Do I need a bottle warmer?

[kels228]

Hi,
I registered for a Bottle Warmer because I assumed I'd need one. My sister says it's completely unnecessary. I don't really understand why. If the bottle is in the fridge, wouldn't it be easier to stick it in a bottle warmer instead of heating it up in a pan, figuring out how long, etc.? If money wasn't an issue, would you get one? Also, which brands are good? I will be using Avent bottles. I had registered for the Avent bottle warmer but it got lousy reviews on amazon.com. Will a different brand hold these bottles? Thanks!



Kathleen
Due 11/9/03

[flagger]

I think the First Years will hold Avents.

However, we actually returned ours because DD will take a bottle straight from the fridge. Especially now in the heat of the summer.

I find it just as quick to heat a mug of water for 30 seconds and then stick the bottle in there for 30 seconds to a minute if she fusses over a really cold bottle.

You might never take it out of the package. It really all depends on your baby.

[jal]

I own the Avent bottle warmer and I just looked at the reviews for it.

Where the reviews are correct is that it does not have an on/off switch. You MUST plug and unplug the unit each time you want to use it.

Where the reviews are also correct is that it is VERY easy to get a bottle too hot.

Where the reviews go wrong are the ones that say it is too slow or that "you can get the same results running it under hot water". That quote is an absolute lie. Using hot water from the tap will take forever (and lots of hot water) to warm a bottle.

You will also notice that many of the reviewers who said they were taking it back also said they were just going to use the microwave (which of course is a big no-no if you've been reading the literature).

A bottle warmer is NOT a necessity. But when you want to QUICKLY warm a bottle, that's were the Avent warmer is great because it warms the water very quickly.

But like the reviews stated, you pretty much have to watch the bottle and sort of learn how to use it (the times listed on the side of the warmer are pretty much meaningless unless you have the exact amount of water with the exact container filled to the same level, blaa, blaa, blaa. I have found the only save way to walk away from the warmer is to set it to a level just below the '1' position ('3' being the higg point). At that level, it will take 10-15 minutes to warm a bottle, but it will maintain that "warm" (and not too hot) level until the water evaporates.

[Marisa6826]

We have the Avent one and it serves its purpose adequately. The thing that sucks about it is that it doesn't have the on/off switch and it can easily warm the milk too much.

We INTENTIONALLY only take the chill off the bottle - NOT get the milk warm. That way, when I'm out and about with Sophie she doesn't protest over a cool bottle.

It's honestly just as easy to warm a half a mug of water in the microwave and let the bottle sit in that. Alternatively, you can get one of those big thermoses with the pushbotton top, fill it once a day, and use that for instant hot water.

There are several parents that give bottles straight from the fridge. If you start the babe that way, s/he won't ever know the difference.

My feeling is that **I** don't like stuff cold straight out of the fridge, so why would Sophie? Try explaining brain freeze to a hungry newborn! :)

Oh. Try checking out the new Philips warmer. It's supposed to warm to EXACTLY room temp and no more. I believe it's $30 at sears.com. We have the Philips monitor and love it!

Good luck

-m

[C99]

Back in the days when Nate would take a bottle, I didn't own a bottle-warmer and didn't care (and money wasn't a particular issue at the time either). We'd just put a mug of water in the microwave for about 30 seconds and then stuck the bottle of EBM into the mug and let it sit for about a minute.


HTH