Baby formula doesn’t have to be warm. It’s fine to feed your baby cool or even cold formula. It’s all up to your baby’s preference – they may prefer it warm, at room temperature, or even chilled, and all of those options are just fine.
Some parents like to give their baby warm formula because it’s closer to the temperature of breast milk. Others do so because it seems more relaxing for their baby that way. But some babies don’t mind cold formula, which certainly saves time – and makes things much easier when you’re traveling.
Do you have to warm up formula?
You don’t have to warm up your baby’s formula before giving it to them. In fact, the only thing you need to consider about the temperature of your baby’s formula is that it isn’t too hot – you don’t want to burn their mouth.
You can make sure formula is a good temperature by putting a couple of drops on the inside of your wrist. You’ll be able to feel if it’s too hot, and then you can let it cool down a bit before giving it to your baby.
To cool the formula down, put the capped bottle in an ice bath, run it under cold water, or stick it in the fridge for a couple of minutes.
If you do want to warm up your baby’s bottle, it’s safest to do so by putting it capped in a bowl of hot water, running it under warm water, or using a bottle warmer. You can also warm the formula by putting it in a pot of hot water – but be sure to take the pot off the stove first.
It’s best not to warm formula in the microwave, because the microwave may heat it unevenly and create “hot spots” that you might not feel when checking the formula on your wrist.
One nice thing about your baby drinking a cool or cold bottle (if they’ll have it) is how convenient that can be, especially when traveling. If your baby won’t drink cold formula and you’re traveling, you can try warming it by holding it between your hands or placing it between your legs – that’ll at least bring it to room temperature. If you have access to a sink, you could run hot water over the capped bottle. Or you can make the bottle by mixing premeasured formula powder with warm water from a thermos.
When it’s safer to heat up formula
While you can feed your baby cold formula, and in most cases prepare your baby’s formula with any temperature of clean water, there are some instances when it’s safer to boil the water you use for their formula before preparing it.
If you don’t have access to clean tap water or if you’re using well water, you’ll want to boil it before preparing the formula. (You can usually have your water tested to see if it’s clean so you can be sure.) Boil the water for one minute to kill any bacteria, then let it cool to room temperature before mixing in the formula powder.
Other scenarios in which you may want to consider boiling water used for formula is if your baby is younger than 3 months old, was born prematurely, or has a weakened immune system. That’s because babies in those categories are more susceptible to infection, and boiling your water and using it to prepare formula helps make sure it’s completely free of germs. Specifically, Cronobacter bacteria can contaminate powdered infant formula and make babies very sick. Though Cronobacter illnesses are rare, they are serious and can even cause death.
To protect your baby from Cronobacter, boil the water and let it cool for about five minutes before making a bottle. Prepare powdered formula with the water while it’s still hot (at least 158 F/70 C). Refrigerate the bottle right away or cool it and give it to your baby.
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