Hi mummy! I'm facing the same issue but things are getting better for me so here's what I did :)
1. Catch early sleep cues
- once baby displays early sleep cues (slower and longer blinking, red eyebrows), I hold baby and start to walk around
2. Cot-side soothing
- once he is sufficiently sleepy where eyes are mostly closed, I lower him down into the cot. I make sure to lower my entire upper body together with him so he doesn't feel a drop.
- I remove the hand on his butt, but continue to support his neck for a while longer while still gently rocking / shushing / patting
- slowly remove my hand from his neck and continue soothing until he sleeps
3. No cry it out
- I don't believe in the cry it out method so I'm 100% responsive, I continue with cot-side soothing if he is just whining but pick him up if he starts crying.
First few times we had to redo the entire process multiple times and it took over 30-40 minutes. It's gradually getting better and on some days he can even just self soothe to sleep once I put him in the cot. :) on some days we also carry him in the baby carrier if he is displaying extra fussiness
Either way, babies can't be over-reliant at least in their first 6 months and 3-4 months is a good timeline for babies to start forming sleep habits. Searching for gentle sleep training tips on TikTok might help :) Don't worry too much for now and all the best!!