Table of Contents
Introduction
If you are not feeding your baby directly from the breast, you have to give your baby a bottle of pumped milk or formula. And when your baby cries because of hunger, you want to grab the bottle from the fridge. Then warm it up to the perfect temperature. That will mean your baby will take the milk well. If the bottle isn’t warm, then the baby will reject it, and that is the last thing you want to happen. You may warm it up, but you could also fear that the milk is not at the correct temperature. Warming the bottle so that all of the milk is at the right temperature is a concern. Let’s talk about warm up a baby bottle and whether it is essential to do so.
Is It Necessary To Warm Up The Bottle?
The answer to that depends on the storage of the milk. Babies don’t necessarily have to have warm milk. However, if the breastmilk or formula is at room temperature, that is perfect. You don’t want to risk overheating the milk that will burn your infant and turn into a feeding disaster. You do not want to worry about that. Now you are wondering how to get the milk to room temperature. The answer to that is straightforward. That also depends on whether you are taking a bottle from the fridge or the freezer to thawing breastmilk.
How To Warm Up A Baby Bottle From The Fridge
Whether you want to warm up formula or expressed breastmilk from the fridge, there is an easy way to do it. You do not require those expensive bottle warmers that you see at pharmacies or the infant care sections of Walmart or even toy stores. All you need is a small pot, mug, or bowl. Fill it up with hot water that is not boiling. Therefore, do not boil water before putting the bottles in the item that holds water. Just turn on the tap, and turn the water at the hot setting, and allow the water to run until it is hot enough to use.
Pour the hot water into the item to use to hold it, then place the bottle in it for about 15 minutes. Once the 15 minutes are up, you will want to test the temperature to ensure the milk is at room temperature. Squirt some milk onto your wrist, and then you can determine if the milk is at the correct temperature to feed your infant.
And you will likely wonder if you should put the leftover formula or breastmilk back into the fridge that your baby didn’t finish. That is never a good idea as you are best to pour the remaining formula or breastmilk down the drain of the sink. Bacteria and other microbes will end up growing on the leftover milk or formula because your baby’s saliva is inside of it. You will always want to start fresh. Now, you may wonder how to warm up breastmilk from the freezer. Let’s talk about that now.
How To Warm Up Frozen Breastmilk From The Freezer
You already know that if you pump a lot of breastmilk to place them into unique BPA-free storage bags for it to go into the freezer. If you pump breastmilk for use over the next three to six days, you can express the milk into bottles, and they can go into the fridge. You cannot keep breastmilk for longer than six days in the refrigerator, which is why the milk must go into those unique bags in the freezer.
If you need to use a freezer bag of breastmilk, you will want to take it out of the freezer the night before and place it into the fridge. Before you plan to use the milk, take the bag out of the refrigerator and put it on the kitchen counter. Allow it to sit on the counter for a half-hour, and that in itself will warm up the milk to room temperature. You will want to put the milk into the bottle and test the temperature on your wrist. You can always heat it for five minutes or slightly longer in a pot of hot water if the milk still feels cold.
Conclusion
You may have been under the impression that your baby wants a warm bottle of milk. However, the truth is that your infant likes to have their milk at room temperature as there is no need to make it too warm. Heating milk too much will only cause your infant to reject it if it is too hot. You do not require a fancy baby bottle warmer that you see on the shelves of infant care sections of drugstores or box stores.
You can use an old fashioned pot, bowl, or mug to put hot water into and then place the bottle in it. Or, you can thaw a bag of frozen breastmilk in the fridge overnight before allowing a serving to warm up to room temperature for a half-hour. That is all that is necessary when it comes to warming up the milk.