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What's your daytime schedule like? Make sure he has enough wake time before bed. At that age I also would talk it up big time i.e.) tonight you have to stay in bed all night to get big and strong! Mom stays in bed, dad stays in bed etc so he knows what to expect

ETA) also commit for at least a week. Pick whatever method you can handle and agree to respond consistently 100%. I found at that age the kids figure it out quickly

Yes I would encourage you not to worry about teething, runny nose etc. Is he your first? Give him some ibuprofen and go for it. I feel like there's always a reason to wait until they're like 2! I know you're not excited about it but it might go better then you think! Maybe try an earlier bedtime since he's so sleep deprived. If you're doing checks keep it boring and have one key phrase - jimmy it's bedtime, we love you night night

Sleep begets sleep. The more he practices sleeping, the better he will be able to sleep...and if CIO might help everyone get more (or better) sleep, try it. Exhaustion may be what's keeping him awake...it can actually interrupt the normal sleep cycle. But is it possible that he could have a sleep problem?
I can't really tell you what may work for your sweet LO, but I can tell you what we did. We went through TERRIBLE sleep for a while with my first...he would cry at bedtime, sleepwalk, have night terrors, nightmares, etc. My pediatrician told me to do whatever got everyone the most (and best quality) sleep. She also told me to put the sleep of adults at first priority, since we were the ones who needed to work, drive, etc. We conquered night wakings first, and then worked on bedtime woes. We did co-sleep for a while, which helped a lot, but what actually, finally worked was a combo of "heavy" work a few hours before bed, sleeping without PJs (diaper only) with a weighted blanket, and allowing him to watch a quiet movie in his room when he woke in the middle of the night (the same movie every time, so that he'd lull to sleep). Finding Nemo was my lifeline from the time he was 20 months until after he turned 2. After a couple nights, he already began sleeping better, and we weaned him off nighttime movies a few months later. It also helped to get him out of the crib and into a floor bed...he had only a few quiet toys accessible, but he could still amuse himself when there were times he simply couldn't sleep.

Yes to no sleep associations at bedtime. This site is great https://www.preciouslittlesleep.com/6-9-month-baby-sleep-guide/ and even though this is talking about younger babies it applies. Here's an excerpt : If your 6-9 month old baby is sleeping poorly THIS is the problem. It’s not the teething, growth spurts, wonder weeks, learning to roll over, or any of those other changes that make parenting an older baby so exciting. The problem is that they haven’t yet learned how to fall asleep on their own.

@MrsADS: I sort of went through this whole thing and someone on here made me realize it's not 1) CIO or 2) be miserable forever. Another option is to go in and comfort your LO as many times it takes for 1-2 weeks. It will suck, but it will get infinitely better. Just decide beforehand what you are willing to do (pat back but not pick up and rock, etc). When I tried this it took maybe 3 nights of waking up and crying a lot for DS to stop expecting to co-sleep. Now, if he wakes up at all, it's pat on the back and back to sleep. From where we were, I can DEFINITELY handle that. Good luck!

@MrsADS: that sounds like a great night! Just keep it up! Consistency is key

@MrsADS:

@MrsADS: wow! Great news.

@MrsADS: Good job! I hope he keeps this up!

@MrsADS: how is this going? bumping this thread cause I just started my own... going to try all of the advice you got tonight!