The Best Bottle Warmer

Our Best Pick for 2019: Kiinde Kozii Bottle Warmer
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Many parents know that the easiest way to safely warm a bottle for their baby is to use a bottle warmer. Microwaves cause hot spots that can harm a baby’s delicate mouth, not to mention degrading vital nutrients in precious breast milk. The question, then, becomes which best bottle warmer to choose? This decision is based on a variety of factors, from price point to special features. Fear not: We’ve compiled a list of our top four bottle warmers just for you.

Let’s Have a Quick Look of Our Top 4 Best Bottle Warmer:

Amazon

The Kiinde Kozii Bottle Warmer is an overall favorite among many reviewers, and it earned the top spot on our list. This warmer has a trim appearance, is easy to use in a variety of ways, and is extremely safe to use on anything from delicate breast milk to formula to even baby food.

The way the Kozii warmer works is to circulate warm water from a storage reservoir around the compartment. The bottle itself never comes in contact with any heating element, and the top temperature of the water is 127℉ or 53℃. This is safest for parents and for baby. There is no concern about over warming. You won’t burn your hands removing the bottle from the compartment, the milk won’t be too hot for baby’s mouth, and the automatic shut off feature guarantees that, even if you get distracted, you’ll never come back to the warmer to find an overheated bottle.

The Kozii has a reservoir that stores water separately from the bottle warming compartment. This means that you don’t have to refill the warmer every time you want to warm up a bottle. Be sure to change the water in the reservoir on a regular basis, like old water that has been constantly reheated has a tendency to be quite unappealing, especially surrounding the bottle your baby drinks from on a regular basis.

This warmer takes into account the delicate nature of breast milk. The all-important nutrients in breast milk–the reason so many mothers choose it over formula feeding–are sensitive to temperature. The Kozii warmer never raises the temperature of bottles above the 60℃ maximum threshold for breast milk. In fact, the highest recorded temperature of the water in the Kozii was 53℃, giving parents a full seven-degree threshold of safety before breast milk would even begin to degrade based on temperature.

Because of the lower water temperature, the Kozii does take longer to warm a bottle completely than other warmers on the market. The average time to warm a 4 oz bottle of refrigerated milk is eight minutes. Bottles with more surface area to expose the milk inside to warm water, the faster it will warm. Bags of refrigerated milk will also warm faster, but be sure to plan ahead if using frozen breast milk. A frozen 5 oz bag can take over ten minutes to thaw and warm, which can seem like a very long time when the baby is ready for a meal. It is recommended that you either defrost bags in the fridge ahead of time or take the longer warming time into account when planning your day.

At $70, the Kozii warmer is the most expensive warmer on our list. This is a common case of “you get what you pay for.” The Kozii has features that back up the price tag. This warmer offers the assurance of a safely warmed bottle. It will never be too warm, and it offers a safe temperature for healthy breast milk.

Our second pick comes it at the second highest price as well. The Maxx Elite Gentle Warm Smart Bottle Warmer sells for $40, coming in significantly lower at price than our gold pick, but with a good number of its own impressive features.

This doubles as a sterilizer as well. After you’ve hand washed baby’s bottle, you can put it in the warmer and use the sterilizing setting. This setting can accommodate bottles, nipples, and pacifiers as well. This sterilizes not only the items you place into the warmer but the warmer itself. This guarantees that you are never using tainted water to warm your baby’s bottle or sterilizing with items that are not properly sterilized.

This smart warmer also has a “steady warm” feature. When it has reached the desired temperature, the warmer will keep it at this temperature until you and baby are ready for feeding time. There are no concerns about leaving the bottle in the warmer too long and coming back to discover over-heated milk. This feature keeps your baby safe from burns and also ensures that breast milk is not over warmed and is kept as healthy and nutritious as possible.

The “gentle warm” feature listed in the product name is an extremely useful feature that allows you to warm a bottle ahead of time. Using this feature, you can have a bottle ready before the baby begins to cry. Placing a small amount of water in the reservoir, insert the bottle and choose either the one or two-hour gentle warm cycle. When the time is up, remove the bottle, shake, and feed your baby on demand!

This smart bottle warmer also has an express warm feature. Is a fussy, impatient baby making you feel fussing and impatient yourself? With the express warm option, you will both be soothed in no time flat. Simply add water to the reservoir, put the bottle in, press the single-handed button for express warm, and the bottle will be ready shortly.

If you’re not using the express warm function, you’re probably not standing right at the warmer waiting to see it shut off. The smart warmer has an audible alarm to let you know that the bottle is all ready and it’s meal time for baby. Just set the timer, get baby ready, and return to grab the bottle when the alarm sounds.

The smart warmer keeps breast milk well within a safe temperature range. Its top warming temperature is just 40℃. More than just providing a safety buffer, the temperature in this warmer does not permit any liquid within it to rise within twenty degrees of the maximum safe temperature for breast milk. This keeps the natural vitamins, minerals, and antibodies of breast milk safely intact with no risk of destruction or leaching.

The Maxx Elite warmer boasts an impressive number of special features at a reasonable price. It has several safety features that ensure the safety of you, your baby, and the milk you feed your child. Its compact design and double function as a sterilizer as well as a bottle warmer will help keep your counters clear and tidy.

The Phillips AVENT Fast Bottle Warmer works well with a popular bottle and feeding system, the entire AVENT line of products. It is designed to work with AVENT bottles, but others will work with it as well. Because the warmer works with the largest of AVENT bottles, which are larger than many other brands on the market, these smaller brands can fit in the warmer as well. Its $35 price tag could easily entice loyalists of other brands to purchase this warmer.

Reviewers love this warmer for its simplicity. It has a very small footprint and is so easy to use that it can be kept on the nightstand to be used for warming nighttime feedings. Users love that it has a simple dial. Just turn the knob to the desired setting, and let the baby’s bottle warm quickly and easily. The average time with the AVENT warmer is three minutes.

As might be expected with such a fast warming time, the AVENT warmer uses a high temperature in its warming chamber. The water used to warm the bottle can rise as high as 77 ℃. Because of this high temperature and the fact that it does not have an automatic shut off feature, it is important for parents to set the timer and listen for the alarm that sounds when the warming cycle is completed. Otherwise, you risk coming back to an over-warmed meal that is too hot for baby to drink. This is especially important when warming breast milk. The liquid might not rise above the critical 70 ℃ levels, but it does need to be monitored closely to preserve the integrity and nutritious benefits of breast milk.

While the higher temperature might not be ideal for warming refrigerated breast milk, it is ideal for quickly thawing frozen breast milk. AVENT has an extensive feeding system that includes bottles that many mothers use to pump their milk that can be stored in the freezer, then thawed for baby’s meals. This warmer is the perfect way to quickly and easily thaw those frozen bottles. Keeping breast milk in the same container through the entire process of pumping, storage, thawing, and feeding lowers the risk of an improperly sterilized container contaminating the breast milk at any point along the way. Streamlining breast milk use is both safer for baby and easier for you.

The AVENT warmer is the only warmer on our list that has a two-year warranty, twice the length of time of any other warmer we reviewed. The American Academy of Pediatrics says that babies should have breast milk until at least one year old, but they also recommend that parents continue giving breast milk as it works for both mother and baby. Many parents want to continue to give breast milk as long as possible, which often exceeds the one-year warranties. With the AVENT warmer, you can rest assured that your warmer will be covered throughout the entire time your baby is taking breast milk.

Our best budget bottle warmer is the Tommee Tippee Travel Bottle Warmer, which you can get on Amazon for under $20. Don’t let the low price point fool you, this warmer is a versatile travel warmer that will meet the standards you’re looking for without costing too much money.

Much like AVENT bottles, Tommee Tippee bottles have a large circumference. Because the chamber is designed to be large, it easily holds many other brands. No need to choose a pricier warmer just because it’s the same brand as your bottles. The wide chamber can also accommodate baby food jars. Be sure that you are using a container that is safe to use for warming baby food. This extra use means that you will get a longer life out of your warmer and more use for your money as your baby transitions from bottle feeding to the early stages of baby food and solid foods.

This non-electric model uses warm water to heat up bottles or jars which makes useful on-the-go. This UK Based company has been a leader in bottles and bottle warming solutions for years and has a great reputation for producing a high-quality product.

Pre-purchase considerations

Versatility of Top Bottle Warmers

If you use a variety of brands of bottles or simply use a brand that’s different from the warmer you’re considering, be sure to know whether or not the warmer is compatible with a variety of brands and with your brand specifically. This is especially important if your baby is picky about bottles and nipples. Some little ones struggle to latch with all but one certain type of nipple made by one company. Knowing this information ahead of time will help make the early feedings easier.

Extra Bells & Whistles

When looking for extra functions, you should know if the warmer has a timer, an automatic shut off feature, and any other extras. It might perform extra functions besides just warmings, such as defrosting or sterilizing. If you have limited space in your living arrangement, which is common when you start adding in all sorts of baby gear, finding devices that have multiple uses can be a lifesaver, not to mention a sanity saver. If you need the space, maximize the functionality of the baby gear you purchase.

Heating Speed for Bottles

Know yourself and your baby, and understand that with some bottle warmers you will have to plan ahead and take time into consideration. If you want something that’s ready quickly, be sure that you won’t leave the bottle in too long. This is less about knowing your baby and more about knowing yourself as a person. It’s okay if you tend to be forgetful or distractible. In fact, it’s almost a requirement of being a new parent. If this is you, make sure you account for this trait when you’re choosing which warmer will work best for you. If you’re always on point and have an impeccable memory, you don’t have to worry as much about forgetting just when the bottle will be ready. Focus on the features that you will need for yourself.

Price, Brand and Rating

What is the impact on your wallet? Consider how frequently you’ll be using the bottle warmer. If you’re mainly breastfeeding and only occasionally using a bottle, you might not want to spring for the top of the line warmer. If mom and baby are frequently apart and the warmer will be used often, a higher price point might be worth it for you, considering the extra features to be sure your baby is always getting the highest quality nutrition. We’ve compiled this list with a wide range of prices, and each warmer has its own pros and cons. If the price is an important factor for you, you don’t need to sacrifice quality or variety of features. You simply need to pay attention to what your needs are and focus on finding the most important features that match up with your price range.

Conclusion (Wrapping it up)

A bottle warmer is a fantastic product to make life with a baby a little bit easier, especially if you take the time to find the right warmer for you and your growing family. Know what you’re looking for, and use our list to help you decide which features you like and want in your warmer, and weigh the pros and cons. There is a comfortable fit for everyone, and you will have a happy household outfitted when you take the time to choose the best bottle warmer for you and your baby.