REASONS TO BUY
Auto shutoff
Audible beep
REASONS TO AVOID
Hard to use
Strange lid design
Potential for steam injuries
Beaba BabyMilk Review
Strangely designed warmer with increased chances for steam related burns
Credit: Abriah Wofford
RELATED: The Best Bottle Warmers
The Skinny
The Beaba BabyMilk is a steam bottle warmer with a removable lid. This warmer can work with bottles of various sizes and materials. It has a small footprint but is somewhat tall making it a poor choice for those with lower hanging cabinets. We like that this warmer has an audible beep at the end of the heat cycle and that it automatically shuts off to help avoid overheating. The warmer has a simple dial setting, and the water fill line is easy to see. Unfortunately, this warmer's removable lid/chamber traps steam inside to contain heat, but if the user isn't careful, it could lead to steam related burns. It also is harder to clean with an overnight descaling process. So, while the BabyMilk can warm your bottles, it could be too frustrating to use and clean.
Our Analysis and Test Results
BÉABA (bay-ah-buh) is over 25 years old and creates French-designed baby products. The company launched with a steam cooker and blender to make baby food and grew into gear that includes multiple items from feeding to apparel.
Performance Comparison
The Beaba BabyMilk is a steam technology warmer with a strange design that makes it likelier to cause potential injury.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Health and Safety
The BabyMilk earned a slightly above average score for health and safety thanks in part to the steam technology it uses. Steam offers a higher potential for burn-related injuries over water bath warmers. Following the instructions for this unit yields safe content temperatures even if the bottle remains in the chamber for up to 12 minutes after the heat cycle ends. With a final temperature of 92F at 12 minutes, it is still below body temperature, which is good. When cranked to the maximum heat potential outside the manufacturer's guidelines, it can produce a bottle with contents as warm as 123F, which is significantly over the 104F temperature when breastmilk starts losing nutrients.
The BabyMilk user interface is a single timer dial that requires referencing the instructions for warming time.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Ease of Use
The BabyMilk has some challenging features, earning it a decent score in the ease of use metric. This unit has an average user guide and an automatic shut-off with an audible beep that indicates when the heat cycle is over.
This warmer has an easy to see fill line, even though it is under the bottom plate. However, the instructions can be confusing if your bottle or contents don't conform to the chart. For example, our 4-ounce glass bottle was not on the chart. We also feel that this model has a higher chance of spilling and injury due to the strange design and difficulty putting the top on. We regularly struggled with putting the lid on and getting it lined up correctly, making it harder to use.
Warming Efficiency
The BabyMilk isn't as efficient as other steam warmers, earning it a slightly above average ranking for warming efficiency. While it heats quickly (using the instructions) for a single cycle with a shut-off at 2:30 minutes, the bottle contents are only 71F. When used at maximum settings outside the instructions, it still only reaches 77F. While it is nice that it isn't too hot, it also isn't that close to body temperature, which is the ideal temp for feeding.
The deep lid on the BabyMilk is designed to trap heat inside to warm bottles quicker, but the strange locking design is hard to line up and can result in steam related injuries if you aren't careful.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Test Temperature Before Use
Never feed your baby a bottle without first checking the temperature to ensure it isn't too hot. It's essential that you swirl the bottle before testing to mix in any potential hot spots. Place a few drops on the inside of your wrist; the liquid should be warm but not hot. The inside of your wrist is more sensitive than your finger and a better indicator of heat.
Never feed your baby a bottle without first checking the temperature to ensure it isn't too hot. It's essential that you swirl the bottle before testing to mix in any potential hot spots. Place a few drops on the inside of your wrist; the liquid should be warm but not hot. The inside of your wrist is more sensitive than your finger and a better indicator of heat.
If you need to heat a second bottle right away, you should reduce the heating time to avoid overheating the contents. This reduction could take some trial and error to get it right.
The BabyMilk is easy to take apart to clean, but the descaling process requires overnight soaking which feels like a deal breaker.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Ease of Cleaning
The BabyMilk has some cleaning challenges with a fairish score for this metric in our tests. The steam cover and basket are dishwasher safe, and regular wiping with a clean, dry cloth is suitable for daily maintenance. Every 50 cycles, this unit needs to be descaled, which could be as often as every ten days if you heat bottles an average of 5 times per day. This cleaning is significantly more frequent than other warmers with an every month schedule. The descaling can also take overnight if the mineral deposits are resistant. Overnight soaking means you'll be without your warmer when you may need it the most.
Manufacturer's Video
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Juliet Spurrier, MD and Wendy Schmitz
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