wipe warmers and bottle warmers?

[ctsiouts]

anyone have any good suggestions for a wipe warmer? i wasn't even planning on buying one but my brother in law insisted that they are a must have... i'm not sure what to think!

also, if i need a bottle warmer, which kind would you recommend?

thanks in advance

christy
edd aug 7 2002

[dominodong]

We have a six month old son & have never needed either.

Our son was born in the middle of winter, and we never warmed our wipes. It just wasn't a problem. You can scrunch them up in your hand for a few seconds to warm them a little with your body heat, if you like, but the baby never seemed to care about the temperature. I think I read that wipe warmers have been known to cause fires, too?

I mainly breastfeed our son, but dad gives him a bottle several times a week. From the start we gave him the bottle cool, right from the fridge, and he didn't mind. The best part is that it takes less time to get a bottle ready if you don't have to warm it. When your baby is crying, every second seems like an eternity, and you want the bottle RIGHT NOW. Even the fastest warmers take a few minutes to work.

Another option: A lot of my friends just use hot tap water to warm bottles. That works pretty well.

By the way, you probably know this, but the one thing you never want to do is use a microwave to warm a bottle, since it (1) destroys some of the valuable properties of breast milk (if you're breastfeeding) and (2) heats unevenly, which can cause burns.

Good luck with your new baby!

[ct]

I also don't think wipe warmers are necessary and have also heard of fires being caused by them. When I was breastfeeding I did without a bottle warmer and once I weaned my DD to a bottle I tried to get along without one, but the time it took to heat a bottle in warm water was just too long for me. I did initially try giving DD unheated breastmilk/formula and it made her scream, so no luck there for me. I tried the Avent warmer (as I use the Avent bottles) but it leaked all over my counter, so I returned it. Instead I bought the Safety 1st Dusk to Dawn Bottle warmer and have liked it - no problems at all. I did eventually decide (due to our water quality - well) to get a Culligan water cooler with hot and cold dispensers. This is AWESOME for making formula. I simply put half hot water and half cold water from the cooler into the bottle and added the powder and instantly had a warm bottle with no heating time at all. If anyone drinks a lot of bottled water anyway (or plans to use it for baby), I highly recommend the Culligan water cooler. When at home I used the water cooler to make bottles and on trips I brought my Safety 1st bottle warmer. Best of luck to you...

ct

[luvbeinmama]

I agree with the others. Don't bother with the wipe warmer. My son was also born in the winter (January) and I've never used one. He doesn't seem to care. Besides, it's one less thing to worry about baby getting into (cords).

I did use an avent bottle warmer (a gift) when we were switching to formula, but just to warn you, it takes a good 6-8 minutes to warm up the formula!! I only used it for pre-prepared formula, though. When I used powdered formula I did warm up the WATER in the microwave and then added the powder. I figured all the mixing you are doing to get the powder mixed in eliminated any nasty hot spots, and I never had a problem with that. Plus I had to warm the water in a cup since my bottle was too tall to fit into my small microwave, and then transfer the water to the bottle. I would say, try it without the warmer first. If your baby absolutely will not take the cold milk/formula, THEN go get a warmer. Anything to make your life a little bit easier!

[KathyO]

Ditto on the wipe warmer. Hasn't been necessary, adds another cord to keep baby out of (good point), and takes up valuable space on the change table.

I breastfed too, but when we did finally switch to formula, I used water from the kettle on the stove to make it up. I drink tea in the mornings, so I'd add extra water to the kettle when I filled it. By the time I needed the water for formula, it would have cooled down to warmish, and from there to room temperature later on. The water would have been boiled within the last 24 hours, so no germ issues!

Cheers,

KathyO

[Rachels]

Sorry to dissent, but I actually like the wipe warmer. It was the saving grace for us because until we got it our baby would scream when we changed her diaper. I have the Prince Lionheart one. I unplug it if we are going to be away from the house for too long, but I check pretty often and the shelf it sits on has never gotten warm at all. My daughter doesn't seem to mind cold wipes much anymore, but when she was first born, she really hated them.

[tarheelmom]

OK, I'll throw in my 2 cents and say that we have loved our wipes warmer. We had heard that especially for boys they were a necessity (the cold wipe can trigger a "shower"). We got the Prince Lionhart one at Target where the heating element is in the top. I can't remember the name now, but I think it's something about Mother. I have a standard changing table and bought a little plastic caddy thing that hooks over the end (also made my Prince Lionhart). It holds a stack of diapers, and has an area for the wipes that the wipes warmer clips into. Our baby is 1 year old on August 7th, and we still use the warmer. It was well worth the small amount of money we paid for it and we have NEVER had any problems with it. Good luck with your upcoming delivery!

[suzska]

Don't have the wipe warmer. The stories of them catching on fire frightened me.

Did use a bottle warmer for a while--The First Years' one, Night and Day I think it's called. We were using Ready-to-Feed Formula (first-time, sleep-deprived parents who didn't want to figure out the powdered stuff, I guess). I do wish I had bought it sooner. And I do wish I had an extra ice-pack (to keep the bottles cold at night--I would often forget to put it back in the freezer in the morning). We just used it for those late night feedings when we didn't want to walk downstairs. By the time I changed Evan's diaper the bottle was pretty much warmed up. During the day we would just heat some water in the microwave in a Pyrex measuring cup (can't remember--I think 1/2 cup for 75 seconds?) and then place the bottle in the measuring cup on the counter for 3-4 minutes. FYI: this one says it will take all bottles (including Avent). We were using standard Gerber bottles--my son didn't like the Avent ones.

[Melanie]

We also used the top-down wipe warmer (I believe the ones that caught fire were a different style/brand) from Target. I have seen a new one which actually works like a wipe box so that the wipes pop-up, ours isn't so sometimes they stick together. My little guy also screamed through early diaper changes so it was nicer for him. We have an open-shelf style changing table and it hooked right on.

I used the First Years Quick Serve Bottle Warmer. When my son is hungry, he's HUNGRY. He is a BF baby, so we rarely use it, so I can't speak to durability. Once you get the hang of how much water to put in, it's great.

Mommy to Jonah

[tovachanah]

i bought the prince lionheart warmer but it cooked my wipes and i started fearing it was a fire hazard so i unplugged it. my baby has not noticed the difference.

you may want a bottle warmer though to take the chill out of a fresh-from-the-fridge bottle. be careful they may overheat the bottle.after a a ltiitle experimentation you will learn how much water to put in.

i bought the first years standard bottle warmer.

[egoldber]

I would offer the bottle cold initially to see if your baby cares. Some babies don't. My DD never cared whether or not her bottle was warm or not. She has gotten all beverages at all temps, breastmilk warm from mommy :) , breastmilk cold from the fridge, just made warm formula, formula cold from the fridge (I make it in 30 oz batches, once a day or so, and keep it in the fridge) or the cooler.

I've never used a wipe warmer.

HTH,

[tovachanah]

i also make formula in batch 32 oz of water and 16 scoops of formula

firststepahead has a paddle mixer i am interested in just to make it easier

btw: one of the ways i have found to discourage telemarketers is this
i was making up the next day's batch of bottles when a telemarketer called. i was counting out scoops of powder and he found it so annoying he hung up.

he kept saying 'i see you're busy'
me: oh no just a second and i'll be w/ you 5,6,7 etc
tm: i'll call back later
me: no i'll be w/ you in a sec. 8,9, 10
tm: click

[egoldber]

FYI, most formula cans have a "recipe" on the side for large batches. For Enfamil (what we use), the recipe is 29 oz of water for 1 level household measuring cup of formula. This makes about 31 ounces of formula. I use my blender which works wonderfully for getting smooth formula with no lumps.

HTH,

[megsmom]

I ended up getting a bottle warmer because after about 2-3 weeks of my daughter taking cold and lukewarm bottles, she would only take warmed formula. Due to post partum depression and low milk supply issues, I ended up weaning my daughter to a bottle early and possibly she missed warmed milk from Mom, I don't know. It was often a pain to have to do this extra step (especially when your little one is screaming), but we found the bottle warmer (we got the first years one) to be a nice extra since I almost burnt the house down with forgetting water on the stove.

On the topic of mixing formula, I have found a pitcher I ordered at a pampered chef party to be the handiest way to mix up formula. It mixes up the powder great by plunging the handle in the lid up and down and I can leave mixed formula in the pitcher in the fridge to store. It's easy to mix it up when I want to make a bottle.

I don't think my daughter has ever cared about the wipes temp so I would save my $$ there. Someone got me a warmer as a shower gift but most of the time I didn't even have it plugged in so it was just a dispensor.

[tovachanah]

similac (which we use) also has a recipe but it didn't make enough so we just started making it in a big measuring cup w/ a wisk.

i called the similac folks and asked if there was a recipe but they said at that volume the only one was the one i used - 32 oz of water w/ 16 scoops of powder - since their bulk recipes are all in metric.

what i do w/ the bottle warmer is this. i put the bottle in the warmer when i before i change her and that way the bottle is warm when i'm done and there is very little down time.


like i said in my original post - i discontinued the warmer because
1. it cooked my wipes
2. i feared it was a fire hazard:)

[egoldber]

Not sure how old your baby is, but Sarah "maxed out" on formula consumption at about 6 months. At that time she was probably taking 35-40 ounces day (five 8 ounce bottles). After that, her formula consumption went down pretty significantly, down to about 24 ounces a day at 9 months. These days, I offer four 6 ounce bottles a day and she never finishes them. So a "recipe" lasts us about a day and a half.

I always used to lose count when counting out scoops, so the recipe was the only way I could make in bulk :) . I could never get the formula "lump-free" without using the blender (which I already had) and preferred to use rather than buying something else like one of those pitchers with the paddle mixer. One "recipe" fits very nicely in a Rubbermaid quart container, which takes up very little room in the fridge.