Vulli Sophie la Girafe

It is a well-loved teething toy that ticks all the boxes for ease of cleaning, holding, portability, size, and teething relief. The texture is soft and rubber for babies sore gums, helps with discomfort, and helps with soothing. The design of the giraffe is easy to hold for babies, the baby can hold it a couple different ways.

My husband gave me a strange look when I announced that I bought an almost $20 squeak toy, but after having this for six (6) months he now understands that it was worth it!The product description of this toy seems a little whimsical when it describes how it is a toy for all the senses; however, I am 100% sold. Besides the smell (it doesn't really seem to have a scent), I would argue that this one toy does entice my baby's sense of sight, touch, taste, and hearing.Summary of the PROS:- Color, I like that this toy is not obnoxiously bright blue, pink, green, yellow and orange! Every other toy is an eyesore.- The squeak is slightly annoying (like any squeak toy) but it really does make my baby smile when we are out and he gets fussy- The rubber is soft enough that my baby can chew on it without injuring himself and not too soft to puncture (the chewing sound does make a rubbing rubber sound that makes me cringe, but baby loves it).- The "small" parts, I like that the legs, neck and head are small enough for my baby to grab and chew on without being too small.CONS:- Slightly expensive, but worth it in my opinion.- Another mom friend said that the squeak sounds similar to that of her dog's toys so the dog likes to play with this too. Having two (2) dogs that love squeak toys I am amazed that my dogs have not touched this toy.- I wish there were real instructions (not just vague information on the box) concerning cleaning. If the squeaker gets wet it sounds like Sophie has a serious cold for a few days until it dries. Along with this I am also potentially concerned about mold or anything growing inside - no worries yet but I can see how this may occur.It may sound strange that all of my PROS seemed to have CONS attached, but I would like to be clear - I would buy this product again and I would highly recommend this product to anyone with an infant.

I honestly think that the first thing that caught my eye while reading the reviews was the review where a Dad was taping on You tube his reviews of USED Sophies. Ok...that's just disgusting and knowing that it is a teething toy and will be going into your child, grandchild, niece, nephew, friends or whomever's mouth - SHOULD YOU PURCHASE IT USED???That being said, I have purchased a NEW Sophie for every one of my grand kids. I didn't want it being handed down to siblings because its a teething toy and will be going into their mouths to help ease teething pain. The other reason, is because even at older ages (almost 2) and getting those pesky molars, they were still using it. They even knew which one belonged to whom!I'm also not naive enough to think that these aren't dirty inside of them. Especially when I realized that Sophie has an opening for moisture to enter. When you think about it, what about all of those tub toys that are submerged and the child picks them up to play and learns that if you squeeze them the water (sometimes very dirty water) comes out of them. What do you think is growing in them? Yet, I don't hear the big hullabaloo over bath toys that people are making over Sophie. Please don't be foolish enough to think that the dirty water isn't finding it's way into their mouth. I've seen one of my grandchildren use it like a drinking fountain! Needless to say, those types of bath toys are not purchased by this grandmother any more and if I catch any of them using it like a drinking fountain, it immediately goes into the garbage.When I really started reading all of the information about the mold growing inside of the Sophie, I think that part of the reason I was so upset, was because it was happening in a toy that my grandchildren LOVE to this day. When they were teething, it never was far from their side. I feel like someone has punched me in the gut! I've been duped! How could this happen to a toy that we all loved so much and did what it was supposed to do...calm our teething children or grandchildren of horrible teething pain. I just feel a little betrayed and yes, I'll be honest; angry at myself for not thinking this could happen to a toy that is in the mouths of our children where moisture can enter the little hole that is in place for the squeak. As a possible solution, because you shouldn't complain, unless you have a possible solution; why don't we take the squeak out?! Our kids don't need to appear as if they are playing with a dog toy. Removing the hole and corresponding squeak, may solve both of the problems - no allowance of moisture to get inside poor Sophie, and no squeak to make our kids look like they are playing with something we purchased in the pet aisle!I love Sophie and my grandchildren love(d) Sophie. It did what it was supposed to do and it did it very well. That's why I have given her 5 Stars. They were also REAL. No fake ones here and I can honestly say that I have never purchased anything from Amazon without doing my due diligence. We can't see what we are purchasing, or smell it, taste it or touch it. Its the very least we should do and I'm not slamming Amazon. I buy from them on a regular basis and love them. I truly put this "blame" on my shoulders. I'm an intelligent person. I should've realized that this could happen just based on the comparison to the tub toys alone. I truly hope that Sophie manufacturers can find a way to fix the issue because it really is a great product.