Hi Traci,
Ok, it seem sto me that you have cracked the walk in walk out and have had some success, you need to help yourself stay on track when he is ill. I would say the worst of any illness (general illness I mean, such as cold, teething etc) probably last 2-3 days when sleep problems happen.
As you have had some success with WIWO I would assume that when he is teething there are other symptoms too. I used to put all Alex's sleep problems down to teeth, now I know when she is teething as she has a sore bum, red cheeks, a bit grouchy by day and having trouble sleeping at night, so I give Neurofen and she normally settles ok, but I still do walk in walk out even if she is sick. I know I might sound harsh, but it does confuse them if we do different things for them. This way he will know that mum will come and help him when he needs her, but he has to sleep on his own when he can. KWIM?
Remember, you are not letting him cry, no-one on this site would advise you to do that. Let him cry for about 15-20 seconds, then go in until he stops (no eye contact needed) and leave the room, he might start crying as soon as you leave, start counting again, then go back in until he stops again and so on. If he stops crying during the time that you are counting, do not go back in.
The most important thing with all sleep training is to be consistent, and this means even when they are sick. Obviously tend to their needs, but there is only so much you can do and usually a little pain relief is enough for teethers. We all need our sleep especially if we are feeling under the weather.
Good luck, I think that you will be successfull very soon as you sound positive.
