First off...this is a LONG response so settle in! LOL Your "profile" could be mine to the T (except my daughter is now 15 months old). I finally took the books and put them in a box (where I can get to them if I REALLY need to) and started following my gut right around 9 months. Up unto that point, I was making myself crazy about what "they say" should be done...whether it was books, websites, friends, parents, etc. and taking a deep breath and following my gut has taken a load off my shoulders. Don't get me wrong, I still ask tons of questions and research the heck out of things...I just take it with a grain of salt (and sometimes a margarita attached!) Do what seems right to you as his mom...YOU are the expert!
9 months old...they look SO big compared to when they arrived, but they are still babies. My pediatrician too told me to cut any nighttime feeding (I was bottle feeding) by 5 months and let her cry...I couldn't do it. I mean, I wake up and night thirsty or hungy at times even now, or wanting a hug from my hubby...how would I like someone depriving me of that? I also had the same issues with the cry-it-out methods that they would create "learned helplessness" and giving up. Different methods can work well for different kids...and with my daughter's temperment, we had to go for something less stressful.
Here are a couple thoughts. First, if you don't mind getting up with him and he's sleeping well and a happy kid otherwise, then go ahead! He'll grow out of it eventually! Second, if you wanted to work on weaning a bit without upsetting him, you can try what I did with my daughter. Instead of immediatly offering her bottle at night wakings, I'd go in, hug and rock her for a bit, then put her back to bed. It took a bit more effort at first than feeding her to sleep, but sometimes she was happy just for a cuddle and/or her bink to be popped back in. If she still didn't want to settle, then I'd offer the bottle...I noticed she'd take less and less. I would do this anytime she get up at night crying, until she really didn't "ask" for the feedings. Ok, so you're thinking, "well now the kid needs to be rocked to go back to sleep". Well, honestly, I loved those times, as tired as I was, holding her dozing in my arms. She grew out of that too, and before I knew it I was putting her in her crib awake because she wouldn't fall asleep in my arms any longer. Then she started the fussing, and we started the process I've described in another post. First, we'd listen for what kind of cry...fussing, dreaming, or "crying". She'd cry and stand up, I'd go in right away, give a kiss and a squeeze, help her lie down and say, "goodnight, I love you". I repeated this every time she'd cry, whether bedtime or night wakings...and it worked. At first it took over 10 times of back and forth, and she was standing crying before I even left the room, and I'd go to the door, close it, open it and repeat! By the end of the week, it was usually 1 or 2 times and she'd lie back down on her own. I always paid attention to her cries and made exceptions (at times took her out of bed or gave her a drink or Tylenol if she was teething) and then try again. This worked for us...without any "crying it out" type methods. She KNOWS I'll always come in if she calls, but she also learned that she's not getting out of her crib (unless she's sick or whatnot), and settles quickly. Hopefully this keeps working, but knowing kids, she'll throw me a curveball and change her ways in a month! LOL
Sorry this is so long...I just wanted to share what worked for us since I was in your almost exact shoes a few months ago! Good luck and remember to trust yourself...you are a GREAT mom!