Last updated: December 2, 2023
Feeding your baby during the first few months of life can be quite a challenging experience. Whether you have decided to breastfeed vs formula feed, or are supplementing with formula, or mixing formula and breast milk together, all types of baby feeding come with obstacles.
One such challenge will be the moment when you need to be out and about with your baby, and you want to warm a bottle for feeding. Some babies are the type that go with the flow (so to speak).
But, you also have the precious souls who need to have their milk at the exact right temperature, otherwise they are not drinking it! This was definitely a common issue I ran into as a mom of 3 who bottle fed my twins.
In this post I am sharing how to warm a bottle on the go with four different options to choose from. We will also review the ideal baby bottle temperature and how to keep bottles warm when out and about.
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How To Warm A Baby Bottle
It must be noted that, in general, babies do not need warm milk. However, if you are prepping bottles beforehand and they are coming out of the fridge, you are going to want to make sure they are warmed.
Whether you are breastfeeding or formula feeding, you can heat the milk in basically the same way. The three easiest options are as follows:
- Place bottle in a container with warm water
- Run the bottle under hot tap water
- Use a bottle warmer
I also want to note that if you are using frozen breast milk, it is important to let it thaw first before using the heating methods from above. A good tip while warming a bottle is to swirl the milk around in the bottle in order to get even and consistent heat throughout the milk.
How To Warm a Bottle On The Go
At some point in time you are going to want to venture out of the house with your newborn baby. You will likely need to bottle feed your newborn baby during your excursion. But, you need keep the milk cold so it doesn’t spoil.
Let’s dive right in to review the best options that parents have when they need warm a baby bottle when out and about. From portable bottle warmers to more traditional ways for warming bottles there are a few different choices. Here is how to warm a baby bottle on the go.
1 – Use a Portable Bottle Warmer
If the milk is cold many babies will not want to drink it. All three of my babies were like this, even though I tried to get them to like their formula or breast milk cold.
One answer is to this problem is to get yourself a really good quality travel or portable bottle warmer, which is easy to cart with you wherever you go. There are many on the market, if you scroll down a little bit you will find my list of the best portable bottle warmers available today.
2 – Thermos That Fits Baby Bottle
If you have a thermos that fits your baby bottle, this is probably the easiest and most convenient way to keep the bottle warm. Using this method is very similar to using an actual portable bottle warmer.
The way it would work is to put hot water into the canister of the thermos. When you need to warm a formula or breastmilk bottle, just insert it into the thermos until the bottle contents are warm enough for your baby to drink it.
3 – Use Hot Water From A Bathroom Sink
This is two-fold. You can either hold the baby bottle under running hot tap water or take an extra container with you and fill it with hot water from the tap. Then, place the bottle of milk in the container until it is heated to the right temperature.
4 – Let Bottle Sit Out At Room Temperature
The easiest and less hassle when it comes to getting the baby milk bottle to the desired temperature for your little one is to simply leave the bottle to reach room temperature. This is, after all, the best temperature for the milk.
This may not always work if the bottle is extremely cold (just removed from the fridge). But, if you time it right, it will work most of the time.
What Temperature Should a Baby Bottle Be?
Now that you know the different ways in which you can warm breast milk or formula bottles for your baby, it is nice to have a guideline of what the ideal temperature of the milk should be.
A good rule of thumb is to make sure the milk is body temperature or not exceeding 98 degF. If you must be precise you can use a touchless infrared thermometer to check the temperature of the milk.
Or, you can use the tried and tested method of using the inside of your wrist! All you need to do is dribble a few drops of the warmed milk on your wrist, and if it is too cold just warm it up for a little longer. If it is too hot, just let it cool for a bit or run the bottle under cold water.
How To Keep a Baby Bottle Warm On The Go
You now have a lot of knowledge on how to warm bottles on the go. But what about heating a bottle at home, before you leave the house? You would then keep it warm until it was needed.
If you want to keep a bottle warm, then you can put it in a insulated bottle bag. This would be used once you have already warmed the bottle and you want to keep it warm. But do keep in mind, once warm, formula or breast milk only lasts for 2 hours.
The Best Portable Bottle Warmers
Since one of your best options for warming baby bottles on the go is to use a portable bottle warmer, I thought it would be helpful to give you my top choices for the best quality ones. Check out the list below.
1 – Tommee Tippee Travel Bottle Warmer
The Tommee Tippee Travel Bottle Warmer is one of the best on the market. As they say, “it can be a lifesaver”, especially when you just need to get out the house so that you can feel a little bit of normality. Some of the benefits and use of this particular travel bottle warmer include:
- Multi-use: it can be used to warm formula milk, breast milk, and baby food. It grows with your baby’s ever-changing needs.
- The thermal flask keeps water warm and therefore it is not necessary to use any external water sources.
- Extremely portable and convenient because it fits perfectly into your diaper bag.
- BPA-free and safe for your baby.
Papablic Mini Portable Bottle Warmer
The Papablic Mini Portable Bottle Warmer has similar features to some of the other warmers on our list, the subtle difference is the size is slightly smaller than others. Let’s review some more features of this warmer.
- Lightweight and compact
- Watertight seal
- Thermal flask stores hot water and keeps it warm for an entire day.
- Can be used to heat formula, breast milk and baby food.
Baby’s Brew Bottle Warmer
The Baby’s Brew Bottle Warmer is known as the world’s first battery operated bottle warmer. An amazing innovation.
This bottle warmer really does take warming baby’s milk to the next level and boasts some amazing benefits and features as well as a host of additional and optional items to go along with it.
We love the design of this one with its cute bunny ear lid. Let’s see some of the features of the Baby’s Brew Bottle Warmer.
- Special feature for breast milk bottles that warms bottles to as close to body temperature as possible.
- Formula milk bottles also need to be warmed to a certain temperature, but not exceed 98 degF because you want to retain the nutrients contained in the formula.
- Leak proof
- Stylish sleek look
- Has various temperature selections depending on what you are heating.
- Easy to store and fits perfectly in any diaper bag
- 8 to 12 hour battery life
Now that you know how to warm a bottle on the go, it’s time to decide which methods works best for you and your family.
Parents choices for warming bottles on the go has come a long way. Some important things to remember when investing in a travel bottle warmer is to make sure your baby’s bottles can fit in the warmer, that it is compact and easy to use, and that it works for your family, especially the little human who needs his or her milk just right!
It is equally important to note that you do not need to necessarily buy the most expensive product. There are quite a few options. Best part of all, now that you know about these amazing products, you do not need to be stuck at home until your bundle of joy decides to no longer drink milk. Good luck on the many adventures that await you and your baby.
