Mail Delivery: On The Fly

You know all the things you THINK you know about babies before you have them? And then you know how once you actually have a child, you find out you really didn't have a clue about much of ANYTHING?

I thought that breastfeeding was going to be easy, it's just what babies do, right? It turned out that both Big Sister E and Little Sister B had different ideas and, even after spending countless, AND I MEAN COUNTLESS, visits with lactation consultants and hours and hours of crying (them and me), it turned out that nursing wasn't in the cards for me. However, I still wanted to do the best thing possible for both of them, so, thanks to my Medela and I being pretty cozy, both girls still solely received breastmilk and all of its nutrients. I found lots of information and groups to join online of other EP (Exclusive Pumping) Moms and tried not to dwell on the images in my mind of all the serene nursing women that made it look so easy.

Aside from all of the time spent with the pump (and, let me tell you, it was A LOT), having the girls drink from bottles had its conveniences. It was never a problem for me to go somewhere and have to worry about someone else being able to feed my baby and, before the girls were sleeping well through the night, it was easy for my husband and I to take turns getting up so that the other person could get a good long stretch of sleep.

The cons, however, were big. As well as the pumping (did I mention that there was A LOT of pumping? Oh, yes, I did. Now I remember), breastmilk isn't very convenient to bring with you because it can't be left unrefrigerated. Little Sister B is on a fairly consistent schedule now so I can plan on when and how much she is going to eat and can have it ready for her before we leave the house. However, when it comes to heating a bottle that I've brought along in the cooler, the options aren't all that many. Running the bottle under hot water in a restroom works, but very s - l - o - w - l - y, and who wants to stand there in a public restroom trying to get the automatic faucet to keep running? Back when Big Sister E was a baby, I tried one of those bottle warmers that plug into the lighter in the car, but it never seemed to work. It always seems like stressing over trying to warm a bottle is like a disaster waiting to happen.

Enter On The Fly, a new chic on-the-go bottle warmer that was created to make life easier.

On The Fly Starter Kit

The On The Fly is one of those products that I should have invented because it is so simple, yet so ingenious. It is a stretchy "bottle sock" that has a double layer of fabric into which you tuck in an air-activated warmer. That's pretty much all there is to it and yes, it's just that easy. On The Fly is designed to fit wide bottles and it even comes in two sizes, small (for 4 oz bottles) and large (for 8 - 11 oz bottles). Perfectly convenient and no electricity needed.

Our playgroup was heading to the park last week and I was glad to have my On The Fly to bring with us. When it was nearing time for Little Sister B to eat, I pulled it out and had no problem getting things prepared. After sliding the bottle into the inner sock and pulling the outer sock up around the top, I opened the warmer and wrapped it around the bottle. Using the self-adhesive, the warmer stuck to itself and stayed snug around the bottle. I pulled the outer sock back down over the whole thing and voila! Ready to go.

According to the package, it might take 30 minutes to reach maximum temperature and, for me, that seemed to be about right. Later in the day, I was wishing that we had elsewhere to go because the warmer stayed heated for a LONG time. The directions for On The Fly say that the "warmer is intended to provide constant heat for up to 8 hours" but I think mine lasted much longer than that. I opened it around 12:30 in the afternoon and the last time I remembered to check it was somewhere around 10:00 that night and it was still nice and toasty.

This would be the perfect thing to take traveling, because one warmer would be able to heat almost a full day's worth of bottles. Figuring out how to warm bottles on an airplane, during a road trip or while camping? Fairly difficult unless you have an On The Fly with you.

No problem Mom, I've got this feeding thing covered.

Whether your baby is exclusively bottle-fed or only occasionally, breastmilk or formula, having an On The Fly is a hassle-free, easy solution to heating bottles or maintaining warmth. Available now at www.ontheflybottle.com. My one criticism? That On The Fly wasn't invented three years ago so that I could have used it with Big Sister E's bottles.

Thanks, Lauren at Free To Be Me Baby Products, LLC, for allowing me to test and review the On The Fly. It's a great product. And, although the On The Fly comes in a cute little package, it was still too large to fit in the mailbox. So, for bringing it up to my door and asking how my day was going, thanks, Mail Carrier.

(Other than the On The Fly Starter Kit that I was sent, I was not provided with anything or enticed to do this review in any way. This review is solely my opinion of this innovative and handy product.)