baby hammock (gentle rocking motion)

co-sleeping

breastfeeding to sleep (even if he's not really drinking, just for comfort)

napping with him during the day, co-sleeping

i believe CIO is teaching a baby "learned helplessness" - why cry, no-one will help me, no-one loves me". i've met people who leave their baby for TWELVE HOURS, no checking, nothing. baby could choke, fall, be in a full nappy, anything.

i'm going to take a wild guess, that your bub is a bit upset to be separated from you, him in the cot, you not in the cot. i wonder if he would calm down, if you slept together.

co-sleeping comes in many different shades.
you might do it ONLY in the daytime
you might do it ONLY at night
set yourself up to feel safe about it.
pillows on edges of bed, or put mattress on the floor
there are special mini cot things you put in the bed too, to avoid the risk of rolling on your bub, or them rolling away.
i put the same anti roll mat i had for the cot (to keep her on her back), in my bed, to keep her on her back also.

Keep some nappychanging stuff in your room if you co-sleep, so you can do wet changes quickly there, avoid having to get up.

Mattress protector mats (used for toilet training) are good to put on YOUR bed, for co-sleeping too. i got a swaddlebees one for about $35. Child has a posset on it, you just chuck whole mat in the wash, no problem.

keep strong, there are many of us who are anti CIO, you are not alone.

i went to a PND clinic, where i had an entire staff of midwives, who all harrassed me to use CIO for the two weeks we were there. Despite their outdated thinking, it's NOT the only method to use.