There are fast and safe ways to warm up a baby’s milk bottle while on the go. This includes using a portable travel bottle warmer or setting the bottle in warm water. You can pour the water into the plastic bowl and set the milk bottle into it for some time to allow it to heat up.
As a pumping mother, you must heat the breast milk before feeding your baby. This is because pumped-out milk is always preserved in cold places such as refrigerators, making it unsuitable for immediate consumption.
But you don’t have to worry since warming up a baby bottle on the go is relatively easy if you prepare in advance. This article covers how to quickly and efficiently warm up baby bottles in public, reasons for warming bottles, and other tips you need.
Find out more below.
Ways to Warm Up Baby Bottles in Public
Below are some tips to help warm your baby’s bottle easily outside the home.
#1. – Go with freshly boiled water
You won’t bother asking around if you have a high-quality vacuum flask or baby thermos. Firstly you can heat the formula with the water in the baby thermos. And secondly, you can mix the boiled water and formula just before feeding the infant. That’s why carrying pre-boiled water in a separate flask is important.
#2. – Get a portable bottle warmer
A portable bottle warmer like this one is specially made to easily and safely warm up bottles on the go. It requires no electricity to function. Moreover, there are bottle warmer designed for cars. So if you are away from home, it is easier to warm up your baby’s bottle in your car.
#3. – Carry a Yoomi self-warming bottle or hot hand warmers
Yoomi baby bottles heat the milk to the perfect temperature in 60 seconds. It is very efficient and vital for trips or outdoor experiences.
On the other hand, HotHands are odorless, disposable, and secure heated hand warmers. Simply remove them from the packet, shake them, and allow them to warm up slowly. You can use this to gently warm the formula before feeding it to your baby.
#4. – Ask for hot water
If you are in a convenience shop or eating in a restaurant, you can ask for a cup of hot water. Ask for a cup at least half full and big enough to accommodate the formula bottle. Then you place the bottle into the cup carefully.
On the plane, many cabin workers warm baby bottles, but before your flight, confirm with the airport or tour organizer.
#5. – Carry ready-to-feed formula
With a ready-to-feed formula, you don’t have to worry about mixing or sterilizing as it has already been done. All you have to do is use the water in your thermos to achieve the ideal temperature.
Reasons Why You Should Warm Up Baby Bottles
Firstly, heating bottles is a matter of preference. But there are important reasons to warm a baby’s bottle, especially when it contains a baby formula.
Killing of germs in formulas
Firstly, hot water kills germs in the formula powder. That’s why it’s advisable to prepare a fresh bottle always for formula-feeding babies. Also, while older babies tolerate lukewarm or cold formula, younger newborns prefer warm ones.
Achieving body temperature in preserved breast milk
Secondly, breast milk is usually as warm as the body temperature, up to 98.6 º F or 37 º C. But while extracting your breast milk, the liquid will lose its warmth necessitating artificial warming. Moreover, some mums usually preserve their breast milk in the fridge; hence, they must warm the bottle to attain the body temperature before bottle feeding their babies.
Boosting digestion
Another critical reason to warm baby bottles is to aid digestion. Babies use energy to heat cold milk in their stomachs. But when the milk is warm, babies digest more easily. Moreover, parents discovered that warmed milk reduces the chances of stomachaches for babies.
Note this; Always use a glass or BPA-free bottle when warming your baby’s bottle. You don’t want chemicals in baby food. The goal is to warm the milk bottle rather than to heat it. Too-high temperatures cause milk to lose its natural enzymes and immunizing qualities.
So, try to raise the temperature gradually to achieve the average body temperature rather than trying to “heat” the bottle. This temperature preserves the milk’s precious nutrients and prevents the burning of the baby’s mouth.
Frequently Asked Questions – FAQs
Does breast milk or formula have to be warm?
Although breast milk doesn’t have to be warm, most newborns like it warm. Your baby will likely reject it if the milk hasn’t been warmed to an adequate and comfortable temperature. By that, you might have problems feeding your baby when on the road.
Also, warming up the formula is necessary for sterilization. You aren’t just heating the bottle to your little ones’ satisfaction but also for his/her safety.
How do you heat a bottle without a bottle warmer?
When there’s no bottle warmer around you, you only need a bowl or cup of warm water. Just place the bottle in the water for up to 15mins.
How do you heat a baby bottle without a microwave?
Don’t warm bottles in the microwave. It can result in uneven heating that can burn a baby’s mouth. You can use a baby bottle warmer or a hot hand warmer instead.
Is the perfect temperature the same for both breast milk and formula?
A mother’s body naturally produces breast milk at about 37°C/99°F temperature. So, preparing a bottle for the baby should be about the same temperature, whether it’s iced breast milk or formula.
