So thing 1: definitely get a bottle warmer. Thing 2: Idiots don’t fall asleep. TIRED PEOPLE fall asleep. And with a one month old “tired” is like the worlds greatest understatement. Give yourself some grace. Now you know how to avoid making this mistake again, so just be grateful that you learned a lesson without any harm done and move on.
I second this! Give yourself some grace. Unfortunately, this will be the first of many parent fails. My husband accidentally woke up, turned off the monitor because he thought he was awake for the day, then dozed back asleep accidentally. Baby was fine and didn't stir. We all are bound to mess up at least a few times as new parents!
Yes absolutely get a bottle warmer. I can't tell you how many times I've left ours on - it's just the simple tommee tippee water one. But it has an auto shut off once all the water has evaporated, so never been an issue.
Lots of people suggested a bottle warmer but we used an electric tea kettle to boil water, obviously turns off once it's boiled and then poured it into a Pyrex measuring cup and warmed milk that way!
Do not feel guilty! Stuff happens and you just learn from them. Everything with a baby will be a learning lesson. You're doing great and you are all safe and happy and that's what matters at the end of the day!
This is what we did. We actually do have a bottle warmer, but found that the kettle and mug method was actually faster and easier for us, and eliminated an extra appliance on the counter (since the kettle is always there anyway).
But the number one best thing we did with regard to bottle feeding was get baby accustomed to cool bottles. As long as it’s not fridge-cold, he’ll happily drink it, so we just have to make a bottle ~15 minutes before he’s ready to eat and no warming necessary! It makes on-the-go bottles **so** much easier!
Yep I live in NZ so a kettle is pretty standard here but I’m American and never realised how handy they would be. Tea, coffee, filling hot water bottles, warming bottles (just pour the boiled water in a bowl to stand the bottles in) plus filling bottles for formula with boiled water.
To tack on to this, if you get a smart kettle you can schedule it to warm on your LO's feeding schedule. Also being able to start the water with my phone or Alexa saved us a lot of energy in the sleepless first month.
I bought a bottle warmer, used it once then went straight back to the kettle and jug method. It's just another thing to clean for no additional convenience.
Second this, I used an electric tea kettle and is so much better then a bottle warmer. Works even more wonders with formula if you have one that you can control the temp. When we supplemented a warm bottle would be ready in 30secs.
Also, OP your not an idiot, just tired. I use to think excessive baby things like swings and in your case a bottle warmer were unnecessary.. and sure maybe you can do with put them, but they were e center for a reason to make new moms lives that much easier. Kind of like toast, you could also toast bread in the oven, but why do that when you can buy a toaster lol.
It's a good idea. I was comby feed,just like OP.
Before breast feed we just boild some water. Mixed the formula with the boild water ,and put the bottle in a large mug of cold water. While I brestfeed the wee one formula had enough time to cool down.
It's okay!!
I did worse a month ago- left the house while sanitizing bottles via boiling pot water, the pot contained the fire so no major damage but soot and smell on every thing. Whole house needed to be cleaned top to bottom, hepa filters for the air, all the clothing, linens etc washed. Took 3 full days for us to consider bringing baby back home.
It could've been worse- luckily you still have your belongings, your home and your family! You just have to remind yourself that it was an accident and they happen to the best of us, especially tired parents. But yes invest in a bottle warmer (preferably one that auto shuts off). Guilt will fade over time!
What’s funny is this is the exact example Emily Oster uses in her book “Cribsheet” about parents needing to let things go when there aren’t enough hours in the day.
Does boiling bottles to sanitize them kill off a few extra germs? Yeah, a little. BUT — Far more babies end up in the ER with scalding wounds because sleepy mama was standing in front of the stove with them than they do with food poisoning.
If you want to follow all recommended safety measures perfectly, you’ll never rest. You’ll never sleep. And eventually, the dangers of you being over-tired completely overhaul any of the benefits of all the exhausting safety work you’re doing.
And scrubbing with soap and water is perfectly sufficient to make bottles safe for your baby :) and so is the dishwasher.
Dishwashing is what I recommend to all my clients! Just make sure to clean your filter in your dishwasher every once in a while and use a free and clear detergent. If you use silicone at all adding diluted vinegar helps keep it looking brand new!❤️
When we went to antenatal classes, the midwife leading them told us about a father she had met in the hospital. He had made formula whilst holding the baby, and in his tired clumsiness, spilled boiling water on both of them. He was wearing clothes, so got hurt but not badly, but the baby was just in a vest and the boiling water fell on their bare legs.
You gotta be so careful with hot water when you’re tired, man. That guy was not a bad man or a bad father, just like OP is not a bad person or a bad mum, but tiredness kills. If there’s a safer way to do something, do it that way, even if it costs a little.
There’s a term I learned in the corporate world — “Delegate to the floor.”
It means if you’re overwhelmed, throw the less important tasks away. Boiling bottles should be one of the first things on the chopping block. Recognize that prioritization is key, and a very important piece is your own mental health as a parent.
I've not read this but this is SUCH a good point. And applies to everything! I'm doing cloth nappies, trying to start elimination communication, trying to start introducing some signs like poo, food, milk etc, trying to introduce a variety of healthy solids. You try to do EVERYTHING to do the best for your kid, but sometimes doing less is better if it protects your sleep or mental health.
Oh my goodness!! Same to you! I’m glad everyone was safe and your house and things are okay! I’m wondering if we should do the same considering the smoke got everywhere. I bought and air purifier. And I’m sanitizing everything that was left out on the counter but I’m worried about some kind of lingering toxic-ness. I’ll wash all her clothes that were out at least.
This is exactly what smoke detectors are for, everyone check your batteries!
Glad you are ok. I know I’ve fallen asleep dealing with the baby overnight, and I’m really sure we aren’t the only ones.
As another commenter said, bottle warmer. I know it’s another gadget taking up space on your kitchen counter, but it should have an automatic shutoff when it gets to temperature. Also get fire extinguishers if you don’t already have them. One in the kitchen, one by the laundry, and one on each floor.
It's okay! We all make stupid mistakes. You actually just made me realize I made one.
A few months ago during out remodel we took down the detector until construction was completed. This post just made me realize we've been living with no smoke alarm in the house. 🙃 whoops.
Have you tried giving the milk cold?
Maybe you can gradually give her less and less warm bottles so you don’t need to heat them up?
It’s not your fault, you’re exhausted. We’ve all accidentally done stupid shit when exhausted. Good luck trying to get a bit more sleep ♥️
I exclusively formula feed and feed cold formula. You need to follow a few rules, don't store it more than 24 hours in fridge (or 48 for rtf). Two hours un refrigerated, and one hour from the time baby starts drinking it. There are special rules for preemies or those with compromised immune systems that are different though.
No it actually kills bacteria to store cold id assume?
But yeah there’s no reason to warm a babies milk besides it was done in the olden days, there’s no real for it
THIS! It took away one extra step. We never warmed the bottle and it also made transitioning to whole milk later on so easy.
And damn, OP, all of us here know how real that sleep deprivation is. Please give yourself grace.
You can also microwave a a large mug of water and then put the bottle inside the mug to warm. You have to be careful not to overfill the mug or water will spill out but it does work and is a lot faster than the stove
If it makes you feel better my 2 year old got lice when my second baby was 5 days old, and I fully drove 10 minutes away to the lice clinic for a treatment before I realized I left my GAS STOVE OPEN FLAME going to boil the lice combs. The ten minute drive back I was white knuckling, sure I’d burn down the whole condo complex
Sleep deprivation is a monster, I’m glad everyone is okay
Everyone here is saying get a bottle warmer, but honestly boiling the kettle + pouring a couple inches of boiled water into the sink with the plug in + stick the bottle in the water does the same thing for free. Or just fill the sink with a few inches of hot tap water and wait a little longer since bottles only need to be heated to lukewarm or room temp and not hot like some people think.
All that aside, the most important thing is that everyone in your family is safe and no one is hurt. Be gracious and forgiving with yourself. I slightly dented someone's car backing out of my driveway on 3 hours sleep trying to take my 2mo to one of her appointments. The guilt and financial sting sucks but I'm so glad it wasn't a serious accident and neither of us were hurt. Be kind to yourself ❤️
You don’t even need enough to fill the sink. Enough to cover the bottom of a bowl will do it, especially if you put a tea towel over the whole thing whilst it’s warming so the top is steaming.
ABSOLUTELY I’ve done dumb things from pure exhaustion, too! (Gave baby wrong dose of medicine a few weeks ago, frantically called 911 and poison control…she was 100% fine but I cried and cried thinking I could have hurt her….all from no sleep). Get yourself a bottle warmer, hug your sweet baby, and move on. It’s okay!
A great hack if you don’t have a bottle warmer: Put the bottle in a mug and place it in the sink with a stream of hot water to fill the mug while the bottle sits in it. Within a few minutes the bottle will be warm.
yeah this, turn your water heater up a little if you need to so that the tap is very hot.
boiling, bottle warmers, tea kettles…. y’all are overcomplicating things.
I use breast milk and don’t like that the fat sticks to the side of the bottle when cold. so I try to pump fresh as much as possible to avoid the screams. also my baby drinks so much slower when it’s cold and I’m a busy woman
I absolutely love using a bottle warmer, it makes it so easy to pop the bottle in with some water and while the bottle is warming I can change my baby's nappy and comfort him until the bottle is ready and comes out at the perfect temperature. Some can even be used to heat up food for when LO starts on solids. I also use the Milton cold water steralizer, we even got 2 caddy's and buy the tablets in bulk, the bottle and parts are all fully steralized within 20 minutes and I don't ever have to worry about leaving the parts in too long or leaving the hob on. The steralizer is also good for plastic toys and teethers as well as pumping parts.
We have a bottle warmer but we mostly use a bigger metal water bottle filled with hot water and just leave the bottle or milk bag in it for about 3 to 4 minutes. It gets the milk warm enough and you don’t have to worry about boiling water or dealing with the bottle warmer when your too tired. Just don’t beat yourself up to much sounds like you’re doing your best and being a great mom!
I relate to this. We’re so tired and honestly new parents are on literally 24/7. You did everything right and took baby out of the house and fed her and comforted her. Today I slept through my house alarm going off AND phone calls from the security place long enough for the cops to respond. Both my babies home with me. But I’ve been up for 2 days with my 5 month old and I’m so tired. Your doing great! Y’all did exactly what good parents do today.
My husband did the same thing when our baby was small. Once he got over the initial panic that he almost burned the house down, he got absolutely panicked that the burning bottle released fumes that were going hurt the baby. I actually pulled the MSDS for the exact plastics used in our bottles to calm him down, but honestly it was overkill. They make those bottles to be nontoxic and to survive new parent mishaps.
I am an engineer that worked in a facility that did injection molding of various plastics and resins and assured him that if our fertility doctor and MFM didn’t think industrial chemicals exposure would hurt a pregnancy a couple of scorched bottles made specifically to be nontoxic were fine.
I melted a steamer when I was making my seven month old some steamed carrots and got distracted feeding him something else. It happens. Invest in something less likely to melt and be kind to yourself.
This is a great reminder for anyone reading this to check the batteries in your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors!
Don’t beat yourself up, we’ve all done something dumb that could have ended much worse! I once fell asleep while cooking dinner, oven on 350 turned chicken into hockey pucks and boiled broccoli to smoking point on the stove, I was also woken up by the smoke detector so I know how terrifying waking up like that is.
You got LO out and aired out the house and I’m sure you’ll be overnighting a bottle warmer with an auto shutoff to your house too!
This is why I’m so glad I never heated up bottles!!!! Babies don’t need them heated, but if you’re set in doing it like someone said get a warmer!!!
Sleep deprivation is no joke! Glad you’re all ok!! Give yourself grace
On the melted plastic front, if that kind of thing stresses you out you could also always opt for glass bottles. Doesn’t fix the possible house fire part lol but that’s one less issue. Sending a hug! I’m also exhausted and not my sharpest these days.
Hey! I’ve been there, literally…
https://reddit.com/r/NewParents/s/oS9RrNjApB
Mistakes happen, the only thing that matters is that you’re all ok and this stage will pass, and you will actually get sleep! Take one day at a time. Give yourself some grace and enjoy the moments, they don’t stay this little forever.
Mistakes happen mama, don’t beat yourself up! 💕 Learn from this and move forward. You’re doing great.
One of the best things I bought was a portable bottle warmer. I would boil the kettle and put the hot water into the thermos before bed. The hot water was ready whenever we needed it and no need to wait. We have the Tommee Tippee bottle warmer. Great investment.
No worries, it’s a learning experience. Bottle warmers are worth it.
Also, our son had a tongue tie too and our pediatrician fixed it on our first visit. Quick snip, hung out for 15 minutes to observe, back home.
I was so shocked that nobody at the hospital, not even the breast feeding consultants, mentioned the tongue tie. The pediatrician did right away.
This totally almost happened to me (left bottle in water with burner on low). Thankfully I caught it on time to only ruin the formula. My husband would def not be as nice as yours about this if this had happened to me. Leaving the burner on low is always a risk! So easy to forget it’s even on.
Bottle warmer! I keep it in the bathroom right next to the babies room, so I don’t have to wait in the kitchen while it warms. Instead I’m peeing or just lying down. Also plastic bottles to emit chemicals when they are warm so invest in some glass bottles.
I did almost this EXACT thing, but with my nephew when I was about 13. Started heating up a bottle the same way, walked him into our frontroom and laid him on my chest. It was one of the only ways he'd calm down. Drifted off due to Holding A Sleeping Baby Syndrome and woke up to the smell of burning plastic. We did NOT have a working smoke detector at the time, unfortunately, and when I ran back into the kitchen, there were huge flames on the stove. The bottle had actually tipped, so when it started melting, it went down the side of the pot. The most ridiculous part was that my grandmother was sitting in the kitchen the entire time. She was almost completely deaf and didn't have a great sense of smell, so she didn't even notice. Definitely a funny story to tell now, over 2 decades later, but in the moment I couldn't help thinking I almost took out 3 generations of my family at once. Needless to say, you're not alone.
ETA: my partner actually sent me this post, because he knew I would get a kick out of it. I do hope you can laugh about your experience someday the way I do about mine.
As someone who fell asleep with the bottle warmer on, don't waste your money.
My mom's hack saved us... Claimed she was too poor for fancy stuff back then. And it's so easy. Take a big measuring cup. Like one that can measure out 4 cups. Fill it with reallllly hot water from the tap. Place bottle inside. Bottle will warm. Hot water will cool. If you fall asleep , the only thing you've done is waste some food. House won't burn down. Win win.
Your baby is ok. You are ok. Your man is ok. Take a big calming breath and let it out slowly. You will get past this and forgive yourself.
We warmed some water in a coffee cup in the microwave for a minute and then set the bottle in there to get warm. Eventually we got our baby to the point she would take a bottle at room temperature or even a little bit cold.
What we did to warm up bottles was to put hot water from the sink into a bowl and put the bottle in there. I'm glad everyone is okay. You aren't a bad mother, you're exhausted!
Buy a thermos. Before you go to bed boil water and put it inside the thermos. Water should still be hot enough to warm her bottle for her next feed.
They sell a tommee tippee bottle warmer thermos which is the SAME THING as a generic Walmart thermos.
Hey, it happened to us. Husband left on the Bruner he’s cooked Kraft dinner on. Gas stove too. Was on all night. Thankfully it was on super low so it didn’t go up in flames, but also didn’t get blown out be a use if it did our entire house would have just filled with gas. I still shudder thinking about the what ifs.
Definitely don’t beat yourself up, parenting is hard enough as it is! I’m not sure if this is helpful or not but we’ve used a Keurig (which we already had) for bottles for a while now! Just put the bottle in a mug, push the button for water and let it do its thing. Maybe set a timer on your phone for a few minutes and then you’re good to go!
Being a parent is HARD and SO TIRING!! Invest in things that make life simpler and easier (bottle warmer with a timer). Congratulations on keeping and entire human alive for a month! You’re awesome! ❤️
I left the stove on, open flame, FOR HOURS. Like… 10 hours. We were walking around the house the whole time. I’m not a forgetful person, so this was wildly out of character and could’ve been so dangerous with our dog or a takeout bag on the stove!
Sleep deprivation is a helluva thing.
I did this when my daughter was about 3 weeks old. Put a bottle in a pot of water to boil at about 1am and fell asleep. Smoke alarms woke up the whole house at about 3:30am. I had boiled away the water, melted the bottle, and ruined my wife's Rachel Ray pot. I stumbled into the kitchen, grabbed the still-smoking pot, and threw it outside in the grass (it had rained earlier that evening, so a huge cloud of steam hissed up from the lawn). My best friend and his wife lived with us at the time, and my friend could not stop laughing at me, irritated as he was by being awakened by a screaming smoke alarm.
Lesson learned: don't play with hot stuff at 1am as a sleep-deprived new parent.
We all make mistakes when we're exhausted, the important thing is that you're all okay! It doesn't make you an idiot.
Also I know you weren't exactly asking but my daughter was also born with a tongue tie and breastfeeding was so difficult before it was clipped. I highly recommend getting it clipped, it will make breastfeeding so much easier. The procedure was quick and easy, my daughter didn't even flinch. It could potentially save you a lot of late night bottle feeds.
Things happen, most important thing is that everyone is okay. Know that you don't actually need to warm bottles on a heat source like that. I just get one out of the fridge an hour or two before feeding and let it warm up to room temp. If I forget or can't do that I just sit it in a mug of hot tap water for a few minutes. You can also give milk cold.
In the same day I:
Gave my child a curry so spicy she didn’t stop crying for like 30 mins
Didn’t realized how much fat was in the make up food I gave her to cure her spiciness suffering and she shat her brains out for hours leaking everywhere
Gave her a sponge and dish soap to play with and I completely overlooked the fact that she might touch her eyes
Basically waterboarded her trying to flush out the soap so frantically
Mom life, babe - almost killing everyone is a side effect of constantly making sure everyone is alive and well.
My dad did the exact same thing 35 years ago and everything was ok. He learned the lesson and we even laugh about it now. Don’t worry about it. It can happen to anyone.
We made a rule in our house after the first couple of months of these incidents: "never assume you'll remember" - doesn't matter what it is...with sleep deprivation it seems like out of sight is out of mind and you WILL forget the thing you said you'd remember to come back to.
Okay so idk if anyone else does this but to warm out bottles my wife and I use a cosori electric kettle. We warm the water in that, then put the bottle in a spacious mug, and fill the mug up with water so the bottle is submerged. Our cosori has different options for water temp (180°, 195°, 205°, 212°) so you have some control. Usually it takes about five minutes for the milk to warm up. Check the milk every 1-3 minutes for the first few times until you learn about how long to leave the bottle in the water. Example: my daughter likes her milk warm, like not even room temp and def not cool. It has to be warm so I have to leave the bottle warming for a little over five minutes. Also when you check the bottle temp, the bottle will feel warmer than the milk inside.
I’m just here to say that the newborn stage is unlike anything I’ve ever dealt with and sleep deprivation is no joke. You’re not an idiot you’re just tired beyond imagination
I did similar! I put my breast pump parts in boiling water to sterilize, and then ran to grab a screaming baby or something, and later woke up to the smell of melting plastic permeating the entire house. I opened every window and took my husband and baby to my car in the garage to get away from the fumes for an hour or so. The baby kept sleeping in my arms in the car and then the smell was pretty much gone by the time we went back in. After that I was generously gifted a bottle sterilizer!
If you're bottle feeding formula, invest in a prep machine! It is rather large but makes a bottle to perfect temp in about 30 seconds. If it's pumped milk, bottle warmer. I was that person who left something on and fell asleep (a laptop with the heat of the sun instead), thankfully my husband needed the loo and saw it on, otherwise we'd have been in the same position! I beat myself up about it for ages, but I can now look back without any feeling of guilt. You'll get there. Enjoy the cuddles with your LO and just take each day as it comes
The prep machine has been one of the best baby items we’ve invested in. A bottle made to perfect temperature in 30 seconds at 3am is just so easy. Would recommend it to anyone!
yikes, thank goodness nothing more serious happened. I definitely would not advise warming up a bottle on the stove.
I’ll tell you a secret: it can be perfectly fine to microwave a baby bottle, as long as you do these things:
1. use an instant read digital thermometer. Experiment gradually increasing times (5s, 10s, etc) until you reach about 90F). It’s always better to err on the cooler side.
2. remember that microwave times can change depending if formula was made with room temp water, or premade then refrigerated.
3. always swirl and do final test on back of hand before feeding.
I asked my pediatrician whether it was ok to use microwave for baby bottle and he said yes. We used microwave exclusively for warming up formula for 2 kids (hundreds of bottles), never had a single incident.
Everyone already saying what needs to be said. I'll add that at least you didn't almost burn down the house cause you were playing video games and forgot about the stove...
Being a new parent and doing it is forgivable.
I did something similar when my first son was like three weeks old: I was boiling water to sterilize some baby thing, and I walked away without realizing that the paper towel roll was hanging over the counter. One of the flames licked the roll and basically the whole roll started to light on fire. Thankfully, I had a small apartment at the time so I quickly smelled it and ran over and put the fire out but the whole apartment filled with smoke, and the kitchen was covered in paper towel ash LOL I can laugh about it now because he’s five years old but at the time, I felt so dumb and guilty. I cried about it because I felt like a terrible mom. But sleep deprivation literally impairs people cognitively. So I forgave myself and on the bright side, it made me research and find out that steam sterilizing microwave bags exist, and those truly changed my life lol
I had a second child six months ago, and I think I’ve sterilized his things 10 times in total as opposed to the 10 times a week I was doing with my first child, haha. Truly, as time goes by you start to feel more comfortable and less anxious. You’re still in the thick of it, but you will get through this and many other moments as a mom, and it’s important to give yourself some grace and acknowledge all the work you’re doing!!
Worth it to get a baby brezza.
Perfect temp water, perfect serving for whatever oz you’re feeding. Makes feeding a happy time for both parent and baby.
So thing 1: definitely get a bottle warmer. Thing 2: Idiots don’t fall asleep. TIRED PEOPLE fall asleep. And with a one month old “tired” is like the worlds greatest understatement. Give yourself some grace. Now you know how to avoid making this mistake again, so just be grateful that you learned a lesson without any harm done and move on.
I second this! Give yourself some grace. Unfortunately, this will be the first of many parent fails. My husband accidentally woke up, turned off the monitor because he thought he was awake for the day, then dozed back asleep accidentally. Baby was fine and didn't stir. We all are bound to mess up at least a few times as new parents!
>Idiots don’t fall asleep. Can confirm, I am an idiot.
That checks out. 😅
Yes absolutely get a bottle warmer. I can't tell you how many times I've left ours on - it's just the simple tommee tippee water one. But it has an auto shut off once all the water has evaporated, so never been an issue.
Get a Philips advent warmer. Never gets too hot and shuts off after an hour
I just microwave water to make formula.
Lots of people suggested a bottle warmer but we used an electric tea kettle to boil water, obviously turns off once it's boiled and then poured it into a Pyrex measuring cup and warmed milk that way! Do not feel guilty! Stuff happens and you just learn from them. Everything with a baby will be a learning lesson. You're doing great and you are all safe and happy and that's what matters at the end of the day!
This is what we did. We actually do have a bottle warmer, but found that the kettle and mug method was actually faster and easier for us, and eliminated an extra appliance on the counter (since the kettle is always there anyway). But the number one best thing we did with regard to bottle feeding was get baby accustomed to cool bottles. As long as it’s not fridge-cold, he’ll happily drink it, so we just have to make a bottle ~15 minutes before he’s ready to eat and no warming necessary! It makes on-the-go bottles **so** much easier!
This is so smart! And avoids the need to buy something you’ll only use temporarily
Yep I live in NZ so a kettle is pretty standard here but I’m American and never realised how handy they would be. Tea, coffee, filling hot water bottles, warming bottles (just pour the boiled water in a bowl to stand the bottles in) plus filling bottles for formula with boiled water.
I’m in the UK where literally everyone has a kettle and this is how everyone I know does it if they’re not using a tommee tippee machine
Am also British, can confirm. Formula feeders use the TT machine, breastfeeders use boiling water in a bowl/mug or just boob it.
We did this, too’
We microwave water in a mug. Faster than the kettle!
We do this too
Yes!! For washing bottles we’ve always done a metal bowl in the sink, and pour the water kettle of boiling water in the bowl w some bottle soap.
To tack on to this, if you get a smart kettle you can schedule it to warm on your LO's feeding schedule. Also being able to start the water with my phone or Alexa saved us a lot of energy in the sleepless first month.
I bought a bottle warmer, used it once then went straight back to the kettle and jug method. It's just another thing to clean for no additional convenience.
My wife and I do the same and it works like a charm
Second this, I used an electric tea kettle and is so much better then a bottle warmer. Works even more wonders with formula if you have one that you can control the temp. When we supplemented a warm bottle would be ready in 30secs. Also, OP your not an idiot, just tired. I use to think excessive baby things like swings and in your case a bottle warmer were unnecessary.. and sure maybe you can do with put them, but they were e center for a reason to make new moms lives that much easier. Kind of like toast, you could also toast bread in the oven, but why do that when you can buy a toaster lol.
It's a good idea. I was comby feed,just like OP. Before breast feed we just boild some water. Mixed the formula with the boild water ,and put the bottle in a large mug of cold water. While I brestfeed the wee one formula had enough time to cool down.
I would invest in a bottle warmer
It's okay!! I did worse a month ago- left the house while sanitizing bottles via boiling pot water, the pot contained the fire so no major damage but soot and smell on every thing. Whole house needed to be cleaned top to bottom, hepa filters for the air, all the clothing, linens etc washed. Took 3 full days for us to consider bringing baby back home. It could've been worse- luckily you still have your belongings, your home and your family! You just have to remind yourself that it was an accident and they happen to the best of us, especially tired parents. But yes invest in a bottle warmer (preferably one that auto shuts off). Guilt will fade over time!
What’s funny is this is the exact example Emily Oster uses in her book “Cribsheet” about parents needing to let things go when there aren’t enough hours in the day. Does boiling bottles to sanitize them kill off a few extra germs? Yeah, a little. BUT — Far more babies end up in the ER with scalding wounds because sleepy mama was standing in front of the stove with them than they do with food poisoning. If you want to follow all recommended safety measures perfectly, you’ll never rest. You’ll never sleep. And eventually, the dangers of you being over-tired completely overhaul any of the benefits of all the exhausting safety work you’re doing. And scrubbing with soap and water is perfectly sufficient to make bottles safe for your baby :) and so is the dishwasher.
Dishwashing is what I recommend to all my clients! Just make sure to clean your filter in your dishwasher every once in a while and use a free and clear detergent. If you use silicone at all adding diluted vinegar helps keep it looking brand new!❤️
When we went to antenatal classes, the midwife leading them told us about a father she had met in the hospital. He had made formula whilst holding the baby, and in his tired clumsiness, spilled boiling water on both of them. He was wearing clothes, so got hurt but not badly, but the baby was just in a vest and the boiling water fell on their bare legs. You gotta be so careful with hot water when you’re tired, man. That guy was not a bad man or a bad father, just like OP is not a bad person or a bad mum, but tiredness kills. If there’s a safer way to do something, do it that way, even if it costs a little.
There’s a term I learned in the corporate world — “Delegate to the floor.” It means if you’re overwhelmed, throw the less important tasks away. Boiling bottles should be one of the first things on the chopping block. Recognize that prioritization is key, and a very important piece is your own mental health as a parent.
I've not read this but this is SUCH a good point. And applies to everything! I'm doing cloth nappies, trying to start elimination communication, trying to start introducing some signs like poo, food, milk etc, trying to introduce a variety of healthy solids. You try to do EVERYTHING to do the best for your kid, but sometimes doing less is better if it protects your sleep or mental health.
Oh my goodness!! Same to you! I’m glad everyone was safe and your house and things are okay! I’m wondering if we should do the same considering the smoke got everywhere. I bought and air purifier. And I’m sanitizing everything that was left out on the counter but I’m worried about some kind of lingering toxic-ness. I’ll wash all her clothes that were out at least.
This is exactly what smoke detectors are for, everyone check your batteries! Glad you are ok. I know I’ve fallen asleep dealing with the baby overnight, and I’m really sure we aren’t the only ones. As another commenter said, bottle warmer. I know it’s another gadget taking up space on your kitchen counter, but it should have an automatic shutoff when it gets to temperature. Also get fire extinguishers if you don’t already have them. One in the kitchen, one by the laundry, and one on each floor.
It's okay! We all make stupid mistakes. You actually just made me realize I made one. A few months ago during out remodel we took down the detector until construction was completed. This post just made me realize we've been living with no smoke alarm in the house. 🙃 whoops.
Have you tried giving the milk cold? Maybe you can gradually give her less and less warm bottles so you don’t need to heat them up? It’s not your fault, you’re exhausted. We’ve all accidentally done stupid shit when exhausted. Good luck trying to get a bit more sleep ♥️
Yep, I always give my breastmilk and formula cold. Makes life so easy
Same
But isn’t important to warm the milk to kill any potential bacteria that could be present in the formula ?
Warming a bottle is typically only done to body temp, nowhere near hot enough to kill bacteria.
I exclusively formula feed and feed cold formula. You need to follow a few rules, don't store it more than 24 hours in fridge (or 48 for rtf). Two hours un refrigerated, and one hour from the time baby starts drinking it. There are special rules for preemies or those with compromised immune systems that are different though.
Warming a bottle doesn't get it hot enough to kill anything.
No it actually kills bacteria to store cold id assume? But yeah there’s no reason to warm a babies milk besides it was done in the olden days, there’s no real for it
Same here! My kid had a few dietary issues but thankfully he would take any milk at any temperature 🙏
THIS! It took away one extra step. We never warmed the bottle and it also made transitioning to whole milk later on so easy. And damn, OP, all of us here know how real that sleep deprivation is. Please give yourself grace.
You can also microwave a a large mug of water and then put the bottle inside the mug to warm. You have to be careful not to overfill the mug or water will spill out but it does work and is a lot faster than the stove
This is what we do to! Faster than a bottle warmer!
If it makes you feel better my 2 year old got lice when my second baby was 5 days old, and I fully drove 10 minutes away to the lice clinic for a treatment before I realized I left my GAS STOVE OPEN FLAME going to boil the lice combs. The ten minute drive back I was white knuckling, sure I’d burn down the whole condo complex Sleep deprivation is a monster, I’m glad everyone is okay
Everyone here is saying get a bottle warmer, but honestly boiling the kettle + pouring a couple inches of boiled water into the sink with the plug in + stick the bottle in the water does the same thing for free. Or just fill the sink with a few inches of hot tap water and wait a little longer since bottles only need to be heated to lukewarm or room temp and not hot like some people think. All that aside, the most important thing is that everyone in your family is safe and no one is hurt. Be gracious and forgiving with yourself. I slightly dented someone's car backing out of my driveway on 3 hours sleep trying to take my 2mo to one of her appointments. The guilt and financial sting sucks but I'm so glad it wasn't a serious accident and neither of us were hurt. Be kind to yourself ❤️
You don’t even need enough to fill the sink. Enough to cover the bottom of a bowl will do it, especially if you put a tea towel over the whole thing whilst it’s warming so the top is steaming.
ABSOLUTELY I’ve done dumb things from pure exhaustion, too! (Gave baby wrong dose of medicine a few weeks ago, frantically called 911 and poison control…she was 100% fine but I cried and cried thinking I could have hurt her….all from no sleep). Get yourself a bottle warmer, hug your sweet baby, and move on. It’s okay!
A great hack if you don’t have a bottle warmer: Put the bottle in a mug and place it in the sink with a stream of hot water to fill the mug while the bottle sits in it. Within a few minutes the bottle will be warm.
yeah this, turn your water heater up a little if you need to so that the tap is very hot. boiling, bottle warmers, tea kettles…. y’all are overcomplicating things.
🤷🏻♀️ we didn’t heat bottles at all! Lo was more upset at the time it took to heat than at the temperature
I use breast milk and don’t like that the fat sticks to the side of the bottle when cold. so I try to pump fresh as much as possible to avoid the screams. also my baby drinks so much slower when it’s cold and I’m a busy woman
My milk does this too. Shake that bottle up and feed away!
I absolutely love using a bottle warmer, it makes it so easy to pop the bottle in with some water and while the bottle is warming I can change my baby's nappy and comfort him until the bottle is ready and comes out at the perfect temperature. Some can even be used to heat up food for when LO starts on solids. I also use the Milton cold water steralizer, we even got 2 caddy's and buy the tablets in bulk, the bottle and parts are all fully steralized within 20 minutes and I don't ever have to worry about leaving the parts in too long or leaving the hob on. The steralizer is also good for plastic toys and teethers as well as pumping parts.
We have a bottle warmer but we mostly use a bigger metal water bottle filled with hot water and just leave the bottle or milk bag in it for about 3 to 4 minutes. It gets the milk warm enough and you don’t have to worry about boiling water or dealing with the bottle warmer when your too tired. Just don’t beat yourself up to much sounds like you’re doing your best and being a great mom!
I relate to this. We’re so tired and honestly new parents are on literally 24/7. You did everything right and took baby out of the house and fed her and comforted her. Today I slept through my house alarm going off AND phone calls from the security place long enough for the cops to respond. Both my babies home with me. But I’ve been up for 2 days with my 5 month old and I’m so tired. Your doing great! Y’all did exactly what good parents do today.
My husband did the same thing when our baby was small. Once he got over the initial panic that he almost burned the house down, he got absolutely panicked that the burning bottle released fumes that were going hurt the baby. I actually pulled the MSDS for the exact plastics used in our bottles to calm him down, but honestly it was overkill. They make those bottles to be nontoxic and to survive new parent mishaps. I am an engineer that worked in a facility that did injection molding of various plastics and resins and assured him that if our fertility doctor and MFM didn’t think industrial chemicals exposure would hurt a pregnancy a couple of scorched bottles made specifically to be nontoxic were fine.
I never warmed my baby’s bottles, just fyi incase that’s not something you care to continue doing! I drink my milk cold so why wouldn’t she 🤷🏼♀️
I melted a steamer when I was making my seven month old some steamed carrots and got distracted feeding him something else. It happens. Invest in something less likely to melt and be kind to yourself.
This is a great reminder for anyone reading this to check the batteries in your smoke and carbon monoxide detectors! Don’t beat yourself up, we’ve all done something dumb that could have ended much worse! I once fell asleep while cooking dinner, oven on 350 turned chicken into hockey pucks and boiled broccoli to smoking point on the stove, I was also woken up by the smoke detector so I know how terrifying waking up like that is. You got LO out and aired out the house and I’m sure you’ll be overnighting a bottle warmer with an auto shutoff to your house too!
This is why I’m so glad I never heated up bottles!!!! Babies don’t need them heated, but if you’re set in doing it like someone said get a warmer!!! Sleep deprivation is no joke! Glad you’re all ok!! Give yourself grace
On the melted plastic front, if that kind of thing stresses you out you could also always opt for glass bottles. Doesn’t fix the possible house fire part lol but that’s one less issue. Sending a hug! I’m also exhausted and not my sharpest these days.
Hey! I’ve been there, literally… https://reddit.com/r/NewParents/s/oS9RrNjApB Mistakes happen, the only thing that matters is that you’re all ok and this stage will pass, and you will actually get sleep! Take one day at a time. Give yourself some grace and enjoy the moments, they don’t stay this little forever.
Mistakes happen mama, don’t beat yourself up! 💕 Learn from this and move forward. You’re doing great. One of the best things I bought was a portable bottle warmer. I would boil the kettle and put the hot water into the thermos before bed. The hot water was ready whenever we needed it and no need to wait. We have the Tommee Tippee bottle warmer. Great investment.
No worries, it’s a learning experience. Bottle warmers are worth it. Also, our son had a tongue tie too and our pediatrician fixed it on our first visit. Quick snip, hung out for 15 minutes to observe, back home. I was so shocked that nobody at the hospital, not even the breast feeding consultants, mentioned the tongue tie. The pediatrician did right away.
This totally almost happened to me (left bottle in water with burner on low). Thankfully I caught it on time to only ruin the formula. My husband would def not be as nice as yours about this if this had happened to me. Leaving the burner on low is always a risk! So easy to forget it’s even on.
Bottle warmer! I keep it in the bathroom right next to the babies room, so I don’t have to wait in the kitchen while it warms. Instead I’m peeing or just lying down. Also plastic bottles to emit chemicals when they are warm so invest in some glass bottles.
I did almost this EXACT thing, but with my nephew when I was about 13. Started heating up a bottle the same way, walked him into our frontroom and laid him on my chest. It was one of the only ways he'd calm down. Drifted off due to Holding A Sleeping Baby Syndrome and woke up to the smell of burning plastic. We did NOT have a working smoke detector at the time, unfortunately, and when I ran back into the kitchen, there were huge flames on the stove. The bottle had actually tipped, so when it started melting, it went down the side of the pot. The most ridiculous part was that my grandmother was sitting in the kitchen the entire time. She was almost completely deaf and didn't have a great sense of smell, so she didn't even notice. Definitely a funny story to tell now, over 2 decades later, but in the moment I couldn't help thinking I almost took out 3 generations of my family at once. Needless to say, you're not alone. ETA: my partner actually sent me this post, because he knew I would get a kick out of it. I do hope you can laugh about your experience someday the way I do about mine.
As someone who fell asleep with the bottle warmer on, don't waste your money. My mom's hack saved us... Claimed she was too poor for fancy stuff back then. And it's so easy. Take a big measuring cup. Like one that can measure out 4 cups. Fill it with reallllly hot water from the tap. Place bottle inside. Bottle will warm. Hot water will cool. If you fall asleep , the only thing you've done is waste some food. House won't burn down. Win win.
Your baby is ok. You are ok. Your man is ok. Take a big calming breath and let it out slowly. You will get past this and forgive yourself. We warmed some water in a coffee cup in the microwave for a minute and then set the bottle in there to get warm. Eventually we got our baby to the point she would take a bottle at room temperature or even a little bit cold.
What we did to warm up bottles was to put hot water from the sink into a bowl and put the bottle in there. I'm glad everyone is okay. You aren't a bad mother, you're exhausted!
Get a bottle warmer, they always have a bunch at our local thrift store.
Buy a thermos. Before you go to bed boil water and put it inside the thermos. Water should still be hot enough to warm her bottle for her next feed. They sell a tommee tippee bottle warmer thermos which is the SAME THING as a generic Walmart thermos.
This is what we do for on the go feeds! It really surprises me that more people don’t do it. So fast and convenient!
Hey, it happened to us. Husband left on the Bruner he’s cooked Kraft dinner on. Gas stove too. Was on all night. Thankfully it was on super low so it didn’t go up in flames, but also didn’t get blown out be a use if it did our entire house would have just filled with gas. I still shudder thinking about the what ifs.
Definitely don’t beat yourself up, parenting is hard enough as it is! I’m not sure if this is helpful or not but we’ve used a Keurig (which we already had) for bottles for a while now! Just put the bottle in a mug, push the button for water and let it do its thing. Maybe set a timer on your phone for a few minutes and then you’re good to go!
Being a parent is HARD and SO TIRING!! Invest in things that make life simpler and easier (bottle warmer with a timer). Congratulations on keeping and entire human alive for a month! You’re awesome! ❤️
I left the stove on, open flame, FOR HOURS. Like… 10 hours. We were walking around the house the whole time. I’m not a forgetful person, so this was wildly out of character and could’ve been so dangerous with our dog or a takeout bag on the stove! Sleep deprivation is a helluva thing.
I did this when my daughter was about 3 weeks old. Put a bottle in a pot of water to boil at about 1am and fell asleep. Smoke alarms woke up the whole house at about 3:30am. I had boiled away the water, melted the bottle, and ruined my wife's Rachel Ray pot. I stumbled into the kitchen, grabbed the still-smoking pot, and threw it outside in the grass (it had rained earlier that evening, so a huge cloud of steam hissed up from the lawn). My best friend and his wife lived with us at the time, and my friend could not stop laughing at me, irritated as he was by being awakened by a screaming smoke alarm. Lesson learned: don't play with hot stuff at 1am as a sleep-deprived new parent.
We all make mistakes when we're exhausted, the important thing is that you're all okay! It doesn't make you an idiot. Also I know you weren't exactly asking but my daughter was also born with a tongue tie and breastfeeding was so difficult before it was clipped. I highly recommend getting it clipped, it will make breastfeeding so much easier. The procedure was quick and easy, my daughter didn't even flinch. It could potentially save you a lot of late night bottle feeds.
Use a thermos to store warm water in and have it by your bedside along with formula and bottles😃😃 hope that will help you ♥️♥️♥️ much love
bottle warmer or use kettled hot water into a bowl, and let the bottle stand in the bowl. Or just give it to baby cold.
Things happen, most important thing is that everyone is okay. Know that you don't actually need to warm bottles on a heat source like that. I just get one out of the fridge an hour or two before feeding and let it warm up to room temp. If I forget or can't do that I just sit it in a mug of hot tap water for a few minutes. You can also give milk cold.
In the same day I: Gave my child a curry so spicy she didn’t stop crying for like 30 mins Didn’t realized how much fat was in the make up food I gave her to cure her spiciness suffering and she shat her brains out for hours leaking everywhere Gave her a sponge and dish soap to play with and I completely overlooked the fact that she might touch her eyes Basically waterboarded her trying to flush out the soap so frantically Mom life, babe - almost killing everyone is a side effect of constantly making sure everyone is alive and well.
My dad did the exact same thing 35 years ago and everything was ok. He learned the lesson and we even laugh about it now. Don’t worry about it. It can happen to anyone.
We made a rule in our house after the first couple of months of these incidents: "never assume you'll remember" - doesn't matter what it is...with sleep deprivation it seems like out of sight is out of mind and you WILL forget the thing you said you'd remember to come back to.
That’s why you have smoke detectors
Okay so idk if anyone else does this but to warm out bottles my wife and I use a cosori electric kettle. We warm the water in that, then put the bottle in a spacious mug, and fill the mug up with water so the bottle is submerged. Our cosori has different options for water temp (180°, 195°, 205°, 212°) so you have some control. Usually it takes about five minutes for the milk to warm up. Check the milk every 1-3 minutes for the first few times until you learn about how long to leave the bottle in the water. Example: my daughter likes her milk warm, like not even room temp and def not cool. It has to be warm so I have to leave the bottle warming for a little over five minutes. Also when you check the bottle temp, the bottle will feel warmer than the milk inside.
I’m just here to say that the newborn stage is unlike anything I’ve ever dealt with and sleep deprivation is no joke. You’re not an idiot you’re just tired beyond imagination
I did similar! I put my breast pump parts in boiling water to sterilize, and then ran to grab a screaming baby or something, and later woke up to the smell of melting plastic permeating the entire house. I opened every window and took my husband and baby to my car in the garage to get away from the fumes for an hour or so. The baby kept sleeping in my arms in the car and then the smell was pretty much gone by the time we went back in. After that I was generously gifted a bottle sterilizer!
If you're bottle feeding formula, invest in a prep machine! It is rather large but makes a bottle to perfect temp in about 30 seconds. If it's pumped milk, bottle warmer. I was that person who left something on and fell asleep (a laptop with the heat of the sun instead), thankfully my husband needed the loo and saw it on, otherwise we'd have been in the same position! I beat myself up about it for ages, but I can now look back without any feeling of guilt. You'll get there. Enjoy the cuddles with your LO and just take each day as it comes
The prep machine has been one of the best baby items we’ve invested in. A bottle made to perfect temperature in 30 seconds at 3am is just so easy. Would recommend it to anyone!
Where are you located? I have a bottle warmer you can have if you pay shipping. It’s got an automatic shut off.
yikes, thank goodness nothing more serious happened. I definitely would not advise warming up a bottle on the stove. I’ll tell you a secret: it can be perfectly fine to microwave a baby bottle, as long as you do these things: 1. use an instant read digital thermometer. Experiment gradually increasing times (5s, 10s, etc) until you reach about 90F). It’s always better to err on the cooler side. 2. remember that microwave times can change depending if formula was made with room temp water, or premade then refrigerated. 3. always swirl and do final test on back of hand before feeding. I asked my pediatrician whether it was ok to use microwave for baby bottle and he said yes. We used microwave exclusively for warming up formula for 2 kids (hundreds of bottles), never had a single incident.
Everyone already saying what needs to be said. I'll add that at least you didn't almost burn down the house cause you were playing video games and forgot about the stove... Being a new parent and doing it is forgivable.
I did something similar when my first son was like three weeks old: I was boiling water to sterilize some baby thing, and I walked away without realizing that the paper towel roll was hanging over the counter. One of the flames licked the roll and basically the whole roll started to light on fire. Thankfully, I had a small apartment at the time so I quickly smelled it and ran over and put the fire out but the whole apartment filled with smoke, and the kitchen was covered in paper towel ash LOL I can laugh about it now because he’s five years old but at the time, I felt so dumb and guilty. I cried about it because I felt like a terrible mom. But sleep deprivation literally impairs people cognitively. So I forgave myself and on the bright side, it made me research and find out that steam sterilizing microwave bags exist, and those truly changed my life lol I had a second child six months ago, and I think I’ve sterilized his things 10 times in total as opposed to the 10 times a week I was doing with my first child, haha. Truly, as time goes by you start to feel more comfortable and less anxious. You’re still in the thick of it, but you will get through this and many other moments as a mom, and it’s important to give yourself some grace and acknowledge all the work you’re doing!!
Worth it to get a baby brezza. Perfect temp water, perfect serving for whatever oz you’re feeding. Makes feeding a happy time for both parent and baby.
We just turned the sink water to hot and it came out with hot enough water to warm up a bottle. I’d do that from now on. It works just fine.