Confused Mum of 12 week old - should I sleep train?

[Tidders]

I wonder if anyone can help me as I'm reeeeally confused! My ds (12 weeks) is, and always has been, rocked to sleep either in my arms in the rocking chair or in the pram. Up until now at night he has always woken twice, fed, and gone straight back down with no rocking. The last couple of nights however he hasn't fallen asleep and I've ended up rocking him. Not a lot, but I worry I'm on a slipperey slope. He has also started very occassionally waking after 20 mins of nap and I have to rock him back then as well. He is swaddled, which he loves as I've tried not doing it and he wakes 5 times a night! He is still in the pram at night and he's rapidly growing out of it and I need to move him to the cot but you can't rock cots! Do I 'sleep train' him to fall asleep by himself? I have had a little go to no avail. He just got hysterical. I'm reading Weissbluth and don't get it??? Am I still meant to be soothing/rocking to sleep and then start sleep training at 16 weeks or doing extinction (cry it out) now? Some 'experts' say not before 3 months, some say 4 months, some 6 months. But some also say by 12 weeks they should be put down awake or you're in for trouble.
Sorry for the long post but I'm so torn as to what to do.

no far too young. even Richard Ferber who devised the most popular form of CC said no less than 6 months. However, with recent research in sleep and infant mental health, he has changed his stance to a year in the latest edition of his book.

sorry you are so confused and i seem to be adding to it.

Thanks guys for your reassurance. I feel much better. Was beginning to feel like I was a failure for never putting him down awake, bless him. I couldn't bear to hear him cry. Most I ever lasted was five minutes!
Any tips for settling in the cot? I currently rock him in the pram and he's nearly touching both ends! I have tried rocking him to sleep and then putting him down but he wakes.

maybe you've tried this already - but if he is being rocked to sleep, and then putting him down wakes him up - how about putting him down awake in the cot and then just putting a hand on his tummy, shhing and stroking down between his eyes to his nose, singing softly etc until he is settled?

Also a lullaby soother/ one of those projector things that throw shapes on the ceiling might be useful - if you use them every single time he will come to associate them with drifting off to sleep?

You might have to sit with him quite a while before he sleeps - but hth a bit!

Thanks for the advice Weaselmum,
tonight was very different as normally he has a little sleep about 5pm ish and then goes down 7.30pm ish. Today by 6pm I still couldn't get him to have a sleep so I gave up and bathed him and put him to bed. He was so shattered having been up for 3 hours so he fell asleep really quickly and when I laid him in the cot he opened his eyes but quickly fell asleep again...for half hour! He's just woken all smiles and playful so I've been up there and re-settle him and left him happily staring at his lights to see if he will drop back off again....fingers crossed.

Sounds really hopeful - hope you get a good night's sleep x