Newbie - Insulated bottle pockets?

[georgiegirlmi]

I have a 6 week old and I'm trying to put together a diaper bag for daily use. My mind is spinning on all of these choices, and I'm not sure what to do.

I really like a couple of different bags, but neither one offers an insulated bottle pocket, which I think I need in my day to day bag.

Do stores sell insulated sleeves or something to keep the bottles cool/warm? What can I use as a substitute to keep bottles the right temperature in my diaper bag?

[Momof3Labs]

I've never found insulated pockets to be that effective. If I want to keep something cold, I carry a small soft cooler (sized to hold two bottles) with a small ice pack in it. I haven't had to keep anything warm, but wouldn't you do better just warming a bottle when you need it rather than trying to keep it warm on the go? Even better, work with your babe to accept bottles that are room temp or even cold (both of our boys have had no problems with EBM right out of the fridge).

[scarletsmommy]

I don't have any of these, but have read several posts about this topic and this is what I have gathered.

JuJuBe has insulated pockets on all their bags in addition to selling bottle rockets and sippy rockets and other accessories
www.ju-ju-be.com

Some Fleurville bags come with an insulted pouch for bottles. I am pretty sure that the mothership and the sling tote come with one.
www.fleurville.com

Hope this Helps!

[patti_b]

I don't recommend the bottle cooler that comes with the Sling Tote. It is HUGE and takes up 1/3 of the inside. It's too big for 1 bottle and too small for 2. For the life of me I can't figure out why they would make it like that. I've been using another cooler with it.

Does anyone actually use the Fleurville cooler?

[amiemarie7]

i agree with everyone. fleurville bottle holder is huge and a waste, you could get a little 2 bottle cooler and ice packs instead which is a safe idea. and also, not now, but when my dd was 6 months old she drank cold bottles which was great since i never had to worry about warming anything.

now we always needed a bottle cooler since my dd only drank ready to feed but if you use powder, here is what i would suggest. i never did it but i know others who did. get a thermos. i paid like $45 on ebay for a new 16 oz and a 25 oz nissan thermos (which i would highly recommend)since i wasnt sure what i would need. take whatever type of water you use for bottles and warm it to either the correct temp for bottles. then put some empty bottles in your bag along with the thermos. then use those little formula travel containers for the powder. when making the bottle just use the water in the thermos which should still be the right temp. if you are going on a long trip you can almost fill the bottle with regular temp water, then fill the thermos with really hot water, then when needing a bottle take the hot water and pour a little in the baby bottles already filled of water to get the correct temp. there are a million ways to do it so you just have to experiment. its just easier to do this than worry about the formula being cold enough or going bag. hth

[patti_b]

Someone on the babybags board just recommended these bottle bags. The cooling gel is integrated into the bag. I just ordered both the 2 and 4 bottle bags.
http://www.buybuybaby.com/shopping/prod_detail/main.asp?uid=DA7E6957-32B7-4DB5-B455-5B678DEB75D3-14829776&search=innercool&stype=ANY&sl=&modelNumber=undefined&advSearchCat=undefined&brand=undefined&minprice=undefined&maxprice=undefined&productID=169935
http://www.buybuybaby.com/shopping/prod_detail/main.asp?uid=DA7E6957-32B7-4DB5-B455-5B678DEB75D3-14829776&search=innercool&stype=ANY&sl=&modelNumber=undefined&advSearchCat=undefined&brand=undefined&minprice=undefined&maxprice=undefined&productID=169936

[SammyeGail]

Hi! Those sound great, what did the person recommending them have to say about them? I would love something like this.

Samantha

[patti_b]

Not much, really. Just that that's what they got. When I get mine I'll provide some feedback.

[SammyeGail]

I'll keep a lookout for it, thanks!!

Samantha

[JustMare]

I have to say with baby #2 coming I plan to do bottles completely different this time around! With my son, he liked the powdered formula cold from the fridge. I was also using Dr. Brown's bottles and you cannot shake formula in them. I had to make his formula by the pitcher. I had no choice but to carry an extra cooler bag with ice packs. This time I'm going to do the room temp water and shake the formula method. Less to carry, don't have to worry how cold the bottles are and you can always carry extra formula and purchase water on the go while your out.

Just something to think about....

[patti_b]

Okay, I got these Baby Wise InnerCool bottle bags and tried them out and I'm not at all impressed. I froze them overnight and did a test with a thermometer and comparing them to others that I have. One that I compared it to is this Fridge-to-Go (the Mini-Fridge 6, which is 6 pack sized) that I got at Bed Bath & Beyond, and it is much better:
http://www.fridge-to-go.us/index.htm

I started with 42 degree water in bottles in all the bags, house temp about 76. After 2 hours, the InnerCool was 49 degrees and after 4 hours was 60 degrees, after 5 hours 65 degrees. The water in the Fridge-to-Go actually went DOWN to 39 degrees and stayed that temp for 5 hours. Now at 6 hours it's at 42 degrees. They claim they cool for 8 hours, which is certainly doable given where its at after 6 hours.

I ordered the InnerCool b/c I thought the 4 bottle one would be smaller than the Fridge-to-Go, but it's actually a little bigger and holds less. I also did not realize that the Fridge-to-Go comes in a smaller sizes until I was looking it up to post the link here. So, hands down, the Fridge-to-Go is the one to get. Now that I know they have one and two bottle ones, I'll be ordering them and sending the InnerCool ones back.

The free Enfamil bottle bag with dry ice in it also worked better than the InnerCool. It was 58 degrees after 5 hours.

Patti

[SammyeGail]

Pattie,
Thank you so much for your information. I plan to check them out at Bed, Bath and Beyond tomorrow, got a 20% off coupon burning a hole in my pocket!!

Samantha

[MNmomtobe]

Had to say THANK YOU to Patti for writing a review of these fridge to go coolers. I got one to put DD's bottles in for daycare. They are really great and stay very cold for hours! I only wish they had a bottle shaped one for the diaper bag. Thanks again! :)

[patti_b]

Glad I could help! It really works great. I don't know why I tried to improve on a good thing.

Patti

[patti_b]

Hi,

BRU now has this "Baby Fridge". It's under the Playtex brand name, but has the same Fridge to Go logo and works the same as the bigger one I reviewed earlier. It's more like a lunch box, as it opens wide rather than from the top, but you can put 2 Avent bottles in it and keep it upright. Or you can put a sandwich and ziplocs of carrot, grapes, etc. in it, so it would work as a school/MDO lunch box. I found it by the bottles, not the coolers. For size perspective, it will fit in the middle of a Sling Tote and takes up about 2/3 of that space width/depth-wise, but you could fit something on top or underneath it.

EDITED TO ADD: Need to clarify, the one at BRU looks like this baby fridge & has similar pockets, except that it zips around the wide way rather than from the top. It's like a combination of the lunch fridge (second link) and baby fridge.

http://www.fridge-to-go.us/Baby%20Fridge.htm
http://www.fridge-to-go.us/Lunch%20Fridge.htm

Patti