Water heater for bottles - is there such a thing?

Hello Lady!

Hi Folks,

I am wondering if there is such a thing as a water boiler that will maintain water temperature at 70 degrees for making bottles?

I know there are various machines that will boil the water and then cool it quickly and measure the formula so that you make bottles in 2 mins, but that is not what I am after. I have twins, and although I am combined feeding (well trying to!) I still make quite a lot of bottles each day. Those machines wouldn't really be great for me, as by the time I made 8 or ten bottles, it would take 20 or more mins anyway, which is the almost as long as boiling the kettle and letting it cool!

My biggest pain in the neck is that after the kettle is boiled, so many times something has distracted me and 30 mins comes and goes without me remembering to fill the bottles. Keeping track of that 30 mins has become the bain of my life! I have lost track of the number of kettles I have boiled only to remember them 45 mins later and then have to start all over again! I have a kitchen timer, which somewhat helps, but loads of times the timer goes off, I say right, I'll go make my bottles and then one of the babies crys, 10 mins goes past and then I realise its 40 mins since the kettle boiled and then I am afraid to use the water because the PHN was adament that it CANNOT cool for more than 30 mins!

So I was thinking, if there was an invention that boiled the water and then cooled it to 70 degrees quickly, or maintained the water at that temp until you are ready for it it would be a godsend.

Does anyone know of such a miraculous thing? If not, I am off to Dragons Den with my idea!

uck51js9zml2yt

I dint think 10 minutes is a deal breaker for bottles. the question I'd ask is does the phn have kids. if she had she'd know the reality of having kids and move out of her armchair.

sawdoubters

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=baby%20bottle%20warmers&sprefix=baby+bottle+warmers%2Caps&rh=i%3Aaps%2Ck%3Ababy%20bottle%20warmers

Ken.

http://www.mothercare.ie/catalogsearch/result/?simplesearch=&q=bottle+warmer
Here's some from Mothercare if theirs one near you.

Also one from Tesco if its more convenient http://www.tesco.ie/groceries/product/search/default.aspx?searchBox=bottle%20warmer

Sligo1

What time are you preparing the bottles? Could you possibly do it in the evening when you initially put your little ones down and everything is a bit more settled? (If there is such a thing as settled with twins!).

My OH has always prepared the bottles at night for 24 hours as I absolutely detested doing them! I had to show him a couple times tho... If you have a partner perhaps he could do them for you? Would be a great help to you as you're breast feeding aswell.

Ps... I'm sure an extra 5-10 min of cooling the water isn't going matter too much...

Sligo1

I had a quick look at links posted by others and these just appear to be bottle warmers as opposed to actual devices that you could place multiple bottles in that would keep the water at 70 degrees for you whilst you prepare them.

Sligo1

O, I just thought of this which might help?!

http://www.clevamama.com/index.php/products/feeding

Will help you make the bottles so much quicker as you're only using one pre set scoop set to a specific amount rather than 1,2,3,4,5 etc scoops per bottle!

January

It's not something like a Burco you want, is it?

http://www.brennancateringsupplies.ie/burco-hot-water-dispenser-4314.html

Obviously not that one, but something that holds the water at a certain temperature?

cyning

I wonder would something like this work: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bosch-Collection-TWK8631GB-Temperature-Stainless/dp/B003ZHVAJK/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

nikpmup

Sligo1 wrote: »

O, I just thought of this which might help?!

http://www.clevamama.com/index.php/products/feeding

Will help you make the bottles so much quicker as you're only using one pre set scoop set to a specific amount rather than 1,2,3,4,5 etc scoops per bottle!

I bought that and it's useless, don't bother

I use a kitchen timer, and make the bottles at night when he's down. I wash & sterilise them in the morning though - so today's 4 bottles are in the sink, ready to be washed in the morning, tomorrows bottles are being prepared now. I also set the timer for 25 mins rather than 30, so if I do get distracted I have a few mins grace.

Sligo1

nikpmup wrote: »

I bought that and it's useless, don't bother

Really? Whys that? I don't have one but was gonna buy one for my next baby in case breast feeding doesn't work out.... It looks so handy! Did it not work?

nikpmup

Sligo1 wrote: »

Really? Whys that? I don't have one but was gonna buy one for my next baby in case breast feeding doesn't work out.... It looks so handy! Did it not work?

I thought it would be handy too, but it's really not. Scooping such a large amount of formula into it results in clumps of excess formula all over the edges of the thing, air pockets in the formula so it's not measured accurately, trying to tip six or seven scoops of formula into a bottle just ends up with it everywhere (the little funnel thingy that comes with it is more useless than the thing itself!) and because the 70degrees water is steaming, the formula sticks to bloody everything. Big mess. And just in case it was just me making an unholy haimes of it, I got my OH to try it, as well as my sister and my friend (veterans of two and three kids respectively!) and they made just as much of a mess as me!

January

nikpmup wrote: »

I thought it would be handy too, but it's really not. Scooping such a large amount of formula into it results in clumps of excess formula all over the edges of the thing, air pockets in the formula so it's not measured accurately, trying to tip six or seven scoops of formula into a bottle just ends up with it everywhere (the little funnel thingy that comes with it is more useless than the thing itself!) and because the 70degrees water is steaming, the formula sticks to bloody everything. Big mess. And just in case it was just me making an unholy haimes of it, I got my OH to try it, as well as my sister and my friend (veterans of two and three kids respectively!) and they made just as much of a mess as me!

I was going to buy one for my sis! Thanks for review!

nikpmup

January wrote: »

I was going to buy one for my sis! Thanks for review!

It's a great idea in theory but it just doesn't work

Sligo1

nikpmup wrote: »

It's a great idea in theory but it just doesn't work

Yea it totally makes sense what you're saying... I'm actually now picturing it being a big mess! As you say good in theory tho. I won't be buying one so

nikpmup

What I do these days is sterilise an extra bottle, measure the scoops of formula into the bottles before the hot water, then use the spare bottle to measure out the water and pour it in on top of the formula, then shake to mix. Steam makes formula so messy, it sticks to everything! Putting the formula into empty bottles is so much handier.

jester77

For keeping water warm we use a normal thermo flask. For cooling boiling water quickly we use the cool twister, best thing ever.

http://www.amazon.de/gp/aw/d/B000NAZZSE/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1390120714&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX110_SY165_QL70

pwurple

nikpmup wrote: »

What I do these days is sterilise an extra bottle, measure the scoops of formula into the bottles before the hot water, then use the spare bottle to measure out the water and pour it in on top of the formula, then shake to mix. Steam makes formula so messy, it sticks to everything! Putting the formula into empty bottles is so much handier.

That's what I did too!

On the 70 degree thing, there are (very expensive) taps you can get for kitchens that dispense water at your given temperature. They have them in restaurants, like burco boilers, for making lots of cups of tea instantly. Some coffee machines can be set to a temp as well. Maybe you could borrow one... Know anyone into coffee?

It's probably that you have to boil kettle several times to get a 24 hour batch done is it? Maybe something simple like a bigger capacity kettle? Water will cool slower in a bigger qty too.

Found a 2 litre kettle on amazon.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Burco-Commercial-Kettle-2-Litre/dp/B000BNDGCU

nikpmup

My sister also bought a spare kettle, cheap plastic one, for bottles only, as it would drive her doolally if anyone used the kettle to make tea while she was waiting for it to cool!

Hello Lady!

Thanks for the replies folks but it's not a bottle warmer I am after. As another poster mentioned its almost like a burko boiler type thing I was wondering about. At the moment my milk is still coming in enough for full feeds for two hungry babies. So I am making bottles for all feeds and adding breast milk to them. I actually just don't have time to put them on the breast for every feed - I can get a bottle into them in about 20 mins but a breast feed takes at least 45 mins to over an hour. It means it is taking my milk longer to build up, but I am mainly expressing milk and giving one or two breast feeds a day but even these need to have some supplementation with a bottle.

To give you an idea I make 14-16 bottles each night which last me through the night and for most of the day (feeding every 2-3 hours). If they are cluster feeding I will need a few more than this as they could look for a feed every hour.

Sometimes I make the bottles, sometimes hubby does. Add in the extra complication of colic and I need to always have bottles on hand because the colief drops need to be added to the bottles 4 hours in advance of needing them so you can't let the supply run down to zero which means I make bottles at least twice a day.

It honestly seems like every time I go into the kitchen I am either washing bottles, sterilising them or making them up!

My life would be so much easier if I had a boiler where I could boil the water, it gets cooled to 70° and then gets maintained at that temp until I am ready to make the bottles.

Sligo1

Off to Dragons Den with you! I'd buy one... And I'll only be making bottles for one baby....

nikpmup

I feel for you HL, I've only one babóg and it feels like I'm forever washing the bloody bottles! I'm using Dr browns bottles which have about six parts each! I'm gonna try to move him back onto normal bottles, I've given him a couple of those ready made SMA bottles with the pre sterilised teats and he seemed to tolerate them okay, not too many problems with wind so he might be ready for the Tommee Tippee ones now.......

Occasionally, if I want to treat myself over a weekend (or when I just can't be dealing with bottles & formula making, like the day we were broken into) I buy a two day supply of ready made bottles and you can buy disposable, pre sterilised bottles in packs of five in boots. It's like a little holiday from the bottle making

Ginny

http://www.babybrezza.com/ something like this, but it says room temp only...dunno how the rules for formal are so different in the US.

pwurple

I found another burco boiler , 4 litre with a keep warm feature. Maybe emails them and ask what temp that is at?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Burco-Commercial-Kettle-77008/dp/B000MLPJGC/ref=sr_1_17?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1390122465&sr=1-17&keywords=Burco

nikpmup

Those boilers would have to get the water to 100 degrees first so that the water is sterile, not sure if they do?

gctest50

A kitchenaid kettle ?

http://www.debenhams.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/prod_10052_10001_325001050703_-1


http://www.go-electrical.co.uk/kitchenaid-5kek1522ber-artisan-jug-kettle-1-5l-empire-red.html?awc=2440_1390143960_a7d1ea4a8ada117fbdf67ee7d607bc87

Hello Lady!

Ginny wrote: »

http://www.babybrezza.com/ something like this, but it says room temp only...dunno how the rules for formal are so different in the US.

That's pretty much the same thing like the Tommee Tippee machine, but at least the Tommee Tippee one heats it enough to sterilise the formula. This one doesn't seem to. I wonder if formula powder is sterile in the US?

pwurple wrote: »

I found another burco boiler , 4 litre with a keep warm feature. Maybe emails them and ask what temp that is at?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Burco-Commercial-Kettle-77008/dp/B000MLPJGC/ref=sr_1_17?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1390122465&sr=1-17&keywords=Burco

Description says it keeps the water at 90°

gctest50 wrote: »

A kitchenaid kettle ?

http://www.debenhams.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/prod_10052_10001_325001050703_-1


http://www.go-electrical.co.uk/kitchenaid-5kek1522ber-artisan-jug-kettle-1-5l-empire-red.html?awc=2440_1390143960_a7d1ea4a8ada117fbdf67ee7d607bc87

This might work. I would have to wait for the kettle to boil and then turn it to 70° but it's the closest thing to what I'm looking for. Thanks for that, might look into getting that.

Hello Lady!

Ginny wrote: »

http://www.babybrezza.com/ something like this, but it says room temp only...dunno how the rules for formal are so different in the US.

That's pretty much the same thing like the Tommee Tippee machine, but at least the Tommee Tippee one heats it enough to sterilise the formula. This one doesn't seem to. I wonder if formula powder is sterile in the US?

pwurple wrote: »

I found another burco boiler , 4 litre with a keep warm feature. Maybe emails them and ask what temp that is at?

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Burco-Commercial-Kettle-77008/dp/B000MLPJGC/ref=sr_1_17?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1390122465&sr=1-17&keywords=Burco

Description says it keeps the water at 90°

gctest50 wrote: »

A kitchenaid kettle ?

http://www.debenhams.ie/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/prod_10052_10001_325001050703_-1


http://www.go-electrical.co.uk/kitchenaid-5kek1522ber-artisan-jug-kettle-1-5l-empire-red.html?awc=2440_1390143960_a7d1ea4a8ada117fbdf67ee7d607bc87

This might work. I would have to wait for the kettle to boil and then turn it to 70° but it's the closest thing to what I'm looking for. Thanks for that, might look into getting that.

sillysocks

Just as an aside relating to washing bottles, I have the Dr Browns and used to do my head in washing them. Then I found dishwasher baskets that Dr Broqns make (and I'm guessing other manufacturers do too) which have special slots for all the pieces of the bottles. So on my second baby I used to just put the bottles into the dishwasher every day and sterilise them after (well once he reached about 6 months I gave up on sterilising as dishwasher gets so hot anyway).

Saved my sanity for sure! Those bottles are a curse to wash.

SupaDupaFly

Could this be what you are looking for?


http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B004XJ9IN4

Sligo1

Hello lady! This was posted in the newborns and toddlers thread http://m.ebay.ie/itm?itemId=161193334352

I'd say would be so handy for you. It won't keep the water heated etc but will let you make one big batch of milk in one go to keep in fridge and you won't be spending ages making individual bottles while your 70 degree water gets cold. Could be an idea....

Suucee

Sligo1 wrote: »

Hello lady! This was posted in the newborns and toddlers thread http://m.ebay.ie/itm?itemId=161193334352

I'd say would be so handy for you. It won't keep the water heated etc but will let you make one big batch of milk in one go to keep in fridge and you won't be spending ages making individual bottles while your 70 degree water gets cold. Could be an idea....

Ha ha i came on here to post exactly that. It seems so handy. Cheaper in bellababy though.

Sligo1

Lol... 2 great minds Suucee... It seems like a handy one alright! Thanks to emmadilemma! Lol

Hello Lady!

SupaDupaFly wrote: »

Could this be what you are looking for?


http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B004XJ9IN4

That only heats the water to 37° so wouldn't sterilise the milk powder the Americans don't seem to sterilise the powder for some reason?? Possibly in America the powders pre-sterilised?

Sligo1 wrote: »

Hello lady! This was posted in the newborns and toddlers thread http://m.ebay.ie/itm?itemId=161193334352

I'd say would be so handy for you. It won't keep the water heated etc but will let you make one big batch of milk in one go to keep in fridge and you won't be spending ages making individual bottles while your 70 degree water gets cold. Could be an idea....

Haha I've been using my own invention to do just this! Been making my batches in a measuring jug and then pouring it into the bottles! My measuring jug was €2.50 from the eurosaver shop!

Hello Lady!

Little update on my method which might be helpful to others.

Sterilise bottles (I have bought extra bottles so that I always have about 10 spare and usually do my sterilisation in a big batch of at least 10 or 12).
Boil kettle.
Once boiled pour into sterilised measuring jugs.
Put the jugs into a basin of cold water to cool down.
Pop in a jam thermometer. When the temp reads 70° add the required number of scoops of formula to the jugs.
Poor into each bottle

I just measure in multiples of the bottle quantity into the jugs (e.g I have a 1.5 litre jug and fill it to the 1200ml mark for 10 bottles, to 600ml for 5 etc.) I put the equivalent number of scoops, so for 5 bottles its 20 scoops and so on. I use a small whisk to make sure the formula doesn't go lumpy.

It usually takes about 5-10 mins to cool the boiled water in the water bath. About 20 mins if I just pour it and let it cool at room temperature. But it cools quicker than in the kettle as the air cools it quicker. If I have bottles to sterilise I can do this while waiting for the water to cool so I do it at room temperature.

So now I can either sterilise AND prepare the bottles in about 20 mins. If the bottles are already sterilised I can have the kettle boiled and cooled in under 10 mins.

If things are very hectic I just leave the mixed formula in the jugs and cover them and put them in the fridge.

It's still not as convenient as if the boiled water was maintained at 70° until I am ready, but it means that within 10 mins of the kettle boiling I can have bottles made which is much better than hanging around 30 mins cos I'm my house in those 30 mins all manner of kerfuffle can erupt to distract you.

Also, I generally use a steam steriliser. But if I am pushed for time and have lots of bottles to sterilise, I cold water sterilise them. I bought a large plastic box in Ikea. I pop all the bottles in with some Milton and go off and do other bits and 30 min later they are ready to use. Generally quicker for me than doing 6 at a time in the steam steriliser. But I prefer not to use chemicals if I can avoid it so generally as I get 6 bottles at a time I pop them in the steriliser and then I have another plastic box with a lid where I keep the sterilised bottles (with their lids on) so that they stay sterile til I need them.

It's still not ideal but better than it was when I was boiling kettles every hour because I got distracted and much quicker. It might be helpful to some other mums.

Hello Lady!

Little update on my method which might be helpful to others.

Sterilise bottles (I have bought extra bottles so that I always have about 10 spare and usually do my sterilisation in a big batch of at least 10 or 12).
Boil kettle.
Once boiled pour into sterilised measuring jugs.
Put the jugs into a basin of cold water to cool down.
Pop in a jam thermometer. When the temp reads 70° add the required number of scoops of formula to the jugs.
Poor into each bottle

I just measure in multiples of the bottle quantity into the jugs (e.g I have a 1.5 litre jug and fill it to the 1200ml mark for 10 bottles, to 600ml for 5 etc.) I put the equivalent number of scoops, so for 5 bottles its 20 scoops and so on. I use a small whisk to make sure the formula doesn't go lumpy.

It usually takes about 5-10 mins to cool the boiled water in the water bath. About 20 mins if I just pour it and let it cool at room temperature. But it cools quicker than in the kettle as the air cools it quicker. If I have bottles to sterilise I can do this while waiting for the water to cool so I do it at room temperature.

So now I can either sterilise AND prepare the bottles in about 20 mins. If the bottles are already sterilised I can have the kettle boiled and cooled in under 10 mins.

If things are very hectic I just leave the mixed formula in the jugs and cover them and put them in the fridge.

It's still not as convenient as if the boiled water was maintained at 70° until I am ready, but it means that within 10 mins of the kettle boiling I can have bottles made which is much better than hanging around 30 mins cos I'm my house in those 30 mins all manner of kerfuffle can erupt to distract you.

Also, I generally use a steam steriliser. But if I am pushed for time and have lots of bottles to sterilise, I cold water sterilise them. I bought a large plastic box in Ikea. I pop all the bottles in with some Milton and go off and do other bits and 30 min later they are ready to use. Generally quicker for me than doing 6 at a time in the steam steriliser. But I prefer not to use chemicals if I can avoid it so generally as I get 6 bottles at a time I pop them in the steriliser and then I have another plastic box with a lid where I keep the sterilised bottles (with their lids on) so that they stay sterile til I need them.

It's still not ideal but better than it was when I was boiling kettles every hour because I got distracted and much quicker. It might be helpful to some other mums.