I have a teething little monster at the moment, so I jumped at the chance of reviewing a ‘Sophie la girafe’ by Vulli, as I had heard they were very good teething toys. Sophie was delivered in a lovely gift box with a baby record card inside, so she would make a lovely gift for a newborn.
As I took Sophie out of the box she squeaked! I was surprised because you usually have to press squeaky baby toys quite firmly to make a sound, but this is so easy for little hands as it squeaks at the lightest touch, on both the body and the head. There was quite a rubbery smell to Sophie, as she is made from 100% natural rubber from the Hevea tree, but, as it explains on the box, the scent makes it easy for young babies to identify amongst their other toys.
The Pickle was having a particularly ‘grumpy’ day when I handed Sophie to him. He quietly studied and explored the new toy and within minutes was squeezing, hitting, chewing and enjoying playing with the giraffe, and they are now firm friends!
Great for sensory development, Sophie is easy to grip, flexible and soft to the touch, has deep contrasting spots to provide visual stimulation and is very, very chewable! Unlike some hard plastic toys, the texture of Sophie the Giraffe soothes baby’s gums and she is also much nicer to look at than other teethers!
Sophie does have a ‘vintage’ look about her as she was designed in Paris in 1961 and hasn’t changed since, but babies love her, so why change her?
Sophie the Giraffe retails at £12.99 from www.sophielagirafe.co.uk and a range of other Vulli toys are also available.
