coming back around. Either way, I think in the nature vs nurture battle, I still come out the loser.