Review of Vulli Sophie the Giraffe Teether
Posted on July 21st, 2009 in Baby
We purchased Vulli Sophie the Giraffe Teether from amazon.com in July 2009 for $18.20. Here’s our review.
Our son is at the age where he’s been teething for a few weeks now. We recieved a few different teething toys in our baby showers (teething rings, pacifiers), and we’ve tried some home remedies as well (wet washclothes, frozen ones, our fingers), but they don’t seem to pacify our son as much as we (and he) would like. After seeing him trying to cram his entire pacifier into his mouth, we decided to find what other teething toys were out there.
Sophie immediately stood out because of the sheer number of reviews written about it.
The volume of positive reviews pushed us to give it a try. It was more expensive than the other teethers, but it seemed to be unique in material, design, and appeal.
Sophie arrives
Once Sophie arrived, we removed the packaging and examined it. The rubber it is made out of is really soft to the touch, but the horns, ears, and feet are harder and more sturdy – great for chewing on. Sophie is hollow and squeezable, which causes a squeaky sound. (I read some reviews that compared this to a dog toy, and after making it squeak, I can see why.)
The giraffe shape allows babies to have a variety of ways to chew on Sophie, as well as giving plenty of places for hands and fingers to grab it. We gave it the test: handing it to our son.
We helped him find the different ways he could chew on it – the body, the horns, and the legs/feet. By far our son’s favorite way to play with Sophie is biting her face, which makes a funny squeaky sound as his gums rub against it.
After a couple of weeks, our son, Henry, has continued to play with Sophie and fit her various parts into his mouth to chew on. It’s also very easy for him to make it squeak (unlike other baby toys). It is far from a teething panacea, and it doesn’t make pain go away and end all crying, but it has become one of the more valuable teether toys we own. When we get in the car, we bring Sophie, and Henry’s eyes literally light up as he reaches for her, unlike the response towards other toys (like plastic keys and those freezable rings).
Sophie’s quality
Though my son really could care less about this aspect of Sophie, I think it’s worth bringing up. Sophie comes packaged in a nice box, and features a little fold-out booklet of ‘Sophie’s story’ in several languages. It also has a picture card where you are encouraged to fill out information (like “Sophie the Giraffe was a gift to me from _____”) and a place to put a photo of your baby playing with Sophie.
At first I thought that was a little presumptuous, but on second thought I had to admit that Sophie the Giraffe is quite an endearing little toy, and much more classy (even with the dog-toy like squeaky sound) than other baby toys found in drug store baby aisles and such. The history is kind of an interesting read, with its roots in France (Sophie is largely sold in Europe by the French-based brand Vulli), and it has remained handcrafted since its creation decades ago. We think that Sophie would make a great gift for some of our friends expecting babies – it’s classy, cute, and for babies, useful and fun.
Bottom line
Vulli’s Sophie the Giraffe Teether is a soft and safe toy for infants entering the teething stage. Its squeaking sound can quickly get a crying child’s attention, and it’s food-grade paint makes a worry-free chew item for children who put any and everything in their mouths. It has a good variety of extremeties that babies find easy to hold and chew on. It’s one of the more quality and charming toys for babies to own. If you’re looking for a quality toy that can help with teething woes, consider Sophie the Giraffe Teether.
Our family likes Vulli Sophie the Giraffe Teether.
Update (Aug 15, 2009) : We just noticed Sophie was featured on page 26 in the Sept 2009 edition of Parent’s magazine. Not much was said about her – just under a heading that said ‘Trend Alert’, and mentioned that Sophie was available at Amazon for $20.