This brand is facing a lot of mad mamas.
A popular baby brand is being slammed for demanding that an influencer return the crib they sent her after she was unable to post pictures using it — because her baby died.
Brooklyn Larsen, a “So You Think You Can Dance” alum, and her husband, Tanner, lost their newborn son, Rocky, 12 hours after he was delivered.
“Our hearts are completely shattered,” Brooklyn announced in an Instagram post in Nov. 2024, several days after the devastating death of her baby. “Our perfect little boy didn’t make it.”
Brooklyn has one 3-year-old boy and previously suffered a miscarriage in Dec. 2023.
She’s shared insights into her grief over the last several months as she’s processed her emotions, and has mostly been comforted by people’s responses to the sad news.
However, one brand’s reaction to the news of her baby’s passing “absolutely disgusted” the family.
Brooklyn’s sister McKenna Bangerter, another family-focused content creator, shared that the brand Happiest Baby “demanded” that Brooklyn return the $1,700 SNOO smart bassinet they had gifted her because she would no longer be able to create content using it as promised.
“I want you to think about why she couldn’t deliver the content,” Bangerter wrote in a since-expired Instagram story. “I’m absolutely disgusted by a BABY brand who promotes support for moms & babies — that doesn’t even have the decency to give her the space to grieve the bassinet she never got to fill.”
In comparison, she said other brands have treated her sister with “grace & empathy and not like a transaction.”
As the story spread, fellow mommy influencers, “SYTYCD” alumni and other social media users have continued to express their anger toward the company’s behavior by leaving comments on Happiest Baby’s social media accounts and insisting that others stop purchasing from the shop.
Bangerter shared a video of herself taking apart her SNOO bassinet, claiming she’d be donating it to a women’s shelter.
As the backlash continues, Happiest Baby apologized to the family and those upset by the situation.
“When we learned of Rocky’s passing in December, we were heartbroken for Brooklyn and her family. We immediately sent flowers and our sincere condolences, and there was no mention of anything else. We just wanted her to know we were thinking of her,” the statement given to People reads. “Out of respect for her privacy, we communicated directly to Brooklyn’s manager (not Brooklyn herself).”
“We know that many parents who suffer such unimaginable and tragic loss often find that the sight of an empty bassinet or crib can become a painful reminder of their grief—and parents want to remove it—so we offered to have her SNOO picked up,” the company continued.
In the statement, the company said that the response was “based on what other grieving families had requested in the past” and that “content had no bearing on this decision and was never mentioned.”
They also added that they have reached out to Brooklyn directly and taken action to coach team members to better handle each family’s grieving process.
“This is not representative of who we are. It’s not what we believe in or stand for,” the statement from Happiest Baby continued.
“We are a small company whose sole mission is to support families, especially during their most vulnerable moments. We are so sorry that Brooklyn’s experience with us did not reflect the care and compassion we strive to show every family. We hope that one person’s misstep does not overshadow the hearts and efforts of an entire team working with love and devotion to protect babies and bring comfort to parents.”
Happiest Baby was co-founded in 2015 by Dr. Harvey Karp, a pediatrician and child development specialist, and his wife, Nina Montée-Karp. The brand is best known for sleep solutions and its “5 S’s method — Swaddling, Shushing, Swinging, Sucking and Side position — which has become standard practice and the world’s first smart sleeper bassinet, which uses gentle rocking motions and white noise to mimic the calming effects of being in the womb.
Brooklyn, Bangerter and Happiest Baby did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Post.
