How I Use My Portable Bottle Warmer as a Work-From-Home Mom
Hi there! I’m Laura, and I just had my third baby. Now that she’s 3 months old, I’m getting back into the swing of things regarding schedules, work, exercising, and activities for my two older children. Today I wanted to share what a typical day in my life looks like for me and how I use my portable bottle warm, the Keddle, to feed my baby both at home and on the go.
I am exclusively breastfeeding my daughter and giving her pumped bottles on the go or having my husband, grandma, or other helpers feed her pumped bottles when I’m unable to breastfeed. I have quite the freezer stash from a lot of pumping in my early postpartum weeks, so I’m not pumping quite as much. I do try to use my Hakka (a silicone milk collector) at least once a day to keep my freezer nicely filled. My portable bottle warmer, the Keddle, gets used at least twice a day, give or take a few times depending on my work schedule and family activities.
A Day In the Life of a Working New Mom
*Please note that these times are relative and can change day to day depending on how baby and I slept and what we have going on that day. There are of course some days she will refuse a bottle or a nap, some days she sleeps longer, shorter, etc.
6 am:
I wake up and do a quick 10-minute hand pumping/Hakka combination. I pour the pumped milk directly into the Keddle and place it with a bottle on my nightstand. I try to head out the door to exercise around 6:30 am.
7 am:
While I’m at my exercise class, my husband wakes up with the baby in the morning. He turns on the Keddle (I usually charge it every couple of nights in our bedroom for easy morning access, but I never use it while it’s in charging mode), heats the breastmilk, pours it into the bottle, and feeds her in our room - we are currently still room sharing.
8 am:
I am usually home and showered and give my older kids breakfast while my husband heads out the door to work. I wash out the Keddle from this morning’s milk while doing breakfast dishes. I breastfeed the baby around 8:30 am and lay her down for her first nap of the day.
10 am:
Today, I had dentist appointments for my older two kids (ages 5 and 3) before they go to afternoon preschool. I let my baby sleep a little bit longer and plan to feed her at the dentist's office. I pour a 5oz bag of defrosted milk from the fridge directly into the Keddle then add it and a bottle to my diaper bag. Note that I only pour breastmilk directly into my portable bottle warmer if it’s completely defrosted.
When my boys are settled into their dental chairs, I heat the milk directly in the Keddle and give the baby her bottle while waiting. She naps in the car after the appointment and through preschool drop-off.
12 pm:
I work during the afternoon while my baby lays in her swing, plays on her playmat, or does tummy time on my chest while I handle some work calls. I breastfeed her before her mid-afternoon nap.
3 pm:
My boys are home from preschool and we have a pretty easy afternoon ahead of us while I finish up work, the boys play and I prep before my husband and I head out for a date night.
At this point in the day, the baby has taken 2 crib naps, and 1 on the go nap. She’s breastfed a few times and bottle-fed twice, both heated with my Keddle (I feed on demand and don’t really follow a strict feeding schedule). Around 4:30, the baby goes down for her late afternoon nap, and I wrap up work for the day and start dinner for the kids.
6 pm:
Tonight my husband and I are going out to dinner with some friends so my mother-in-law is babysitting! Before we leave at 6 pm, baby wakes up from her final nap of the day and I breastfeed her while using a Hakka to collect milk on the other side. I wasn’t able to collect a ton so I put a lid on the Hakka, stick it in the fridge, and tell my mother-in-law to grab a milk bag from the freezer if she needs it while we are gone.
7:30 pm:
My mother-in-law was in charge of bedtime! She got the boys down and used the Keddle to heat the milk that was in my Hakka. She’s not the most “device” savvy but can use the Keddle without any issues. The baby was still acting hungry after that first freshly pumped bottle, so she took a 3.5oz bag of frozen milk and placed the bag directly in the Keddle, along with 4oz of water, to defrost and heat.
11 pm:
We get home from a fun night and I plug in the Keddle to charge up for another busy day tomorrow. I dream-feed my baby for those extra cuddles I missed at bedtime!
Why I Love My Portable Bottle Warmer
I’ll be honest, when I first got my Keddle I really only pictured using it on-the-go and using a plug-in bottle warmer at home. As it turns out, my favorite place to use my portable bottle warmer is at home! On the mornings I leave early to exercise my husband doesn’t even have to leave our room to get the baby’s bottle ready. My plug-in bottle warmer has been completely replaced with my portable one because it’s just that easy to use.
Obviously, not every day is filled with date nights, dentist appointments, and early mornings, but on the days I feel like I’m being pulled in a hundred different directions, I’m glad that I can get my baby fed safely, easily and quickly.