How to tell if you need a bottle warmer

Bottle warmers have a lot of benefits, and are ideal for making sure your baby’s milk is heated to the right temperature. Many types of bottle warmers will also fit jars of baby food, in addition to various sizes of baby bottles.

If you’re using formula, it’s unlikely you’ll need to use a bottle warmer since you’ll be making up each batch of formula fresh. There are more inexpensive ways to heat up milk, and this article will explore the benefits of a bottle warmer, as well as your alternative options.

Are you using formula? If so, you don’t, since it’s best to make formula fresh for each feed. Because formula isn’t sterile, it’s advised that you make it using water at 70 degrees Celsius and use it up within two hours.

Of course, if you’re using ready-to-use formula cartons, which can last up to five days in the fridge, you may want to warm the milk up before feeding your baby.

Whether you choose to use a bottle warmer depends on whether your baby wants heated milk, and how happy you are with just using a big jug of hot water to increase the milk’s temperature instead.

Generations of parents have successfully used the method of simply sticking the bottle of milk in a jug of warmed water for a few minutes, and this is still a viable alternative. It’s cheap, effective, and never breaks down or needs replacement!

You can save time and effort for night feeds by keeping some water hot in a thermos flask. You'll need to test the milk’s temperature by shaking a few drops onto the inside of your wrist. If it’s too hot, you just put it in a jug of cold water for a short time.

Also, your baby may not reject unheated milk, so there’s no need to assume they will. Babies don’t need to have their milk warmed, and some babies are happy to drink room-temperature or even cold milk.

Most bottle warmers will heat up one bottle of milk (or jar of baby food) at a time. Place the bottle in the centre of the bottle warmer, fill up around it with water, and turn the bottle warmer on. The element heats the water, which heats the bottle of milk. Most models have a light, which switches off when the milk reaches the right temperature, so that you don’t overheat the milk.