At five and a half months old, Noah has been keeping himself busy by sucking on anything and everything he can lay his hands on. His favourite things at the moment are his own fingers, which he shoves greedily into his mouth and sucks with great gusto. Knowing that his fingers aren’t the best things for him to suck, I scouted around for a good teether for him. I wanted something cute, light and easy to hold, as the little boy has rather short fingers. (I only noticed this when I handed him Sophie the Giraffe and realized that his fingers weren’t long enough to curl around her neck!)
The DINGaRINGs appealed to me because each of their ten different designs came with quirky descriptions. My main problem was trying to decide which one to get! Do I choose based on the animal type, the colours used, or the personality?
The DINGaRINGs
After much deliberation, I shortlisted a few of the DINGaRINGs and asked C to make the final decision, as I am extremely indecisive wanted him to be involved in the process.
C’s Choice: Duke Dog
Here’s a little more information about Duke Dog:
Job: Air Traffic Controller Likes: Arcade games & Sushi trains Dislikes: Walnuts & Moths
The write-ups for the individual DINGaRINGs are very amusing and I appreciate the effort made by the designer (or rather, the marketing team) to give them each such unique traits. Each DINGaRING has a natural wooden teething ring, soft plush toy body and a gentle rattle, making it an ideal gift for newborns and teething babies. Personally, I don’t think you have to wait till your child is teething before getting a DINGaRING as it can be carried around quite easily as a constant companion for your baby.
Currently, Noah’s favourite activity with Duke Dog is to hold him by his wooden teething ring, wave him wildly around, before dropping him on the floor. I think he enjoys watching me pick Duke Dog up repeatedly, as it is part of his learning about cause and effect. At least, I hope that’s why he’s doing it, rather than because he wants to torture me! The teething ring is the perfect thickness for his short fingers, so he probably derives some pleasure from being able to hold it too.
Oooohhhh… What’s this?
Yay! I can hold it!
Shake, shake, shake!
Gnawing on Duke Dog.
Each DINGaRING is about 16cm x 9cm in size and is handmade fairly and with a social conscience in Indonesia. The Rubberwood teether is sustainably harvested, while the plush body is made from 100% high quality polyester plush fabric, acrylic felt and hypoallergenic polyester filling. The DINGaRING comes with a recycled stock tag and backer card (11cm x 22cm) that allows the toy to be hung, laid flat or simply stand.
I was a little concerned that the ‘fur’ on Duke Dog might fall off after being stuffed into Noah’s mouth and being quite roughly handled (read: pulled and tugged) by the little boy, but I’m pleased that Duke Dog is still as furry as before, without a single bald patch. DINGaRINGs can be bathed in warm soapy water and then allowed to dry in the sun. Don’t put them in the washing machine though, as they might get giddy! 😉
Duke Dog with his Recycled Backer Card
Recycled Stock Tag
******* The DINGaRINGs are $29.95 each and can be purchased from the Jam and Muffin website directly. You can also view the DINGaRINGs and their quirky descriptions on the Jam n’ Muffin Facebook page.
SPECIAL PROMOTION FOR READERS OF GROWINGWITHTHETANS!
Get free local postage and 20% off any DINGaRING from Jam n’ Muffin. Email sales@jamandmuffin.com to place your order and state that you are a reader of GrowingwiththeTans for the discount and free local postage. Promotion valid till 31 January 2013.
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Disclosure: I purchased the Duke Dog DINGaRING at $15 for this review. All opinions are my own.