Remember when Mason jars equaled canned food, à la “fresh” peaches in January? What’s old is apparently brand new again according to a couple of California parents who have launched a Kickstarter campaign for the Mason Bottle.
Yes, you've got that right. Forget expensive glass bottles from fancy-shmancy baby stores. If this thing launches you'll soon be able to pop a nipple on Granny's old jam jar and stick that homemade bottle right in Junior's mouth.
Creators Laura and Seba Belmar researched the best baby bottles before their son was born, landing on a need for glass bottles due to research on harmful chemicals found in plastics. Dismayed at the expensive cost of glass bottles currently on the market, the Belmars turned to the Mason jars already in use at their home.
Non-toxic, affordable, and uber-hipster wonderful?
Conveniently, Mason jars are already made in the two-most common baby bottle sizes (4 and 8 ounces) and its glass is heat resistant, cold resistant and shock tolerant. The Belmars designed a silicon nipple that’s a “natural fit for the jars and for babies.”
Testing the prototype didn’t even involve renting lab space. Their son sampled the product at no-charge to the clients. (Kids: They are worth it.)
While pumping breast milk is still a chore, freezing the breast milk in the Mason jar baby bottles, heating and serving it was almost as easy as making jar lid cherry pies, according to the entrepreneurs. While we’re not sure if there were arguments over who would clean the Mason bottles, cleaning the wide-mouth bottles doesn’t involves those niggly bottle-cleaning brushes.
While their Mason Bottle waits for patent approval, the Belmars hope the Kickstarter campaign (runs through early December) will provide enough funding to tool and manufacture the product. “Every family we know would like to have less baby stuff around the house, either to reduce clutter, cut costs, or to lighten their footprint on the earth,” says Seba Belmar. “Our mission is to make creative products that help parents raise healthy kids while also saving money and resources.”
While this mama is done with bottle feeding, the story made my fingers tingle for a little Mason jar Pinterest action. In the spirit of serving all of our readers no matter their babies’ ages, here’s a list of weird and wonderful Mason jar uses you should definitely know about:
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Tissue holder from Hughesyomomma on Etsy. Happy hour stemware without stems
- Milk glasses for post-baby bottle children
- Dandelion/flower vases
- Portable meal holder
- Herb planters
- Kleenex dispensers
- Votive candle holders
- Spice containers
- Momma’s candy stash dispenser
- No-bake cheesecake maker
- Jar lid cherry pies
- Chalk painted, distressed usable artwork
- Jar lid pumpkins/full moons/circle of life circles
- Crap holders (pens, money, paintbrushes, buttons, you name it, throw it in here)
