Bottle warmers: why do you need them?
Moms should be careful when heating expressed breast milk or formula. If you microwave breast milk, it can change the composition of the milk, causing the milk to lose certain anti-infective properties and nutrients, even when microwaved for a short period of time. That is why they are so effective and why most parents of newborns buy them. Breast milk is generally very sensitive to warm temperatures and can very easily lose its vitamin C content. Heating breast milk on the stove is also ineffective because it causes a central spike in temperature that causes the milk to break. Like microwaved breast milk, it causes a loss of minerals, immune properties, vitamins and micronutrients very quickly. So what can you do? Obviously, you can put expressed breast milk in a sterilized bottle and run it under hot water for ten minutes, but who wants to do this when a newborn is screaming because she’s starving? The same goes for the formula. For years, doctors have been saying that microwaving formula causes horrible heat distribution that can burn babies’ mouths and bellies. Although most people shake the bottles to avoid this, it doesn’t always work because the heat tends to reconglomerate immediately. Heating the water is a much safer method.
How are bottle warmers used?
Most can easily warm expressed breast milk and formula in about one to three minutes. They are very convenient because if the baby’s room is upstairs, you can also keep the heater there. By the time you change your newborn’s diaper, the bottle warmer could have easily warmed 3 or 4 ounces of milk. They are very easy to use, fast and reliable. You never have to worry about your new babysitter overcooking a baby bottle in the microwave. I bought one of the Philips Avent iQ bottle warmers and it works great. Simply add water to the container and select your setting. You put the bottle in and close the lid and leave it. The bottle warmer warms the milk by evaporating the water very quickly and warms the breast milk without hot spots and without breaking down the composition of the milk. Now that my baby is about 4 ounces, I can heat a bottle in about 3.5 minutes to heat milk to the perfect temperature.
Who would have thought that heating breast milk or formula would be a science! In addition to the great benefits mentioned above, I find that my baby just prefers warm milk, so it’s perfect for me. It’s very convenient, doesn’t take up a lot of space, and I can easily put it in any closet when I’m done with it. It is very compact and you can take it to any room! A little tip for most bottle warmers: if you can use distilled water, do so. Otherwise, if you use tap water, the bottle warmers will have some mineral buildup.
So are bottle warmers a necessity?
I think so. I think that if parents are going to bottle feed their baby with expressed breast milk from time to time or formula, it is an absolute must. Not only does it have many advantages but it is also very easy to use. You add water and put the bottle. When it’s done heating, the bottle warmer turns on and that’s it. Shake the bottle and feed the baby. Bottle warmers on the market today can hold both large, thick bottles for newborns and short, tall, or skinny bottles. They work great at night and you can do the whole process with just one hand.
Which ones would you recommend?
Definitely the Philips Avent. It has been fantastic for my husband and me. The First Years Night & Day Bottle Warmer System is nice because it’s also a bottle cooler. If I were to do it again, I’d probably buy the Gerber Bottle Warmer or the Munchkin Deluxe Bottle and Food Warmer with Pacifier Cleaning Basket. The Gerber Electric Bottle Warmer has great reviews and is fantastic for travel. The Philips Avent Express Baby Food and Bottle Warmer is also a great bottle warmer.
Remember that it is never recommended to use a microwave for expressed breast milk and formula to warm the bottle. Not only is it difficult to judge how long to heat the bottle, but it breaks and causes loss of minerals, immune properties, vitamins and micronutrients very quickly. Hot spots are a danger to sensitive babies. You can run the bottles through hot water, but why wait ten minutes and keep checking? This is the best gift we received for our newborn. These are revolutionary products that will heat frozen breast milk very safely, quickly and without destroying the important vitamins and nutrients that babies need. The advanced thermostatic controls in them and the thermal fuse allow you to heat bottles, disposable bags with frozen expressed breast milk without boiling or overheating. Another tip: get one with a timer!
