We were late and I couldn’t find her. From the safety of his Pack’n Play, my 6-month-old son watched me gather up his diaper bag must-haves, like actual diapers (which I remembered this time), bottles, formula, and an emergency outfit. But I couldn’t find his favorite thing.
Racing through all the rooms, she wasn’t in any of her usual hideouts. Sure, my kid was happy now, but if the crankiness took over, I’d need her help to soothe him and he accepted no replacements. Where in the world had Sophie the Giraffe gone?
Sophie came into our home as a baby gift
I had no idea what I was unwrapping, but I knew my friend who’d given me this had excellent taste. Her choice would no doubt be useful — and elegant. After all the unwrapping, I made eye contact with an overly happy, 7-inch-tall giraffe. Her huge smile freaked me out and mesmerized me all at once. Unable to look away, I stared trying to figure out what made Sophie a necessity. The box read: “Born in France in 1961.” Maybe she had a certain joie de vivre I’d been missing out on.
For the first three months of my son’s life, Sophie ended up on an Island of Lost Toys in my kid’s closet
I was way too caught up with trying to catch up on sleep to bother with her. I don’t remember much during those months except that hairbrushing time fell by the wayside in favor of naptime. But as soon as my little guy started grabbing everything in sight (like my hair, lips, and eyelashes) ,I needed to find something safer (and less painful) for him to handle. I went through his closet and there was Sophie, smiling like she knew something I didn’t.
Maybe it was my new mom nerves or Sophie’s eerie grin (turns out giraffes don’t have antlers) that gave me pause, but I felt the need to do a little research before I handed her over to my kid. I found out that it was Sophie’s long neck and legs that made her easy for an infant to grip. But with all that good “grippage,” I worried about Sophie getting a close-up look inside my kid’s mouth and that being a dangerous move. Sophie is a nontoxic teether made of 100% natural rubber, food paint, and it is BPA and phthalate free. So, maybe Sophie was smiling for a very good reason. Then I found out how much she cost, and I laughed for a very good reason.
Perhaps French accessories always run pricey, but I was shocked to discover that Sophie costs between $25 and $30. Seriously?! Most handheld baby teethers hover around $10 or less, so what makes this one so special?
Well, I was about to find out
I unwrapped the box, and Sophie did feel supersoft and smelled a little like vanilla (because the rubber she’s made from comes from the hevea tree). But the true test was about to start. Would my son love Sophie? Was she worth all that cash and all the fuss?
I held Sophie the Giraffe out to my infant and he reached for her. He held onto her neck, and not long after used her as a teether. Sophie went with us everywhere, and if she didn’t, my kid cried to let me know this was unacceptable. He was in love.
Sophie made car rides a breeze and kept my little one occupied while we went grocery shopping. When we’d thought we’d lost her, he was a mess, but luckily she turned up under his crib. So, was Sophie worth it? You bet.
I even bought an extra one.
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