I did a blog post a couple months ago about which natural mattress to buy, and a lot of people were really interested! In this video and post, I’ll tell you which mattress we ended up buying and why.

We were due for an upgrade

The second hand pillow top that Mike and I had been sleeping on for six years was taking its toll on us, and it was time for an upgrade.

But many new mattresses are toxic

Many of today’s mattresses are made with harmful petrochemicals and flame retardants that give off gas (chemical off-gassing), so we wanted to for sure avoid those.

So we started shopping and reviewing natural and organic mattresses

There are a lot of good choices out there, but the ones made with wool left me sneezy, others were too soft, and some just felt a little… off to me. But there was one standout that felt really great to both my husband and I – even better than conventional mattresses.

We love memory foam mattresses

Memory foam can be gentler on the body and just more comfortable overall. But most conventional memory foam is chemical-laden. Luckily, there is one company that makes a natural memory foam, and they’re called Essentia. Their mattresses feel just like conventional memory foam mattresses, but without all the chemicals. The mattresses are made in Canada in a very sustainable way.

Luckily, we have an Essentia store here in Chicago, so we got to try out all the mattresses ourselves and find the ones that fit our bodies just perfectly. We visited twice, and I actually feel like I earned my master’s degree in mattress science.

I’m sure you can guess which natural mattress we went with

Yep, we chose Essentia – but with a twist.

You see, Mike’s a big side sleeper, and needed a softer mattress for his shoulders. Whereas (when I’m not pregnant) I’m more of a back sleeper, and I like a firmer mattress.

So we ended up going with two twin XL mattresses from Essentia, and they fit perfectly on our King frame.

I got their Tatami model, which they describe as young, hip, and firm 😉 And, let me just say I’m so thankful for this bed. I feel great on it and in the morning I’ve barely moved positions. A great sign! Mike got their Dormeuse Fior, which is super memory foamy.

It’s funny, because my mattress is their least expensive, and Mike’s is their most, which is totally a role reversal from how we usually roll 🙂

My Essentia mattress review

Mike and I both love our Essentia mattresses! We both give glowing reviews. The memory foam truly cradles your body and offers tons of soft, supple support. And, of course, we’re even happier that we’re not breathing chemical off gases each night too.

Disclosure: While Essentia provided us with a discount on our mattresses, the opinions I share about them are my own.

Update: Two years later…

Here we are, two years later and we are loving our Essentia mattresses more than ever. We recently moved across the country, and, after nine days of sleeping on friend’s beds and air mattresses, we couldn’t wait to get our Essentia mattresses back in action at our new place. That first night in our new place with our own mattresses… what a relief. I know our son was happy to be back on his Essentia twin mattress as well.

We’re so happy with our Essentia mattresses that, when it was time to buy a new bed for our guest room, the choice of which natural mattress to get was obvious. We are now proud owners of a queen-sized Tatami, along with our son’s Classic 8, my Tatami, and my husband’s Dormeuse. We chose the Tatami for our guest room because it’s medium-firm and seemed like it would be the most comfortable for the most people.

So that’s the updated review on our natural mattresses for now. Next on the list: one for our baby daughter! Once she graduates from her crib, that is. 🙂

Update: Two years later still (2017)

We chose Essentia again for our daughter’s big girl bed! Now she’s got a full sized Classic 8.

She always loved her brother’s Classic 8, and she started getting upset that she had to sleep in a crib instead of a big girl bed like her brother. And now that she’s almost 4 years old, it’s time to fix that!

We figured a full sized bed will be good for sleepovers and whatnot as she gets older. For our son, we’re going to do a bunk bed one of these days.

As a family, we’re still all loving our Essentia mattresses.

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