Hi Noelle,
it is a bit of an unusual name, and it is for sure the less common spelling... I've met several Krista's in my life, but only like 3 Christa's.
He is pretty good about going to sleep on his own. For his other naps, I put him in his crib still awake, after reading a story or just sitting with him for a while. Although, I have to admit, if he falls asleep during that 8:30 feed, I do just lay him down as its such a relief as he's so active in the morning and I am NOT a morning person.
I'll try your idea about feeding him at 7:30 tomorrow and then keeping him up for a bit after, that makes a lot of sense.
I'm not sure how much he takes as I'm BF, but he only sucks for a minute, two max, and then throws himself backward.