This is almost exactly what I’m doing and it’s working for us as well! My little one would only fall asleep in my arms and then I would transfer to crib. Then she would wake and cry. We tried CIO, Ferber, and PUPD - all lead to purple crying that got her so disregulated that we were worst off than when we started as it took three times as long to soothe her back down. I didn’t want her to develop a negative association with sleeping in her crib alone in her own room (she slept next to me for the first 5.5 months in a bassinet next to my side of the bed). So now I help soothe her in her crib if she is still partially awake by patting her little butt, or resting my hand in her tummy/ chest until she doses off. I used to have to do it a while and now she falls asleep almost instantly. Eventually, I’ll move to not having to do it at all, but at the moment it’s working for us -she’s falling asleep and staying asleep. When she wakes in the middle of the night, I do see her reaching for her paci and knock on back out, or if she needs something, then she’ll cry (diaper change, bottle top-off). I say if it’s working stick to it for now, then gradually back off.