Everything we have written
Reviews and guides
Ranked picks, one explainer on washing and one on where a soft toy belongs when a baby is asleep.
Ranked
The picks
Five roundups, ranked. Sizes in inches, what is sewn inside, what each one costs and the month it starts being used.
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Lovies and security blankets
The Baby Starters lovies, ranked
Six small squares of blanket with a head on one corner. Which one a three month old can lift, which one holds its shape after a wash, and which one is really a full size blanket wearing a lovey's name.
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Soft-bodied dolls
Snuggle buddy dolls: which first doll to hand a baby
Five soft dolls from the same family, between ten and fifteen inches. Which one a six month old can actually hold, which one is a keepsake for the shelf, and why they all show the same score.
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Rattles and activity toys
Rattles and crinkle toys, and what a four month old does with them
Five toys that make a noise, from a nine inch sock monkey to a musical light-up. What is sewn inside each one, which clip to a pram bar, and which sound you will regret in a car.
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Cloth books and teethers
Soft books and teethers for the months when everything goes in the mouth
Four cloth pieces at around ten dollars each. Which ones survive a mouth, which ones clip to a pram, and the one that is a toy for an adult to hold rather than a book for a baby to read.
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Gift guide
A newborn gift guide that does not end up in the returns pile
Six pieces between ten and nineteen dollars, sorted by what the gift is doing: filling a shower table, being the one thing a baby keeps, or quietly helping the parents.
Guides
Two things to read before you buy
Washing without wrecking the piece, and where a soft toy belongs once a baby is asleep.
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Care guide
How to wash a lovey without wrecking it
A comfort object gets washed weekly for three years. Here is what the care label is required to tell you, what actually destroys these pieces, and how to keep a satin edge attached to the plush it came with.
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Safety
Soft toys and safe sleep: where a lovey belongs at night
The safety bodies give one short answer about what goes in a sleep space. Here it is in their words, with what it means for the lovey a baby has settled on and for the rest of the day.