Nothing contents a baby more than a warmed bottle of formula or milk. It soothes and fills their little tummies and aids in digestion. However, every parent is concerned and vigilant when it comes to preparing that warmed bottle, because the idea of accidentally scalding their baby is quite frightening. You can test the warmed milk on your wrist or with your finger, but what you feel may still be a bit too warm for consumption. In recent years and with the help of technological advances, no longer are the days where parents have to manually do a touch test, because there are now milk thermometers available to do the checking.
A milk thermometer takes the temperature of the warmed formula or milk and gives back a reading so that the parent can determine if the liquid is warm enough or too warm.
What to Look for
There are a few different types of milk thermometers on the market today. The standard digital milk thermometer can be inserted into the milk and register the temperature just like a regular thermometer used to take a person's temperature. Another type of milk bottle thermometer is temperature strip that can be affixed to the bottle, and when the milk is heated a color change on the strip will indicate the temperature of the liquid in the bottle. There is also a milk thermometer belt that can be wrapped around a bottle before heating, and will display the word "OK" when the milk has reached the proper temperature. For even more convenience, some baby bottle manufacturers are infusing the temperature strip indicator right on to the actual baby bottles.
Common Pitfalls
Despite the new advancements for checking the temperature of a baby bottle, it does not replace the first hand feel test to make sure the liquid definitely is not too hot to give to your baby. Also, using a digital milk thermometer can contaminate the liquid inside the bottle, especially if the thermometer has not been washed properly. The milk thermometer strips will need periodic replacement and tend to wear out, making them less effective and accurate. Formula and milk should not be microwaved because this process will create "hot spots" that may not be detected even if the bottle is shaken, and it may cause an inaccurate reading on the milk thermometer.
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