Controlled Crying at 6 months?

[Binglesplodge]

My DS is 6 months old, and although he was never a brilliant sleeper he began, a month ago, to be willing to go into his crib awake and settle himself down to sleep with his dummy and sometimes a little shhing and stroking from me. He'd wake a couple of times a night to feed, and it felt like things were moving in the right direction.

Then...

A cold hit! He was waking often, coughing and snotty. Fair enough. Then teething. All the dribbling. Still coughing.

I think he still has a tooth grumbling, and the associated dribbling is causing him to clear his throat in his sleep, which wakes him every time. As a result, I'm currently having to go to his room and settle him back to sleep every hour or so all night. Sometimes it takes a up to an hour of crying while I reassure him. If I leave too soon, he stirs, wakes, wails, and we're back to square on .

I don't think he's especially hungry, but I do feed him if it's been more than 3 or 4 hours since he fed. I think the issue is more that when he wakes himself by coughing or wiggling he doesn't know how to get back to sleep.

Is it time for a little controlled crying? I can't really face many more nights where I sleep in half hour chunks. I feel that if he's crying while I spend ages settling him, then it can't be much worse to allow him to cry a bit while also learning the skill of going to sleep?

I had never planned to do CC but am increasingly feeling like it's the only way to help him out of this cycle of frequent night waking. Should I go for it? Is 6 months too young?

Mine was 3 months when we resorted to that. Took an evening and a half. I aged 20 years, I couldn't do it, my husband did it.
She's almost a teenager now, can report she sleeps like a log since then and has no side effects :)

Oh, and we've been recently been told there's no way in hell she's ever coming to bed with us, if I insist she sleeps with an adult when she's poorly, one of us is welcomed to her bed, 3 in a bed is ridiculous. I could have cried (might have done in secret)

I slept in a bed in DD's room at that age. She was miserable when teething and got all 4 top teeth together like a portcullis. Ouch!. In hindsight we were very pfb about medicines etc. DD2 was given ibuprofen for the teething and was a much better sleeper.

I think cc under some circs is fine but you've basically said your baby is under the weather on several fronts so I'm inclined towards a more gentle approach at 6 months. The snuffles could be congestion due to top teeth but if it's a cold, plus teeth then I'd give it a few weeks. Can you get some decent shut eye by going to bed at 8 for a few days?

Lastly, I've been there and God do I remember the sleep deprivation. It stretches your sanity somewhat. I'm the furthest away from Earth mother you can get but sleeping (in a separate room from DH) and co sleeping from about 2-4am on saved my life with DD1.