M.B.
Hi E.! :)
Congrats on your new baby and your success at breastfeeding! :)
I have gone through exactly what you are experiencing!
First of all, it is very normal for babies to wake up a lot during the night--even every hour for some young babies. It's just the way their bodies work and can't really be helped all that much by anything you do--including using formula. (The only reason formula can last longer is that it's harder to digest than breastmilk) I would highly suggest just taking him to bed with you or putting him in a co-sleeper next to your bed, then when he wakes up for feeding, pull him in next to you and breastfeed him while laying down. It takes a litle bit of practice to figure what positions work best for you but once I figured it out I would just latch her on and go right back to sleep. LOL! If he makes any sound or needs to burp--trust me--you will know and wake up. I've heard a lot of good things about this method and a lot of mommies said they got more sleep this way.
Regarding the throwing up--it's most likely that he's getting too much milk. When their little tummies (which are very tiny) get full--all it takes is some slight movement and up it comes! Then of course they are hungry again very soon because they threw most of it up. hehe! Babies get bored too just like us and it's entertaining as well as comforting to breastfeed. You can see how easy it is to overeat this way.
Now--I know you prolly don't want to hear the next part of this, so disregard it if you would like but know that I speak from experience. ;)
Do NOT if you can at all help it--give him a regular bottle. All it took was 2 times for my son to decided he never wanted to breastfeed again (age 4 weeks) and it happened again to my daughter at age 12 months (I had to get on anti-biotics and didn't want her comsuming them. All it took was a week of bottles with her and she was done with breastfeeding) Occasionally there will come a time when you do need to use one and in those cases I would highly recommend using a bottle called Adiri Breast Bottle. It's similarly shaped to the breast and comes out slowly. (Too fast and easy makes them start to prefer it over the breast)
I also recommend organic formula--as regular formula and cows milk comes from cow that are kept on anti-biotics and growth hormones, which are unhealthy for babies.
All in all--try to avoid bottles if you can. Breastmilk is sooooo much better for them and recent studies have shown that children continue to benefit from breastmilk up to 3 years of age! (Increased vision and immune system being just a couple of the benefits) Who wouldn't want to give that extra advantage to their child? I was heartbroken over not being able to breastfeed past 4 weeks with my first and very sad about my daughter stopping at 1.
But at least I learned a lot from it--including the fact that most anti-biotics are safe to take while breastfeeding and that all the details you need about them can be found through google. ;)
Once again congrats! :) and best of Wishes to you!
M.