Baby Bottle Warmers
For Baby Bottles, a Bottle Warmer is a
Must
Are you planning to use or supplement with formula or pumped
breast milk when your baby arrives? If so, you may have already started wondering about the best
strategy to use for warming bottles. In this article, we discuss the pros and cons of three bottle
warming techniques -- the microwave, hot water, and baby bottle warmers. Many caregivers use the microwave to warm up
bottles. Although microwaves are convenient, owned in
most households, and take only about a minute to warm a bottle, they are not the best choice for bottle
warming.
That's because experts warn that microwaves can cause "hot spots" in which parts of the milk
gets extremely hot. You may have noticed this phenomena when warming up leftovers -- it is very difficult to ensure
that the microwave warms evenly. This can be a problem when giving a bottle to a baby, because
it's important to take great care so as to not burn the baby's mouth.
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Secondly, there is some research that suggests that
microwaves can destroy valuable nutrients in pumped breast milk or formula. This is probably
not because of the microwave itself, but rather due to the excessive heating that is difficult
to avoid in a microwave. Heating to excess breaks down proteins and nutrients, meaning that
your baby is not getting the recommended level of nutrition.
Another option for caregivers is to simply submerse a bottle in a container
of hot water to gently warm it. Although this is less dangerous than a microwave, it is usually
insufficient to completely warm the milk. In addition, it takes a long time and sometimes
repeated applications of warm water to warm a bottle.
For caregivers looking for a better option than either the microwave or hot
water, a bottle warmer is the recommended choice. A
bottle warmer is a device that plugs in to the wall to deliver gentle heat to warm one or
several bottles at a time. Bottles can be prepared in an instant with the push of a
button.
But unlike a microwave, a bottle warmer is specially designed to ensure that
the milk is never heated high enough to burn the baby's mouth or destroy valuable
nutrients.
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Many bottle warmers perform double duty as warmers
for baby food when your baby is a little bit older, making them a very smart buy. Since baby foods are even more
difficult to warm safely and evenly in a microwave, and impossible to heat in hot water, a bottle warmer is truly a
must. In addition, frozen pumped breast milk can also be warmed in mere minutes.
For the best bottle warmer buy, look for a warmer with additional features, such as adjustable
controls for heating larger or smaller containers. Some warmers can also be plugged in while in a car, making them
very convenient for busy, on-the-go parents. Finally, for a multiple birth, look for a warmer that can handle more
than one bottle at a time for extra convenience.
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