I may be going to mommy hell but...

Seriously, what's REALLY the big deal with heating a bottle in the microwave?  I know there can be hot spots and blah blah, but if you stir it or swirl it up, does it really matter?  does anyone heat their bottles in the mic?  I'm planning on breastfeeding for a while, but after that???

or at least heating the water in the mic then adding the powder?

Thanks!

Karen

i was a microwaver with my son.....  then i just started to find it much easier to mix by bottle. scoops of formula, add room temp nursery water, a drop of mylocon so no bubbles from shaking and viola... room temp bottle... my baby didnt even notice.  if i remember you can only mix in 2oz increments so i would have one bottle in the fridge for the left overs to be deposited and then that was usually the last bottle of the day.

you will figure out what works for you... my bottle warmer was the biggest waste of time and money.... in the middle of the night i wasnt waiting 10 min for my avent bottle warmer to heat up a bottle in what my micro can do in 20 seconds.

im a bad mommy.

You ARE NOT a bad mommy.  Yes, heating in the microwave does take the chance of having a "hot spot' in the bottle.  My remedy for that was to use the lowest setting on the microwave and not fill the bottle full and shake the snot out of it unil I felt it was evenly heated.  I know that it is a big no no according to the pros, but sometimes real life gets in the way of going through all of the rigamaroll *sp* just to get a screaming baby their bottle as soon as possible.  I can say this...with 8 babies, I never one time had a burned mouth due to bottle heating....I had one accident with a jar of baby food.  I thought I had stirred it well and I had not...from then on...I would put the bite I was going to give them to the tip of my upper lip to test it just to make sure.  I personally think you are okay, although I may get EXTREMELY flamed for this advice...but I have 8 healthy kids, and either I am really, really lucky....or I was careful enough to make sure nothing tragic happened.  So that is my advice...the rest is up to you doll :)

Hugs@

Laura 

 I'm a room temp bottle feeder.  I mix per bottle using room temp water so I NEVER heat up unless there is leftover from a previous bottle.. and then yes, I nuke it.

Other than the hot spots issues I know some of it had to do with the leaching of the plastic chemicals, but with the new BPA free bottles, it may have changed.
However, breastmilk should not be microwaved as it destroys the nutrients. Have I/Did I ever do it in a pinch, yes....always...no, but that was me.
The day care Emad first went to used to use a mini crock pot as a bottle warmer. You can get them for about $10. They would keep it on low with water in it, and when the needed to warm a bottle, pop it in for a minute and good to go.

LOVE the mini crock pot idea - thanks for sharing!

Just be really careful that it does not run out of water with the lid off, that can be a fire hazard.

breastmilk should never be nuked or shaken as it destroys the structure and nutrients of the milk. when i used formula with the trips i always used room temp, this way if we where out and about i didn't have to worry about heating it.

I'm not a mom, just a nanny, but here is my two cents:



I worked for a twin mom that made a day or two bottles ahead, nuked them, mixed and reheated leftovers- all the "no-nos." And her 5 years olds are just fine now.



Water running from a warm tap is warm enough for mixing formula. No need to heat. As long as it isn't truly cold- colder than the room- the powder melts in just fine. (Edited to add that some moms choose not to use tap water, but I have never met one in person.)



As far as breastmilk, I microwave 1 cup of water in a 2 cup pyrex measuring cup for a couple minutes until it's SUPER warm but not hot enough to scald, then put the whole bottle of thawed breastmilk in it just until the chill is gone. ( Just about a minute or so)



I HIGHLY recommend playtex nursers for this, as they don't float. If the milk is frozen, it still only takes 2 or 3 minutes of resting in really warm water to get to room temp.



Just my nanny experience. I've gotten 8 babies successfully through the bottle stage- all with the blessing of their moms to use a microwave.

I'm also a room temp feeder.  Room temp water and then mix the formula and you're good to go.    It's much easier than having to worry about hot spots or if the bottle is too cool or too warm.    That's alot of hassle when its 3am!   :) 
When you're out and about you just mix it and you're good. 
I know back in the day our parents alwasys heated the bottles but it's not really necessary.   All my baby knows is room temp bottles so she takes them just fine.