Sophie The Giraffe Product Review

EDIT: Now my boys are older (8 months), they have shown a little more interest in Sophie. However, I still feel she is very overrated! I would note that only from 6 months+ would a baby really begin to have any interest in this type of toy! :)

If you're a mum and you haven't heard of Sophie the Giraffe, then where have you been hiding? Sophie the Giraffe seems to be in every babies household. She is described as the top teething toy for babies that has 'wowed over 50 million babies (and parents.)'

If you're reading this review I guess you want to know whether I was one of those 50 million parents wowed by this product. Well, yes and no. Yes I was one of those parents that bought Sophie, and no neither I, nor my babies were 'wowed'.

I remember the first time I heard about Sophie the Giraffe I looked her up online and saw this hideous giraffe toy. The manufacturer proudly explains how they have not changed the design since the original Sophie's were made in 1961, but am I the only person out there who thinks they really should? On the looks basis alone I questioned buying her, the permanent creepy surprised face and big black eyes does nothing for me.

A few months passed and my newborns turned into little dribbling, teething, monster babies, and I again went back to question whether or not I should purchase this ugly Giraffe to keep my twins from gnawing their hands off. I saw that for a limited time Sophie was reduced to £9.99 on Amazon, and I decided to buy one as a trial for my boys.

When Sophie arrived I was quite excited and intrigued to see how amazing she was going to be. If you speak to other mothers, they've all got one, and rave about her helping their dribbling babies with their teeth. As a mother it is customary to take a picture of your baby and Sophie telling everyone how much your baby loves it, even if the photo of them with her is completely staged by you. Like this one, (yes I said Sophie was a hit literally seconds after my baby had her in his hands for the first time...I lied.)

I'm sure 90% of mothers who take a photo of their baby with a Sophie Giraffe have given it them in a particular way so that it looks like their baby loves her. In reality as soon as the photo is taken, Sophie has dropped and your baby is gnawing on their hand again.To my boys, (and with twins I had two babies to trial this product), they weren't the least bit interested in this ugly giraffe. Amongst my mummy friends Sophie is known as 'the dog toy', partially because she squeaks like most dog toys do, but also because most of the mothers eventually just gave her to their dogs.I'm not sure why Sophie is such a hit with parents, as you can see even celebrity mums carry her around with them, (please note that as a parent you will most likely end up carrying Sophie everywhere you go):

Jessica Alba, Baby and Sophie

Pink, Daddy, Baby and Sophie

Sandra Bullock, Baby and Sophie

Nicole Richie, Baby and Sophie

Maybe we end up finding this ugly giraffe cute and enjoy taking pictures of our babies with her. I'll be honest even I thought it was cute when I saw my little boy with a giraffe. Maybe we're all just following the hype and not wanting to expose our own babies as Sophie haters, when every other baby out there apparently 'loves it.' Or maybe I'm alone in my opinion and you and your babies all think this 'gorgeous' giraffe is a god send.

Don't get me wrong, my boys (who are 8 months old now) have started smiling if I squeak Sophie, but they also smile when I pull a silly face at them, so I'm not blown away with getting a smile for £10. As a teething toy Sophie has done absolutely nothing to help aid my boys in their teething issues. One of my boys had his two bottom teeth through at once, and I can honestly say Sophie did not help with his teething pain at any point. She is also made of rubber, and if you give her a sniff (go on, you know you want to), you get a foul strong rubber smell, even after cleaning her. The taste isn't better either, no wonder my babies aren't blown away by smelly Sophie.

My advice to any of you mothers who have read other great reviews on Amazon etc about this amazing baby teether, don't believe them. Sophie the Giraffe is just an ugly overrated dog toy, that'll sit in your house unused. I imagine the positive reviews will end up swaying your judgement and you'll purchase her just to see for yourself the little interest your baby will have with her, it's just one of those things us mothers do, we have to see for ourselves.
All I can say is your baby is going to struggle with teeth no matter what you do, and a giraffe isn't going to help. Sorry Sophie.

Let me know whether Sophie was a hit with your little one, or if you didn't bother believing the hype in the first place. I'd love to know.

Lots of love,
Samantha Dawn
xoxo

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