I need to find a way to manage E's naps better than we have been.

When he was little little Elliot was VERY gassy (more so than now...and the gas is honestly still pretty bad) and the only thing that would help settle him was bouncing. We discovered that sitting on the exercise ball and bouncing was like a miracle..it made him sleep almost instantly. However, sometimes you have to keep bouncing (lightly) to keep him asleep.

He is now 4.5 months old. He sleeps well in his crib at night. He doesn't STTN but I'm okay with how the nights go. It's the naps that kill me. Ideally I'd like him to sleep in his crib or really anywhere other than on top of me on the exercise ball for naps.I just have these images of myself bouncing a toddler to sleep if we don't fix this now lol.

I've tried letting him CIO and I apparently have a very stubborn child because it doesn't seem to work. I let him go for certain intervals and then I'll go in to soothe him and he'll barely calm down. If I take him out of the crib he's momentarily calm but he won't sleep until I bounce him. The bouncing is also a problem when we're out because obviously I can't take my exercise ball everywhere I go haha.

Is there anything else I can do??

ETA: If I swaddle him and put him to sleep and then place him in the crib he'll stay asleep but he wakes up almost exactly at the 30 minute nap grouchy and still tired. When he sleeps on me he'll sleep for an hour to an hour and a half and he wakes up happy and rested.