At my first "new mommy" class at the 14th St. Y during my maternity leave, the first thing I did after assessing my baby's cuteness factor in relation to all the other babies (verdict: very high), was notice that each mother had taken the time to craft their own very specific blanket set-up on which to set their child. The blanket set-up said a lot about who you were as a mother and what kind of child you were raising. A quilted pink blanket with a ruffled edge meant you were counting down the days before you could enter your future Miss America in the Miss Pre-K East Coast Division Pageantry Circuit. A blue blanket with a truck or train motif meant you were never letting Joe Macho Jr. own a doll. A gender neutral green blanket meant your child would be watching The Rachel Maddow Show in lieu of Sesame Street. I, of course, didn't realize you were supposed to bring a blanket and all I had on me was the hospital grade recieving blanket I had gotten for free from NY Presbyterian. This said that I was either an unpretentious parent who was taking a stand against overblown consumerism or a cheap bastard that didn't really love my child.
But regardless of the individuality displayed in the blanket set-up choice, there was something else I noticed that brought all the moms squarely back onto the same page– every baby was chomping on the exact same toy. It was a squeaky rubber giraffe and as I soon came to learn, it's name was Sophie. And once I was introduced to Sophie, I began to see her everywhere- hanging out in the coolest strollers, keeping babies company as their parents brunched at Bowery Bar, even dangling out of the mouth of a child whose mother always made a point of not following the baby trends. "YOU have a Sophie??" I asked her. She responded matter-of-factly, "Everyone has a Sophie. It's the best toy".
I looked Sophie up online and saw that it cost anywhere from $20–$23. What? You can get a Hot Wheels 20 car gift pack for $19.99! Or this remote control robot for $25.99! Why the hell would any mom, let alone EVERY mom pay over $20 for a rubber giraffe who's biggest feature is that it squeaks when squeezed??? I imagine the remote control robot can fix me my very own drink!
For a couple of weeks I felt very comfortable in my clearly superior choice to buck the current mommy trend du jour. But then that fateful day came when I was making a few necessary purchases at Buy Buy Baby. A sunhat, some rice cereal, and a no-slip mat for the tub. As the woman at the register slowly scanned each item, I could feel someone or something burning a hole in the back of my head. I turned around and saw them– at least fifty Sophies lined up on the wall as an impulse buy right by the counter. They all glared at me, brazenly displaying their $20 price tag. It was like they were daring me to walk out of the store without one. "Don't you want the best for your child?" they seemed be saying.
When I got home, my husband was there to help me unload my purchases. Almost immediately, he plucked Sophie out from the bag. He looked at her and the attached price sticker for a moment and then spoke the inevitable- "I can't believe you spent $20 on a stupid rubber giraffe!" I looked sheepishly down at my feet and sighed, "Neither can I, babe. Neither can I."
UPDATE: I found Sophie on Amazon for the low low price of $17.
Once again, you are born to blog, lady. Thank you for putting a laugh in my day! I had a stuffed koala that I insisted on calling my “tanda bear”. Our family dog got a hold of it and gnawed off its behind. Still, I refused to give it up, carrying the sad thing about swaddled in masking tape for the next two years. But that was in the dark ages, prior to the dawn of time, when one could not purchase impenetrable rubber giraffes…
My sister-in-law and beautiful new mom obtained Sophie because she had to exchange a gift at a store she deemed a “high-end baby boutique.” She considered Sophie a splurge and kept listing all of Sophie’s attributes (natural rubber! food-grade paint! she’s French!!) to help us all justify the purchase of a $20 smelly piece of rubber. But my nephew’s ultimate love of Sophie was really all the justification needed. 🙂
A pregnant woman once peered into my stroller and said knowingly, “Oh, I see you have a Sophie!” I asked if it was her first baby and she said yes. And I blurted: “How in the world would you know about Sophie??” Like everything else baby, this was NOT on my radar until I became a mom! So when my sister (who doesn’t have kids) said, “Why is your son shoving that rubber giraffe’s legs down his throat?” I think I yelled “IT’S SOPHIE! And SHE’S FRENCH!” As if that explained anything.
Lauren and Carole- I just checked out the Sophie website and it actually says, Sophie is “the archetypal embodiment of the early learning toy…a must-have…who is genuinely loved by every parent and child. Sophie the Giraffe has become timeless and cross-generational… YOUR BABY NEEDS HER!”
So there you go, if that isn’t justification enough, Sophie is not just made from natural rubber, she is made from 100% natural rubber derived from the sap of the Hevea Tree.
Silly me for thinking she wasn’t worth $20!
Lauren made me laugh out loud with, “it’s sophie! and she’s FRENCH!”. I’m always torn between being proud and ashamed of my Sophie. In my defense, it was a gift. Hazy’s never given it a second thought though. I guess she’s not a Francophile.
Loved the article! I have to say after reading it I am seriously considering getting a “Sophie” for myself. Is it wrong for a 50 year old woman to buy a Sophie for herself?
Do you all know that out of all of the animals on this planet, the giraffe is the only one that does NOT talk. Guess we all helped out with the squeeker that Shopie has.
Actually, giraffe do make sounds…Its sort of a “bark/growl”combination.
Linda- True! Sophie is also teaching our children lies!
Too funny! It’s amazing what we will do for our kids lol.
That is funny. I had never heard of it until recently and my aunt asked if Carlie had one. I had no idea it was all the rage with the under 1 crowd! I think Carlie will probably be receiving one soon!
Sophie is sure hot to this day. She has kept two of my kids quiet for long periods of time. Great post and made me laugh!
Haha! Too funny. You think just like me – “I could get 20 hot wheels for the price of that!”
HAHAHA – lol My daughter was the ONLY kid in the whole play group that didn’t have a Sophie – I almost bought a plastic rhino to bring with us…just because I’m like that…
Ohhhhhhhhhhh but she’s so cute! Since my “baby” is now two – I hadn’t heard of Sophie! One of my dear friends is expecting and well, I think I’m going to have to get this for her.
Funny, I have two toddlers and have never even heard of Sophie. I sure missed the boat somehow on this phenom, and would have gotten her, too, cuz she is cute!
LOL funny I’ve never heard of Sophie but Oh my gosh look at that ever so adorable Pic
Hope you keep a tight lease on SOphie those are the toys if you lose you kick yourself
In my search to get my child something safe to shove in her mouth, I found Sophie. My younger, childless brothers ridiculed me for getting my baby a “chew toy.” The next day there was a rubber hamburger in my mailbox from Petco.
So funny!! I *just* heard of Sophie recently- my first thought was that it looked like a dog toy. A really expensive one.
Funny, but our Sophie is the only squeaky toy of my daughter’s that the dogs DON’T want to eat. Maybe they know the pricetag and know the crap they will be in if they chew it?
I hemmed and hawed for months before caving in. And once I did, I never regretted it. Still a fave in our household.
Scary Mom, Katie- It does look like a dog toy! I should check to see if it is meat flavored. That could explain a lot. It’s like when they first came out with coca-cola and there was actual cocaine in it- makes it pretty easy to understand it’s fast rise in popularity…
Allie- you must have a very smart dog!
I keep thinking the same thing: “Why don’t they just buy dog toys? They’re just as cute and cheaper!” I’m definitely not trendy…
haaaa – I broke down and bought it for a friend last weekend who is due two weeks after me – i figured if her kid loves it – i’ll get one for myself. I cracked up when i read this! I love your site!!
Ah ! I love Sophie and my little guy Oscar loved it so much (he’s half French after all)when he was around 6 months old. He literally spent days chewing on her ears and legs while teething. Our biggest fear was to lose it so my mum sent me a couple more from France. However his dad always made fun of it saying it looked like a dog toy (and it kinda does, I will have to agree). Funny though how they played up the French thing about it on the packaging over here…thank God she’s not wearing a beret !
My sister told me about your blog–love it! I’m a new mom too, and yes, my daughter also makes out with Sophie 🙂 But it was a hand-me-down from her cousins, haha. Honestly though, considering how much my daughter loves chomping away on it, I’m glad we own it.
I recognize another toy in the picture–is that a Manhattan Whoozit? Another one of my daughters faves…
Happy to have you as a new reader! And yes— the Whoozit. Ugliest toy on earth. But good for the baby developmentally blah blah blah WHATEVER.
I refuse to buy Sophie. But I’d love to get her as a gift. Haha. The end.
Hilarious! We have Sophie here in OZ too! I had never heard of her and walked into my mothers group to be confronted by a floor full of happy babies chewing various Sophie’s! On pretty blankets. I retrieved my forgotten blanket from the car and afterwards hightailed it to buy a Sophie.$30AUS. My daughter rejected her.
I’m a latecomer to this conversation, but I’m an American living in Taiwan, and even here Sophie the Giraffe is ubiquitous at high end baby stores. Personally, I am a huge Francophile, but I find her to be overpriced and not actually all that cute. However, when we adopted my oldest as a year and a half ago, I did actually buy him a $20+ French giraffe, not at all knowing it was the thing to do — only it wasn’t Sophie. It was a lovie/puppet from a company called Doudou et Compagnie which at first he showed no particular preference for, but by the time he was one had become his equivalent to Linus’ blanket. It’s much cuter than Sophie (or at least was until it got chewed to an inch of its life) and he was such a fan that when his sister was born a year later, she got a bear from the same company.
Yes, giraffes DO talk to each other. But they communicate INFRASONICALLY which means humans cannot hear them.
VIA EHOW:
Infrasonic Communication
Infrasonic communication simply means that giraffes talk to one another with sounds that are extremely low pitched, low frequency. The frequency is so low that the human ear cannot hear the sounds. However, in recent years, scientists have been able to record giraffes and whales with special recording equipment and listen to these sounds with computers.
One of the distinct features of infrasonic communication is that it can travel over longer distances than higher pitched sounds. It is thought that animals may be able to communicate with other animals several miles away. This can become vital to warn of danger.
love your brothers sense of humors!!! Too funny!
I know this is an old post but i didnt kno how to get this on the main page lol i also obviously suck at posting links XP http://www.ebay.com/itm/Sophie-The-Giraffe-Toy-Saver-Strap-Leash-Harness-Choose-Your-Design-/200964522638?pt=UK_Baby_Baby_Feeding_Dummies_Pacifiers_Teething_Aids&var=500186406576&hash=item2eca6b428e#ht_1140wt_1142
What’s up, its good paragraph regarding media print, we all be
aware of media is a wonderful source of information.
My infant loves the girafe teether. i have got this as a gift on my babyshower She got her first tooth at the end of two months old which is hard when they’re just learning how to grip and pull things to their mouth this teether is perfect for tiny hands especially for infants who are just starting to grasp and pull things to their mouth.