baby wants to nurse for comfort for hours....

okay so my baby is 11 months old and EBF. we never nursed for comfort in the past, he would eat and start to fall asleep, i’d unlatch and he’d suck his thumb til he was fully out. he never took a paci. he recently stopped sucking his thumb and i was so happy i woukdnt have to break that habit eventually since he did it on his own..! but now he won’t sleep unless he’s on my boob. im literally exhausted from being a pacifier 24/7. he will eat and fall asleep so i’ll lay him down and he just opens his mouth and roots looking for a boob and cries til he finds it then he goes back to sleep once it’s in his mouth. is this normal? is there something i can do to soothe him instead? my body needs a break!!!