How much attention kids need, at night, when they should be sleeping, is a cultural norm. If they cry, and you sleep through it, they sooner or later learn not to bother with the crying. But if you're trained --by yourself, or by your spouse, or by your idea of what's expected of you-- to get up and deal with the baby every time s/he cries, then that will be expected of you.
All I can say is Amen. I know this is a very unpopular thing to do, but our first daughter was a terrible sleeper. Along about 8 months, when we knew she was old enough to sleep all night, we made a change. First of all, make sure the kid is not sick. But, barring that, we let her cry it out. First night she screamed for an hour, second night for 30 minutes, third night 15 minutes, and ever since then no crying and she's been a great sleeper. Call me a terrible parent, but I guarantee we're much better parents now due to getting more sleep than before.