Heated milk or baby formula should be warm, but not hot. Use a high-end baby bottle warmer to warm a bottle’s content to body temperature, around 98.6 degrees. (BestReviews)
When you’ve got a hungry and crying baby on your hands, placing a baby bottle in a bowl of warm water isn’t always the quickest or most consistent way to heat milk. Enter baby bottle warmers that can heat up milk safely, swiftly and uniformly.
High-end baby bottle warmers heat up milk, formula and even baby food without overheating it. Some warmers rely on steam, while others use a warm bath method. The very best offer both heating options, such as Baby Brezza Safe + Smart Bottle Warmer.
High-end baby bottle warmers that use steam to warm the contents of a baby bottle are the quickest way to warm milk. They feature a water reservoir and a heating element beneath it to create the steam. The biggest perk of steam warmers is that they can warm milk in just a few minutes, but the downside is you have less control over the temperature. You'll need to shake the bottle or stir the baby food before giving it to your baby to prevent hotspots.
Also called gentle baby bottle warmers, warm bath warmers circulate low-temperature warm water around the bottle to gently heat its contents. It can take over 5 minutes to warm the bottle, but the slower speed prevents milk from overheating. When heating breast milk in particular, overheating can diminish its nutrient value. Using a warm bath warmer also heats the milk more evenly, though you still may want to shake the bottle before feeding, just in case.
For on-the-go heating, select a baby bottle warmer that operates on batteries. These are compact in size and their design is simple: screw the baby bottle directly into the unit. Be sure the portable unit provides an adapter for your bottle brand or you’ll be dealing with serious leakage. Ones that require an electrical outlet to operate can be used in households with limited countertop space.
Choose a baby bottle warmer with a universal warming chamber that can accommodate all different kinds and sizes of baby bottles on the market. If you prefer to use a particular brand’s feeding system, check to see if they offer a bottle warmer that will fit your preferred brand of bottle perfectly.
Many steam baby bottle warmers double as bottle, nipple and pacifier sterilizers. Some can also steam and puree food. These multifunctional warmers come at a premium price tag but also mean less clutter on your countertop.
The best baby bottle warmers come with multiple warming settings. A defrost setting can warm frozen breast milk bags. A quick-warm setting, found only on steam warmers, will heat up refrigerated or room-temperature milk in around 3 minutes. A stay-warm setting keeps milk at the heated temperature for up to 60 minutes, depending on the model.
Most high-end baby bottle warmers come with a timer with auto shut-off so you don’t have to worry about the milk overheating if you get distracted. Steam warmers with auto shut-off will automatically turn off when the water reservoir gets too low to protect the heating element from burning out.
If you’re heating up milk in the middle of the night, an LED screen can be read in the dark or low light and makes new parenting a little easier. Plus, warmers featuring LED screens often include easy-to-use, one-touch controls.
Top-of-the-line baby bottle warmers offer an app for your smartphone so you can operate the unit from a different room and be alerted on your phone when your bottle is heated.
Expect to pay $50-$100 for a high-end baby bottle warmer.
A. Baby bottle warmers can have audio or visual alarms. A visual alarm features a light that goes on when the bottle is warmed. An audio alarm sounds an alert when the bottle has reached the right temperature.
A. Some warmers need to be cleaned every day, while others can go several days before cleaning. Check the manufacturer's instructions to find out how often you should clean a unit. Warmers with water chambers can grow mildew and mold, so be sure to periodically and thoroughly wash and dry each component.
Baby Brezza Safe + Smart Bottle Warmer: available at Buy Buy Baby
Our take: A baby bottle warmer that uses steam when you're in a hurry and a warm bath for breast milk.
What we like: This combination warmer has a "quick warm" function for steam heat and a "steady warm" function for gentle warming. This model offers separate settings for heating different kinds of milk and food. The warmer can be controlled from an app or using the LCD screen.
What we dislike: A minority of consumers find the milk is either under- or overheated.
Chicco Digital Bottle & Baby Food Warmer: available at Buy Buy Baby and Amazon
Our take: A bottle and food warmer with nifty features and a lower price tag.
What we like: The settings allow you to select your starting temperature: frozen, refrigerated or room temperature. The basket insert makes it easy and safe to remove bottles and jars.
What we dislike: This warmer can be a little on the slow side.
Kiinde Kozii Breastmilk Warmer and Bottle Warmer: available at Amazon and Buy Buy Baby
Our take: A top choice for gently warming breast milk.
What we like: This warmer uses a low-temperature bath to heat up bottles and breast milk bags. The large chamber can accommodate wider baby bottles. The timer with auto shut-off ensures you won't overheat milk. The water bath won't diminish the nutrient value of breast milk.
What we dislike: The defrost settings may need to run twice to defrost frozen milk and food. Ana Sanchez is a writer for BestReviews. BestReviews is a product review company with a singular mission: to help simplify your purchasing decisions and save you time and money.
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