Fistly you are doing a great job and you need a hug. Around 8 months is when some bubs experience seperation anxiety and many become clingy especially for bed time. Given that your boy has also been sick recently I would say that this would not have helped. Personally I would just take this as a phase and do what ever you need to get hime down to sleep peacefully. Bare in mind that he may not need as much sleep as before either. If I was going through this I would be assisting bub to sleep but slowly withdrawing myself over time. Start with using your sleep associations (egdarkend room, teddy in hand), tell him it is time to sleep and put him down. If you can see he is going to protest, pick him up and cuddle him, then try and put him down again when he is settled. If he goes down ok then maybe pat his bottom or rub his tummy. Then gently withdraw. I usually avoid eye contact and I only talk if I have to. HTH