When you find out you’re pregnant, you think that you need everything there is for a baby.
After you have the baby, you realize that you didn’t need half of it, and don’t use 1/3 of what you purchased. If you notice that your baby doesn’t always finish their bottle, at some point you’ll probably wonder, is a bottle warmer necessary?
A bottle warmer is not necessary. You can warm a bottle perfectly fine without a warmer. However, there are a lot of benefits that come with a bottle warmer and things to consider before buying one.
Make sure to explore the pros, cons, and options to consider before purchasing a bottle warmer. Safety should be considered as well.
Bottle Warmer Pros
While a bottle warmer might not be “necessary”, they are pretty convenient to have.
Most of them are designed to do more than just warm bottles, and they offer a certain amount of efficiency to warming bottles that other methods can’t compare to. There is an abundance of reasons to use a bottle warmer.
Pre-set Temperature Setting
Bottle warmers often come with a temperature setting so that they heat your little one’s bottle up to the perfect temperature every time.
This is ideal when you compare it to using a cup of hot water, and consistently testing the bottle to see if it is the right temperature or not. Instead, it will be the perfect temperature every time.
Preserve Nutrients In Breastmilk
This is ideal for mothers that choose to breastfeed. Breast milk can lose valuable vitamins and nutrients if it gets too hot. Even if you give the milk time to cool, the nutrients don’t come back.
This can defeat the purpose behind breastfeeding your baby. A bottle warmer will never overheat your breast milk, guaranteeing that your little one is as healthy as possible.
- SAFE & EASY WARMING: The Kozii baby bottle warmer creates a flowing warm water bath (NOT dangerous steam) to quickly and gently thaw and warm breast milk according to CDC and USDA guidelines.
- UNIVERSAL WARMING CHAMBER: Kozii’s warming chamber is designed for bags, pouches, bottles, and jars alike and it’s great for first-time moms. It’s gentle enough to thaw frozen breast milk and powerful enough to heat up pureed baby food.
- PRESERVES NUTRIENTS IN BREAST MILK: Kozii uses gentle heat to preserve the unique set of nutrients found in breast milk.
- WARMS MANY CONTAINERS & MATERIALS: Kozii can heat up virtually any reusable or disposable container including milk storage bags, milk pouches, baby bottles, food jars, or liner bottles.
Prices pulled from the Amazon Product Advertising API on:
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
Safety
Bottles that are too hot can be dangerous for both you and your baby. If you pick up a bottle that is too hot, the plastic portion of the bottle can scald your hands.
When testing the formula or milk, you may burn your wrist because it is too hot. While this is better than the baby being accidentally burned, it is still unpleasant and should be avoided.
If you don’t catch that the formula is too hot, your little one could get painful burns on the inside of their mouth.
Heating the bottle using other methods can also be unsafe. Pans of boiling water have to be moved carefully, all while listening to a baby scream.
If the bottle is accidentally dropped into the pan, the water can splash burning those nearby. When you invest in a bottle warmer, you’ll never be in an unsafe situation while heating a bottle again.
Sterilizer/Warmer Combos
There are bottle warmers on the market today that can double as both a bottle warmer and a sterilizer.
That means no more boiling bottle parts for five minutes or taking the chance on plastic parts melting in the dishwasher if the setting is not perfect, or they just so happen to fall into the bottom. Instead, you can put them in the bottle warmer/sterilizer, push a couple of buttons and your bottles are good to go.
- ✅ STERILIZATION: Balance bottles, nipples, pacifiers, and other small baby essentials on the steam rack.
- ✅ SMART AND SAFE: The lightweight portable bottle warmer is made of certified BPA-free materials, has auto-off safety features, and holds two full-sized baby bottles inside.
- ✅ DEVELOPED IN USA: CLIENT SATISFACTION. If you have any issue with your product, the manufacturer will provide all necessary assistance. Enjoy a super quality product with confidence. Become a user with no risk.
Prices pulled from the Amazon Product Advertising API on:
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
Efficient
Nothing beats the speed of a bottle warmer. Instead of wasting time checking the bottle or waiting on the water to heat up while you listen to your baby cry, you can trust that the bottle will be warm in a couple of minutes.
Usually, it takes this long just to get the water hot enough to heat the bottle, and that’s not including the time it takes for the bottle to heat up.
Bottle Warmer Cons
When considering is a bottle warmer necessary, it’s important to look at the disadvantages that go hand in hand with them. There is not a lot, but they’re a few things that parents need to keep in mind.
Temperature Problems
Some bottle warmers are known for getting too hot or not getting hot enough. If bottle warmers get too hot, they can kill nutrients in breast milk, and some have been found to melt plastic baby bottles due to temperature extremes.
View in gallery
Others have become known to not get hot enough, leaving you heating up your bottle the same way that you would without a baby bottle warmer.
Still Takes Time To Heat Up
Although bottle warmers are more efficient than warming a bottle using boiling water, they do still require a certain amount of time to heat up. It is not as simple as pushing a button and the bottle being done in five seconds flat.
Is A Bottle Warmer Necessary?
A bottle warmer is not necessary, but they are extremely convenient and highly recommended. Also, it can be necessary if you pick the perfect one.
Not only are they safer for both you and your baby, but they are also quicker. Picking up a combination bottle warmer that serves multiple purposes can save you loads of time, and we all know that is something that we need as parents.
To avoid the cons listed above, it’s important to make sure that your bottle warmer is carefully selected. If it is, and you find one that works for you and your household, it should be considered a necessity due to the wonderful advantages that it provides.
Read Reviews
Before purchasing a bottle warmer, or deciding is a bottle warmer necessary, do your research. Carefully consider customer reviews before clicking the add to cart button.
A plethora of negative reviews pertaining to melted bottles is a red flag that you should avoid that product. Also, you can see whether the bottle warmer will really benefit your life or not.
Don’t Just Stick With Amazon Reviews
Instead of sticking with Amazon reviews, do your research on your internet browser. This gives you a broader view of what other customers think of both the product and the brand.
Return Policy
Make sure to double-check the return policy on a bottle warmer before purchasing. If you aren’t happy with it, you can always return it for a full refund, providing the return policy states so.
Compatibility
While most bottle warmers are made to accommodate different bottles and different sizes, that doesn’t always ring true. Make sure that the bottle warmer you purchase will work for the bottles you already have.
If it doesn’t state whether it will in the product description, ask the company before purchasing.
- Easy-to-use LCD Control Panel features an easy-touch keypad plus a one-button start function
- Effectively warms several bottles before water refilling is necessary
- Audio and visual alerts let you know when warming cycle is complete
- Automatically shuts off after eight minutes plus features a cycle memory to repeat preferred heating time
Prices pulled from the Amazon Product Advertising API on:
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
Features
There are plenty of bottle warmers with really cool features out there. Some are designed specifically for breast milk, and others are created to warm more than one bottle at a time in case you have twins.
The sterilizer option that most of the larger ones come with can’t be beaten. Research the features available to find one that works well for you.
Size
Size is an important factor to consider, and I don’t just mean how many bottles you can warm at the same time. Consider the size so that you can sterilize more than one bottle at a time, and think about available counter space.
Bottle warmers are built for convenience, so make sure that it is still convenient when it is not in use.
Bottle Warmer Tips
If you are ready to purchase a bottle warmer and have finally determined an answer to is a bottle warmer necessary, keep these things in mind.
Practice First
Before your little one is hungry and you’re ready to make them a bottle, practice with the bottle warmer. Running a test bottle will let you know if there are temperature extremes if the warmer needs to be returned, and whether your bottle fits.
You should do this as soon as you take it out of the package.
Test The Temperature
Even if the practice run goes perfectly, it’s still important to test the temperature of the milk on your wrist before giving it to your baby. Temperature settings can vary, or they may get switched on accident. You should still take precautions when using these to make sure that your baby does not get burned.
If you are searching for a new bottle warmer, there are many on Amazon that gets the job done, including the one that I have and use daily.
