‘GET SOPHIE!!’ is an all too familiar exclamation in our house. I admit that I have been known to bellow the phrase at the bottom of the stairs at the top of my voice whilst sighing in the process. I’m not fooling myself; I’m not about to win any awards for ‘Most Ladylike Woman of the Year‘ any time soon.
Before you get to thinking that Sophie is a favoured aunt or some kind of super nanny, allow me to set the record straight. Sophie is…a giraffe.
Those of you with children and actually those of you without, will already be familiar with the squeaky rubber teething toy complete with coal black eyes and a dash of blush that the ladies on the Tom Ford beauty counter would be proud of. Sophie is a girl who knows she’s got sass and totally owns it – at least that’s what I tell myself.
It was actually my mum that bought our original Sophie. I confess that at first I couldn’t really see the appeal; she looked a bit like a chew toy that you would give a dog. Granted she looked like a super duper deluxe version but a squeaky chew toy nonetheless… ‘But what does she do?’, I asked, ‘apart from squeak?‘. Whilst mum waxed lyrical about the natural rubber and the ribbed neck that supposedly soothes babies’ gums, I wasn’t convinced.
Hector told me or rather showed me otherwise. He adores Sophie and with the exception of the science model which I talked about in this post and his Maileg mice, she is most definitely his favourite toy. Initially he adored chewing on her nose, then it was her ears but now it seems that it’s all about the hooves. I can’t tell you why he’s managed to work his way round her anatomy – perhaps there’s a logical reason for doing so or perhaps he’s just trying to cover all the bases.
I’m the first to admit that I’m a marketeer’s dream; we now have the comforter and the teething ring in addition to the original Sophie and I won’t lie to you when I say that I have my eye on a couple of the bath toys too. I call it brand loyalty – my husband tells me I am an easy sell.
Perhaps he’s right, perhaps I’m a total schmuck, but I’ve not yet come across a mum who a) doesn’t have a Sophie in her possession and b) doesn’t rave about how wonderful she is and how she’s saved a teething related disaster on more than one occasion. I’m prepared to hedge my bets then that I’m not the first mum to holler ‘Where’s Sophie?!’
And then about a month ago I found out that Sophie La Girafe also had an organic skincare range too. Did you know about it? Since then we’ve been lucky enough to try the bubble bath as well as the face cream. Confession time here… I say ‘we’ as I’ve also been indulging in a spot of pampering once the child is in bed much to my delight. The cream is gentle enough to use on his skin but works a treat on my dehydrated face (honestly has anyone else found that their skin has gone haywire since giving birth?) without any greasy side effects. And the bubble bath is soapily luxurious without being too heavy on the scent side of things which I’m not a fan of in baby products. I mean a baby should smell like a baby, right? Regardless if it works for mummy and baby then that can only be a good thing particularly as price wise they are at the top end of the budget. A problem shared is a problem halved…or something to that effect.
So are you a Sophie addict or have you found that she’s not really worked for you? Would you recommend her to your pregnant friends? And have any of you tried the Sophie skincare range? What did you think? Are there any other products you feel I should try?
I’d love to hear what you have to say…
Hi Lolly… We don’t have a Sophie, but as my Little Edie seems to be chewing everything, (including my poor husbands nose!!) I think I might need to give one a go… so far she has rejected any other teething related toy.. Maybe Sophie will past the test?! With regards to lotions and potions, Edie suffers with terrible eczema, inherited from me unfortunately… Someone recommended we try Lush’s Dream Cream / wash products – totally sold!! They are all 100% natural/vegan so no nasties to irritate skin, and the cream is ace for cuts, burns, sunburns, blemishes… you get the picture plus it has cleared up the angry eczema a treat! I’ve even caught my husband using it, and he really isn’t a products kind of guy…
Danielle if it’s any consolation Hector loves chewing on my chin – it wasn’t so bad when he didn’t have his bottom teeth but now it hurts. He finds it hilarious though so I find it hard to say no. If anything buy Sophie to give your husband’s nose a rest! I’d not heard about Lush’s Dream cream – we’ve noticed the last few days that Hector seems to have got a bit of eczema on his back so we’ve cut right back on the dairy to help clear it up. Perhaps we need to give the products from Lush a go too!
Yep, our Sophie is violated on a daily basis by our 5 month old. It’s a poor life for a giraffe – being gummed and slobbered on 24-7 😉
Whilst I don’t know a mum who doesn’t own or has been gifted a Sophie, we actually found the Tommee Tippee teething ring more effective for soothing poorly gums. It has an area which can be cooled, is easier for the baby to hold and (importantly when you are on SMP) is a fraction of the price! Doesn’t have cute blushed cheeks though.
Hi Kat – love the way you describe Sophie being violated! We also have a cooling teether from Boots in the shape of a hand that Hector likes to pull in and out of his mouth but it usually only lasts for about 10 minutes before he gets bored. It was only about a pound so I’m not too bothered as it’s super handy on hot days too to cool him down. I agree about the cheeks though – there’s no beating them.
Our little Miss has just cut her first tooth today!! Yay!!! Very grateful for Sophie the last few days, but she is quite fond of the nuby bugaloop too. Off to replenish stocks of teething salts and gels as the next doesn’t look too far off!
Ahhhh Danielle it’s so cute when they have their first tooth – and such a relief for us too! Hector has his bottom two with his top right hand tooth about to break through. He’s been a bit grouchy the last couple of days so I’m thinking it will make its appearance any day now. How have you found the teething salts and gels – we’ve tried them but they didn’t seem to work on Hector.
Isn’t it?!! She’s 8 months so it was about time! The teetha salts seem to work ok, and anbesol gel does help her, but all very short term relief, calpol has been required on many a day. Its been such a drawn out process so far, but all of a sudden, the first are nearly through without too many tears so far. It’s her christening on Sunday though and am praying she has a good week, with lots of sleepy time to allow me to get everything done!
Ps, my friend has created herself a Sophie rein to ensure she is attached to her little boy at all appropriate times! Thought that was a stroke of genius!!
My friend Annie has done that for her little boy Finn too! SO cute!
Ahhhh I went to a Christening yesterday and it was lovely – perfect weather for it so I shall keep my fingers crossed for yours too. Hope it all goes swimmingly!
I was kind of relieved when my oldest little one had no interest in Sophie whatsoever. Yes, the little giraffe rocks the blush but that squeak…. Hmmmm, not so attractive. My littlest however LOVES Sophie and at five months is already jamming two hooves in her mouth at regular intervals throughout the day, which appears to give her lots of comfort from teething. I’m just about coping with th associate squeak-fest! And ditto on the dehydrated skin – I’m in the process of preparing a blog post on this very subject!
I’m so glad I’m not the only one with crappy skin after giving birth. At first it went really oily and greasy – along with my hair! – and then that cleared up to give me skin that could easily double up as sandpaper. I can only assume it’s hormones returning to normal. As for the squeak, I’ve found that if you give Sophie a wash then water gets into the squeaky bit and muffles it for a while or if you’re really luckily temporarily eradicates it entirely…
Time for Sophie to have a good dunking then! My skin has been super dehydrated and dull (and you know what that means? Lines – eek.) Whether this is down to hormones, breastfeeding, sleep deprivation or a slightly erratic diet, I’m not sure. I’ve been on a bit of a moisture mission as a result and things are thankfully starting to look a bit brighter. Literally.
We love Sophie in this house! Although sadly my daughter seems to be losing interest in her now even though she’s teething badly at the moment (she’s 12 months). I’d say from about 5-10 months though she was obsessed! Ooh very tempted by the toiletries they look lovely 🙂 I would highly recommend the Burts Bees baby range, I started using it on my baby because she was suffering with eczema and I read some good reviews on it and her skin has been perfect ever since! It smells amazing and is 99% natural ingredients. Not the cheapest but they often do offers on it in Boots! x
I do love the smell of Burt’s Bees as well but have yet to try it. I’m always tempted to buy some when I pop to my local Waitrose as they stock it there but haven’t succumbed yet. Perhaps I will this week…
I have to say neither of mine liked Sophie. They just weren’t bothered. Mind you they didn’t like any teething toy which can probably be attributed to the fact that both were nearly 15 months when their first tooth came through. I guess at that age a squeaky giraffe toy is really not that appealing! x
That’s quite late isn’t Lottie but as my dentist said ‘it’s a marathon, not a race’ apparently the later you get your teeth the longer you’ll likely to have them for (assuming that they’re looked after properly of course). I can’t imagine that something that simple would keep a baby of 15 months occupied for long, I’ll just have to hope that Hector gets all his teeth before he loses interest in Sophie!
Ps the Anbesol liquid is very good, it’s usually behind the counter in Boots and is about £5. Works much better than the gels I’ve found! x
I’ve heard lots about this Anbesol liquid Sarah – how does it work then?
It comes in a little glass bottle, you just put some on your finger and rub it on their gums! I think it’s a bit stronger than the gels (adults can use it too for mouth ulcers etc) and it’s easier to put on! Just seems to work quite well, my little girl opens her mouth when she sees me get the bottle out! Teething sucks, we’ve got every teething aid under the sun but still end up cracking the Nurofen out pretty regularly! x
Well I think I might invest then – especially if adults can use it too. My husband has such bad mouth ulcers at the moment (he’s blaming the late nights) so he’ll be glad of the relief!
I suffer terribly with mouth ulcers when I get run down. Anbesol probably stings when you put it on (I have yet to try it) but Iglu gel is brilliant. It isn’t water based so it stays on the ulcer for ages, too. I second Anbesol for teething- couldn’t live without it!!
Sophie was the first thing I bought when I hit the 6 month mark. I was hesitant to start buying baby gear but Sophie did seem to be a must have and if it ends up driving me nuts, well it will make a fine dog toy and that squeak will be gone in a matter of minutes in the paws of a 16 month lab 🙂
I think it will be well worth it! When is your due date Steph?
T – 10 days! Think I might need a chew toy myself for the nerves!
Good luck! You’ll be fine!
We had Sophie before my little girl was even born – she was her first toy! Now at 6 months (though with no teeth yet), she LOVES her, she gets much more mileage than any of her other teethers. I must admit though, I think her black eyes make her look a bit creepy. They should change those to a more friendly looking version I think. Also, did you know you can buy a Sophie holder on eBay for about £2? Invaluable for stopping her hitting the deck when out and about!
Tracy it’s like a giraffe harness!! Amazing – I’m thinking I should invest as I’m always washing the blinking thing when Hector decides to lob her out of his pram. Hector had his first teeth at about 7 1/2 months but two came through at once and he’s about to get his third any minute and he’s not even nine months yet. You might find that she has a bit of a teeth growth spurt soon!
My 9mo daughter Penelope loves the original Sophie, but the teething ring not so much (she’s a fickle creature). Unfortunately our chocolate lab also loves Sophie! In fact, it’s the only baby toy she’s shown any interest in. Perhaps we should all get ourselves down to Pets at Home & stock up on some chew toys when we inevitably lose the Sophies?!
I think you might be onto a winner there Nikki. Hector isn’t as much as a fan of the teething ring either – how bizarre.
My dog loves Sophie too! He looks at me like “why does the baby have a dog toy?” I put her up high every night so the temptation doesn’t overcome him!
Also, I tried Bickiepegs the other day on my mum’s recommendation (wouldn’t recommend- they’re too small to be anything other than a choking risk), but my dog loves those, too! He is really good when LO is eating normally and doesn’t try to steal anything, but the Bickiepeg was just far too tempting.