Bottle Warmers, Sterilisers & Processors
Bottle warmers allow you to heat your baby's bottles quickly and easily without needing to boil water or even venture into the kitchen. By having a bottle warmer by the bed, you can start the warming process before you even go to your crying baby. The warmers only take a few minutes, just long enough to snuggle back on the bed with baby to feed.
Travel Bottle Warmers
These come in a number of styles and use various means of heating. 12 Volt in-car warmers are quick and efficient on the go and are also suitable for jars of baby food. There are also bags that you can carry with you that heat when a metal disc inside the bag is clicked. These are excellent for warming bottles and jars but they are not suitable for multiple items as they require boiling in water to recharge them. Another style is based on a thermos flask, this stores hot water and provides a sleeve to put bottle and water into, afterwards the water is tipped back into the flask to use again.
Bottle Sterilisers
These can be electric, microwave, cold water or a combination and all of these perform very efficiently. Electric sterilisers produce steam to sterilise, they are quick, can hold a large number of bottles, soothers, spoons, nipple shields etc. with the advantage that there are no chemicals involved.
Microwave & Coldwater Sterilisers
This uses steam to sterilise, with the microwave providing the power, this is good if you are only needing to do a small number of items, nipple shields, soothers etc., many microwave systems can double up as cold water systems. The disadvantage of steam sterilization is once you open the lid the items do not continue to be sterile.
Coldwater sterilisers consist of a basic plastic container in which sterilising tablets are dissolved in coldwater, sterilisation takes around an hour, but you can add to and remove items constantly as necessary. Steriliser bags can be great for travel, using cold water with steriliser tablets. Medela produce microwave bags, with each bag being used up to 20 times.
Food Processors & Cookers
Cooking your own baby food or grinding a portion of the same food that the family is eating is the ideal way of feeding your baby; this will make the transition to eating with the family much easier. The range of small food processors will allow you to do this with minimal fuss and washing up.
The way forward for the cooking of baby food is by steaming as most of the nutrients are maintained during this process. Bebea have moved this one stage further by producing a neat single unit that will cook, grind, heat and defrost.
