By Andrea Patin:
I really wanted to like Mommy’s Bliss Sweet Slumber Trio. Really. The baby wash, massage cream and mist seemed enough to send my little guy off on a blissful night of R&R, right? Not so much. Sorry, Moms — there is nothing magical about this stuff. These are natural products that pack brilliant marketing. “Natural” does not mean organic (though they do have a few organic ingredients) or animal friendly.
First, the image and message they were selling me right from the beginning: these three products were going to lull my baby off
to a good night’s sleep. Would this really give me a full night’s sleep? Would my little guy fall asleep in a cocoon of blissful relaxation as they promote? I wanted it so badly. I did watch their video suggested … set up a bedtime ritual with a warm bath, using their Sweet Slumber Baby Wash. Sang him soft songs while using the massage cream. Spritzed his bedding with the Sweet Slumber Mist. All of the products are very lightly scented, which I liked. I have a background in essential oils, so I was happy with the idea of using lavender, chamomile and ylang ylang. I did this every 2-3 days for 2 weeks, but noticed no difference with Mommy’s Bliss bath night. My hopes for the magical elixir were sunk.
Second bummer, the ingredients. I now wish I would have done this research first (live and learn). I noticed that the list of ingredients seemed a bit long for this “safe and natural product.” It doesn’t have parabens or “harsh chemicals,” so how bad could it be? If you are like me, using or eating anything with ingredients you cannot spell or pronounce is a big no-no. For example, cetyl palmitate is the fifth ingredient out of 30 in the massage cream. Cetyl palmitate is the wax found in the skull of sperm whales. It is used often in cosmetics since it is hard but oily and has no taste or smell. This massage cream is not animal friendly! (The baby wash is 100% vegan, though.) All three products also contain phenoxyethanol, a preservative taking the place of parabens. The Environmental Working Group give it a rating of “moderate hazard.” There are some organic ingredients, mainly a few of the herbs and flower extracts towards the middle and end of the list.
We here at Green-Mom have very high standards for body care. We all should. Our skin is our largest organ, so we should be able to eat what we put on it since it absorbs into our tissues. I would not recommend eating this stuff, and I would definitely do not want my baby to eat it. Products like this make me question how I lost my way from the basics. There are so many incredible, simple and truly organic ways in which to thrive and promote a bedtime ritual that will lull my child to a really, really sweet slumber. Using essential oils to promote a good night’s sleep is a wonderful idea, but you don’t need the additives. Check out https://zerowastefamily.com/natural-baby-care/ for some tips on truly natural baby care.
