The First Years BabyPro Bottle Warmer

The First Years BabyPro (or is it Baby Pro?) Bottle Warmer is a tool for warming baby milk, formula and food.  It’s a pretty clever design which can also keep bottles cold for up to 8 hours before you need to use the warmer for feeding time.  That makes it a nice product to keep in the bedroom, especially when baby is feeding often at night or the kitchen is far away.

Let’s start with the cooling portion of the BabyPro.  It’s basically a cooler.   There’s no electricity that runs through it so it only insulates an already cold bottle.  Steph and I never used this part because the baby slept in the kitchen sink for the first few months and the fridge was right next to him.  (Just kidding, we’ve got a small house, so it was not a necessary feature for us.)

Now, the warming portion of the, uh, warmer.  I like the simplicity of it.  I found it easy to use, especially for those memorable nights where you’re the exhausted parent fumbling for milk to feed a screaming baby.  There’s one button and all you have to do is add the proper amount of water to the unit.  It turns on when you push the button and turns off when the water inside evaporates and milk is ready.  Now, I think you’d be hard-pressed to make a much simpler device.  But, it’s possible.  (See my modifications section below.)

Now for the issues with the bottle warmer.  I’m not sure about this, but my unit never had an instruction booklet.  (Not that I would read it anyhow.)  Some other people have said the same thing about their BabyPro.  But, it’s not a big deal. it’s just something that I have come to expect with most appliances, even easy to use ones.  Also, milk that spills over into the heating element will harden on the element, thereby reducing the heating ability of the BabyPro.  You can use regular water for steaming the bottle, but I think distilled water would be best to keep the heating element clean and effective.  (I use regular “hard” water and I regularly clean my BabyPro with CLR cleaner to keep the heating element free from debris.)

Adding the proper amount of water can also be an issue.  Lots of users have issues with this.  There’s a guide that tells you how much water you should put into the warmer for heating up different amounts of milk, formula, or jar food.  (But, it’s kind of like the cake baking directions on a box…if you’re not cooking in Betty Crocker‘s stove, you may have to adjust accordingly.)  Common sense should also tell you that when the air temperature is lower (say 60°F) then you would probably need more steam (hence more water) to warm up a bottle, than if the air temperature was higher (say 80°F).  But, as I said before, in the middle of the night, those brain functions are just not there.  That has less to do with the warmer and more to do with the user.  But, once you’ve used the warmer enough times, it becomes second nature to know when to add a little extra water and when not to.  So, if you require a more precise warmer, then this may not be the one you need.

NOTE:  We used Medela 5oz. bottles for this warmer and they fit perfectly.

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Overall Rating:  7 Worms   

Ease of Use:  8 Worms 

Performance:  9 Worms 

Features:  7 Worms 

Durability:  9 Worms 

Manliness:  6 Worms 

Retail Price:  $30-$60

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Pros:

Cooler and warmer.  On-off switch. Night light.  Heats bottle fast.  Price.  Durable. Easy to use once you get the hang of it.

Cons:

Water measurement issues for some.  Once you figure out how much water to put in, it’s fine.  The button on my unit is starting to stick and I’m not sure why.  (I just wanted to note this for other users, in case of a flaw in device.)

Things I would modify:

I would add a water dispenser that you could fill up to the unit.  Then, when you have a 5 oz bottle to warm up, you would press the button to dispense incremental amounts of water that you need directly into the warmer.  That way, you could get rid of the little water compartments on the side of the unit, as shown in the picture.

The First Years BabyPro Bottle Warmer can be found in many places, so I won’t list anywhere specific.