by Joyce Slaton posted in Products

If you have a shower gift to buy -- or a baby who's on the verge of sitting up -- here's your new favorite thing.

What's the big deal with this stuffed gray elephant" There are plenty of stuffed animals for sale in the world, and moms mostly despise stuffies for being dusty old clutter that's impossible to get rid of. But it seems that this soft, cuddly gray elephant is particularly appealing to babies.
For one thing, it's understuffed so it's floppier than most stuffed animals, which makes it nicer to chew, rest on, or grasp with your tiny hands.

The elephant's legs also cradle babies in a comforting way, surrounding them in cushiness and propping them up, sort of like a much-cuter Boppy.
Along with gray, the elephants come in pink, blue, and purple:

And the elephant's maker Lovous (though the elephant is sold under many other names on Amazon) even claims it's washable, so it won't be a filthy dusty rag in 10 minutes.
Now -- one note of major caution. Though a few BabyCenter Community moms have said their baby sleeps on the elephant, this is a very unsafe sleep practice, whether you put the elephant in the crib or bassinet with your baby, or you leave your baby propped up to sleep on it. Babies die every year from "positional asphyxiation," which usually happens when the baby is propped or sitting up (say, in a car seat or swing), and slumps down while sleeping. The baby's airway is blocked, she's unable to lift her he...