Frustrated and tired

So, I'm beginning to think the whole "cry it out" thing is over rated! I put Makenzie down at about 9:05 with a clean diaper, and a full belly. She cried almost non-stop until 12:00- by which time she's hungry again. At that point, I waited for a small break in her crying- and then went in, picked her up an fed her again. She is finally asleep (probably only temporarily now), but I don't know if I can plan on that lasting for too long. I'm so confused about the whole thing! Do I wait until she wakes me up to feed her the next time- or do I just plan to get up when I know she should eat? OR- am I supposed to not feed her and just wait for early morning to hit? That brings me to nap time...do I let her cry it out then too?

I love being a mom- but all of this is a bit overwhelming, and confusing! I felt so bad for just letting her cry for hours tonight that I wanted to cry with her. I know it's not the end of the world, and she won't remember any of it anyway- but it's hard to hear her crying and do nothing about it...intentionally! :(

We'll try it again tomorrow and hope it goes a little more smoothly...I'm going to go try to get some sleep during the few minutes I have now.