Hi,

it sounds like you have a normal 8mnth old on your hands - breastfeeding a completely normal amount of ties and eating a normal amount of solid food. Often when babies start day care and are exposed to all those new germs they get sick a lot - but breastfeeding protects them from this enormously. Now is not the time to wean!. Babies this age love a straw cup - straws seem to be such a novelty. Bottles are really just a drag - you get them onto bottles and then at 12 mnths you have to wean them from bottles! But if he doesn't he will do fine with a packed lunch and breastfeeds when you get home. You will need to express (at least at the start) at work, if only to keep yourself comfortable. But most employers are completely happy to accommodate expressing at work. Your little one will adjust - he will be fine, after possible initial hiccups.