If you’re a parent on the go with baby or simply a primary care giver leaving detailed instructions for someone watching your bundle of joy, you’ll often find yourself in need of a quick way to heat up baby’s food.

It’s a fact of life that when an infant starts crying, he or she wants food…NOW. That’s not the time to be fumbling with stove or contemplating using the microwave! You want something warm and yummy to shovel in immediately.

I’ve found a bottle and food warmer like this great one from Avent indispensable for all of those times.

If you’re pumping and storing breast milk you often find yourself leaving instructions to someone who is unable to, well, dispense body temperature nutrition at the drop of a hat or shirt, actually. So, this little heater can come in handy. It heats milk in less than two minutes and features a handy alarm for those times when a bottle has been hastily placed in it to heat while an adult runs around the room bouncy baby up and down in a futile attempt to soothe.

Since this isn’t exclusively a bottle warmer, it comes in handy later when you need to heat up those little frozen cubes of homemade baby food or slightly chilled jars.