Adopting 7 month old - sleep questions

[comehomemax]

We’ve recently had a 8 month old placed with us for adoption and we are a bit unsure of what we should be doing with her sleep patterns.
Her previous carer said she was sleeping really well but with us she wakes around midnight wanting her dummy and then again around 3. The only thing that seems to settle her is a bottle of formula and a cuddle.
She is weaned onto mushy food and eats really well through the day alongside bottles.
Once she is a bit more settled, I’m wondering if we should be giving her a bottle through the night or just soothing/cuddling her. What age do most 7 months old stop feeding through the night?

Thankyou in advance for any advice.

Congratulations on your new baby! It does sound like she’s sleeping pretty well. I have a 7 month old too who is waking up multiple times a night - 2 wake ups is a good night!

I night weaned my son at around 9 months as I felt his night feeds started to be more comfort/habit than because he was hungry (he was waking twice in the night too). He would latch on but would fall back to sleep very quickly rather than have a full feed so we decided to try and drop the feeds one at a time. My husband went in to comfort him when he woke and after a week he was sleeping through. He took to solid foods really well so I was comfortable he was getting enough during the day. He also had a dummy and we would put spares in the cot so if he woke up would be able to find another one and settle himself.

I think you’ll know when your daughter is ready to give up the night feeds but there’s no hard and fast rule, just do whatever feels right.

Well I have a 2.5 year old who has just now started sleeping though so.... 😂😂

Look, first of all, take everything you heard about her previously "sleeping really well" with a pinch of salt as people have entirely different interpretations of what that is. Honestly if a 7 month old only woke up twice a night I would also say they were sleeping really well. That's normal for that age and a big improvement on the first few months of their life when they're up far more.

Sometimes pinning or clamping their dummy onto their pyjamas helps enormously. Depends on the child, some learn to reach for it instantly and self settle (my DS), whereas some know its there but still want Mummy so don't even try to self soothe (my DD). But it's certainly worth a try.

Many babies that age still have formula during the night but be careful of the quantity as it can really impact day feeding in a suprisingly big way. Mums say their kid needs a bottle at night cos they only pick at food but they only pick at food cos they get full at night.

I went cold turkey with night bottles t 8 months. Easier earlier than later. They still had a bottle actually going to bed till 12 months but then I started watering that down on the advice of my doctor until it was pure warm water by 18 months (cos of their teeth).

Anyway, sounds 100% normal. Sleep will change numerous times yet. There are a couple more sleep regressions to come. The 2 year old one is a doozy! With sleep, it's all a phase - good sleep is a phase and bad sleep is a phase. They don't settle down properly and reliably till 3 or 4 in my experience.

Honestly, OP, I think the fact that you’ve adopted her recently is more important than her age — she’s been through significant disruption, even in the best case scenario of having been with the same foster carers since birth. I would worry less about what she ‘should’ be doing for her age, and helping her feel secure. You will probably get more targeted advice on the adoption board.

Thank you all - much appreciated

I'd recommend posting on the adoption board. A newly placed child sleep pattern will be all over the place regardless of age. My DS was 13 months and sleeping 12 hours a night with a 2 hour nap at the same time every day - the second he came home that all went up in smoke! The first 8 weeks were disastrous but if it helps reassure, as soon as he felt really settled his sleep went back to being perfect again. It is such a traumatic time for them so their sleep will usually suffer.