Travel Bottle Warmer Review

They say warm milk can help you sleep. The jury's still out on whether there's science behind this cliché, but for babies and toddlers still drinking from a bottle, warm milk is simply soothing, delicious and ideal for their developing tummies. Breast milk is naturally warm, at 98.6 degrees; however, mimicking that warmth in a bottle can be challenging, especially if you are trying to do it away from home. If you are a working mother or a primary caregiver for a child, then a portable, on-the-go bottle warmer– such as the WarmZe, Iiamo or Tommee Tippee – may be ideal for your situation. For more information, read our other articles on travel bottle warmers.

Travel Bottle Warmers: What to Look For

The baby-product market is saturated with items from strollers and car seats to baby monitors, bottle warmers and more. Finding what’s right for you and your baby may be difficult, but whether you are just having lunch with the girls or traveling long distances, an on-the-go bottle warmer is one of those must-have products for any parent's diaper bag. To make the process of choosing which portable bottle warmer is right for you, we have broken down exactly what you should be looking for.

Portability
To be an effective travel bottle warmer, it obviously needs to be perfectly portable. Don't get stuck with one of the bottle warmers meant to be kept at home, as they are bulky and take up valuable counter space. A travel bottle warmer must be compact so that you can easily fit it in your diaper bag. The majority of the bottle warmers we reviewed use various technologies to heat up the milk or formula and come with a simple sleeve, gel-like pack or bottle insert. A few can even be plugged into your car.

Although labeled as a travel bottle warmer, a few of these products can’t actually travel on an airplane, as they are not allowed by the TSA due to the gel-like packs that they use. If you are a frequent flyer, make sure you choose a portable bottle warmer that will not be confiscated at airport security.

Features
Because of the heating technology – usually a chemical reaction – used in a travel bottle warmer to heat the milk or formula, you may be leery of harmful substances being used to create the phenomenon. Before purchasing any bottle warmer, you must ensure that it is free of BPA (Bisphenol A) and phthalate (an acid used most commonly in plastics).

The majority of the reviewed travel bottle warmers may take anywhere between 15-30 minutes to heat the milk in your baby bottle, based on the initial temperature of the milk or formula.

Ease of Use
It's important that you take into account the way each device works as you choose the best bottle warmer for you. While they are designed to be portable, many bottle warmers cannot be quickly grabbed off the counter at a moment’s notice; you'll need to also make sure you have the heat pack, insert or attached cord that makes the warmer work. Some even require you to boil water before you use them. Yes, they're all meant for travel, but the majority of them do require prior planning.

However, there are a very few products that do not require you to boil water or plug in anything. Instead of requiring planning, they rely on one-time-use heat sources to warm your baby's bottle. If you are willing to spend more money to replace these heat sources, then you will never need to plan ahead. Evaluate your lifestyle and choose the type of warmer that will work best for you and your child.

Help & Support
In the course of reviewing these products, we contacted every company. The majority of these bottle warmers were created not by business moguls, but by entrepreneurs and parents just like you. If you have any questions or concerns about the bottle warmers, you can email these companies or even visit their Facebook pages and make a comment. Most of our emails were responded to directly from the CEO of the company. If you visit their websites, many of them also feature a FAQs section and list a telephone number for you to call.

As a parent, you are more than aware that everything you do now requires twice the time and planning. While the majority of travel bottle warmers do require a bit of forethought, when your darling child turns into a screaming monster because they are hungry, and you are miles away from your microwave or hot water, your portable bottle warmer will save the day (and your eardrums).

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