8 month old, bf and sleeping pattern

[nearlyreadytopop]

Having a terrible time with night feeds at the moment, in fact its not so much the night feeds as getting him back to sleep afterwards.
He feeds well during the day and eats plenty of solids (spoon feeds and finger foods) but the past few weeks he has been feeding 7,11,1,4 roughly. Takes two naps and has a bedtime routine starting at 6 and is usually in bed by 7.
I just wonder is this normal for a bf baby? A lot of friends have babies that sleep through and my mum says its just habit him feeding so much during the night.
He doesnt feed to sleep anymore so after the feeds there is a lot of crying, even when he is cuddled he still cries. Am coming under a bit of pressure from DH to try controlled crying.
sorry for rambling, just dont know what to do next.

Sounds very normal to me. My 11 mo still feeds that often! It might be habit the night feeding - same way if you always woke up for a snack you would get hungry at the same time every night but how do you know with a baby - they can't tell you how they feel. Do you think he is really hungry? Will he go back to sleep without a feed?

Does he feed much in the day? I work part time and don't feed during the day - this is why I forgive my DD during the night as she is still seeking comfort from the breast and needs to get it at some point during the 24 hour day.

Is he is his own room? Have you tried him in your room? Does that help? Have you tried co sleeping? Some babies like to be close and feeding in bed defiantly helps them go back to sleep afterwards and is how I survive on broken sleep. She wakes, quick feed, both of us roll over and go back to sleep.

Have you tried patting gently after the feed? Or lying a hand on his back? Does he have a dummy? These are all tricks I use, they might not work but you never know!