Sophie la Girafe - Vulli

First of all, let me tell you Sophie's French, and second of all, she's older than I am (and I am no spring chicken!) Believe it or not, Sophie actually has an official birthday: the 25th of May, 1961... St. Sophie's day! How is it that I'd never heard of her? Apparently she's still the same - even after 48+ years, she has not dated in the slightest. Wish we all could say the same!

So our story - we happened to stumble upon Sophie. Per my dear sister's advice, a must-have for all babes in cribs is the Fisher-Price Ocean Wonders Aquarium. Now that my youngest niece has outgrown hers, she handed it down to her cousin, but despite putting in new batteries, it wouldn't start (corroded terminals). I went online to find it to add to Geli's Dear Santa list, and was intrigued to find this "Sophie la Girafe" as a "people who bought FPOWA also bought Sophie" ... not only did they buy Sophie, but they LOVE HER!! As of this writing, she's the #1 toy sold on Amazon for babies. Who knew?  It's now on the top of my baby gift list.


You won't need this until ~3.5 mo old, but Geli LOVES "Sophie la Girafe," and I was surprised at how many extremely positive reviews you can find online for this.

Sophie's Story (From the Manufacturer - it's a good read!):

Back in the day, the only animal toys available were farm animal or pet figures.  That is why one day in France, a certain Monsieur RAMPEAU, who was an expert in transforming sap from the HEVEA tree using the rotational molding of rubber as a toy-making concept, came up with the idea of designing a giraffe. Such an exotic wildlife figure would be a first on the market, and its size and shape would be ideal for a baby's small hands to grasp. Sophie la Girafe, who looked exactly the same then as she does today, went into production on a Thursday, May 25th, whence her name.

She was an immediate success.  Young [and older] mothers straightaway saw that she was a must for their children when the first signs of teething appear - Sophie la Girafe helps baby stop crying! By simple word of mouth, the little Giraffe's fame spread.

From then on in Europe, generation upon generation of children were to love hearing Sophie squeak whenever they pressed her tummy and head!

Vulli, a company based in Rumilly in the Haute-Savoie Region of France has continued to keep the jealously-guarded secret of how this wonder toy is made.

SOPHIE is still traditionally produced to this day, a process that involves more than 14 manual operations. She is made from 100% natural rubber derived from the sap of the Hevea Tree.

Why is Sophie such a huge success?  She stimulates each sense from the age of 3 months:

Sight: At the age of 3 months, a baby's eyesight is still limited and she can only make out high contrasts. The Dark and contrasting attention-catching spots all over Sophie la Girafe's body provide visual stimulation and she soon becomes a familiar and reassuring object for baby.

Hearing: Sophie la Girafe's squeaker keeps baby amused and stimulates his hearing. To begin with, the funny sound Sophie makes when she is squeezed helps to stimulate baby's hearing, and then later, helps him to understand the link between cause and effect.

Taste: Sophie la Girafe is made of 100% natural rubber and food paint, and is completely safe to chew.  Her soft texture and numerous chewable parts (ears, horns, legs), make her perfect for soothing baby's sore gums during teething.

Touch: Touch is the first means a baby has of communicating with the outside world. Sophie la Girafe's soft feel, stimulates physiological and emotional response that soothe baby and promote healthy growth and well-being.

Smell: The singular scent of natural rubber from the Hevea tree makes Sophie la Girafe very special and easy for your child to identify amid all her other toys.  

Easy to grip: Sophie la Girafe's shape and 7' size are perfect for baby's small hands.  She is lightweight, and her long legs and neck are easy for baby to grip, even from her earliest days.

Magic Blanket - Truly a Miracle

THE MIRACLE BLANKET WILL HELP SAVE YOUR SANITY!!

We struggled to get Geli to sleep - it was difficult to get her to go to sleep, and difficult to keep her asleep. We started by trying the Halo Sleep Sacks, but as they didn't confine her at all, she'd often startle herself awake ... and the whole process would start again.

The next step was to try the kiddopotamus swaddles (we had some hand-me-downs from my dear husband's sister), but the velcro wasn't strong enough, and she tended to bust free of the wrap-around. Same issue - she'd startle herself awake.

Finally, my friend Kristen suggested the Miracle Blankie (the what??) and within 24 hours another friend Carrie suggested the same thing then loaned me hers ... it was truly magic. Baby girl slept solidly for the first time, and I had to buy two more! Another product I'd never heard of as a non-mom - and again a lifesaver.

It definitely is quite the contraption - you need an instruction manual to put it on (and golly, both grandmas and one aunt struggled to put it on properly!!), but once it's in place - true magic. The manufacturer recommends you only keep baby in it through 14 weeks, and for no more than 10 hours per day - be careful though, because it's VERY TEMPTING to keep baby swaddled all day long. The sleep is seductive!

I was sad for us when she was too old/big for this, but my lesson learned for the next child is to start him/her out in this first. We originally thought she didn't like to be swaddled because she really liked having her arms free... but the reality is that she did perfectly fine with it. She never calmed down at the mere sight of the miracle blankie, like the marketing materials say babies do... but it did the trick of keeping her from startling herself awake. Good for baby - good for mommy and daddy.

Here are several color options; sometimes you'll find them on sale, but to quote my husband - he'd trade even ONE NIGHT of sleep for the $25-$30 they each cost! It's all about perspective.

Finding Nemo

I was told by several moms the soothing power of the Fisher Price Ocean Wonders Aquarium, and at first I was skeptical.  However, upon reviewing an insane number of glowing reviews on both Amazon and Target.com, I decided heck - baby girl needs one.

Nana and Papa kindly got her one for Christmas, and we enthusiastically put it up in her crib.  Of course, within a week the batteries died, but given that apparently it was singing underneath the wrapping paper for the week prior to being opened up, it is highly likely that the batteries had just been used a lot before it reached us.  OK - fresh batteries -  let's try again.  Dear sister did warn us that the batteries die quickly, but she said that was because the kids figure out how to turn it on themselves (notice the big blue button), and run them dry that way.  Yay - I need to buy stock in Duracell.

Hmmm... no reaction at all.  Not sure I could blame her - it's just a wavy fish and a blue light and a few bubbles and more of that "high quality infant toy" music (tinny, with few tunes in the rotation).  Worse yet, the blue light seems really bright to me - how on earth is she supposed to put herself to sleep?  This is the toy everyone's raving about?  Whatever.  I don't get it.

Scroll forward a few weeks - NOW we're in business.  When baby girl has to entertain herself in the crib while Mommy takes her morning shower, we go "find Nemo" and now she's totally absorbed by him.  I guess there's magic in those bubbles after all!  She hasn't yet figured out how to turn him on/off yet (other than accidentally bumping into the big blue button while she flails about), but she seems to be a smart cookie - doubt we're far away from that.  It comes with a remote control as well - very modern.

Thanks Nana & Papa!!

Fisher-Price Ocean Wonders Aquarium

Mr. Buzzy, aka Fisher Price Baby Papasan

This is Mr. Buzzy.  Mr. Buzzy was a tremendous friend to us, new parents, because he was a great place to put baby girl down when we had to wash our hands, prepare a bottle, tend to the stove, or just take a break. 

Mr. Buzzy, AKA "Fisher Price Baby Papasan" was another lifesaver hand-me-down from dear sister-in-law (THANK YOU SO MUCH!!)... and I note, something we never would have thought important enough to register for or to purchase on our own.  From the non-parent point of view, it seems like just another baby accessory to take up space in the house.  Au contraire mon frere!

There's a buzz feature, and a music feature... like all newborn "music features" the repertoire of selections is fairly limited (and you'll have the rotation burned in your memory far sooner than you'd probably like), but it does the trick.  Don't expect Bose-sounding quality, but as with her parent's singing voices, baby girl has been very forgiving.  The arm (it has a mirror on the top) swings out of the way and detaches very easily, when you just don't need or want it.

It's fairly light and transportable, though I thought it was brilliant when friends Mo & Juan asked for (and received) two on their baby registry - one for upstairs and one for downstairs - *BRILLIANT*!!

Little Love took many naps in hers, helping her sleep, even when she really didn't want to.  We were sad when she finally outgrew it, although Brown Cat didn't mind eliminating the competition....... then again he's always been one for finding the absolute softest spot in the house.