By Janine Annett of www.janineannett.com

Dear Sophie,

I heard parents are complaining you’re full of mold , but I’ll always love you.

You first came into my life during my baby shower. You were tres jolie, and I loved your French background. “The bebe will be delighted with you,” I thought to myself. I had visions of myself wearing a striped shirt, happily baby-wearing, while I ate a croissant and sipped on a latte as the baby gummed you.

Sophie, you did not disappoint! The baby was charmed by you when he was teething. Oh, the pain of teeth coming in. Your smiley little face always cheered us up. In fact, the baby became rather attached to you. Once, we lost you on the streets of Brooklyn during a weekend afternoon jaunt around the neighborhood. My husband and I searched and searched but couldn’t find you. We hightailed it to our local baby-goods store ASAP and thank goodness , there you were, ready to be purchased.

We sort of couldn’t believe you cost $23, but we were also kind of screwed without you. The baby was now seriously teething, and wailing, and nothing but Vulli Sophie la Girafe would do. We caved. We bought you, and in fact, referred to you from that moment on as Sophie Deux.

Another time we thought we’d lost you again! We couldn’t find you anywhere, although we could have sworn we hadn’t even left the apartment with you. It turned out you were in our refrigerator. Our nephew put you there. Actually, it seemed like kind of a great idea, putting a teething toy in the refrigerator. We’re not sure why we didn’t think of that in the first place.

As a friend of ours once said, “Why does every single parent I know have that fucking giraffe?” Well, maybe we all lost our minds and got suckered into buying a $23 teething toy because of marketing. Or maybe it just makes a really cute baby shower gift and then, bam! You’re the parent of a Sophie addict who needs a fix.

I don’t think you ever went moldy on us , but then again, Sophie Un was perhaps not around for long enough to grow moldy, and perhaps Sophie Deux’s stint in the refrigerator also had the added bonus of retarding mold growth. Who knows. All I know is that I’m grateful for the time we spent together. I don’t believe the rumors about you at all. Keep up the good work, Sophie, of soothing those tiny little gums as those sharp little teeth try to break free.

XOXO,
Janine & family

*****

About the Author

Janine Annett lives in New York, in a house full of piles of books, with her husband, son, and very old cat. Her writing has appeared on McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, the Establishment, Parent.Co, and other websites. Janine also writes picture books. Her website is www.janineannett.com.