How Do I Warm a Bottle?

Question

Answer

Bottles can be served cold, or they can be gently warmed. An infant who is normally breastfed is probably going to like the bottle a lot better if it's mom’s temperature, so you warm refrigerated bottles. When you start to prepare it, the bottle should not be sitting out on the counter and should not be at room temperature. First, you take the bottle from the refrigerator. The easiest and safest way to warm a bottle is in an appliance that is designed to warm bottles. Another way is to just use hot tap water. The maximum temperature for tap water in an early childhood setting is 120 degrees Fahrenheit. If the water is hotter than that, you have a risk of burns for children. You can put hot tap water in a container such as a large, two-cup measuring glass or measuring cup.  Fill the container with hot tap water, then place the bottle in that container for about five minutes so it will gently warm the bottle. After the bottle is warmed, either in the appliance or in a cup of water, remove it and dry it with a paper towel that you can throw away. Dry the bottle completely so that you're not dripping water onto the baby, especially if it's hot water. Then gently swirl the bottle a couple of times so that the milk in the bottle is warmed all the way through. Do not shake the bottle, but swirl it. Next, check the temperature of the milk on the back of your hand, not on your wrist, because the back of your hand is much more sensitive than your wrist. Remember that if it feels warm to you, then it feels hot to the baby. The milk shouldn't feel warm to you, it should be just comfortable. Remember, you want it mom’s temperature, which is your regular body temperature, about 98.6 degrees. It’s very important that you never microwave bottles. Even a few seconds of microwaving can destroy the nutrients in breast milk. Microwaving bottles can also create hot spots which can cause burns.  Sometimes bottles can explode when they are microwaved.