My first soft toy (that I remember) was a polar bear. I use to drag that thing around everywhere much to my dad's dismay. When I was 7, my battle hardened bear got a tech upgrade - my first gadget! My mom put a tiny cassette player in it with her saying "I love you" so I wouldn't be lonely when she worked late. It helped me sleep at night all by myself.
Newborns have it worse. To be torn away from the womb and lose the assuring sounds of that environment must be traumatic. So TakaraTomy created the Issho Ni Nenne, a soft toy with an integrated digital audio player. Place it in baby's crib and let the prerecorded sounds of the womb comfort and lull baby to sleep. The web site reveals some pretty interesting stats about the toy; how 81% of babies fell asleep within 5 minutes with said toy in their crib.
I have to admit, that soft toy is so damn cute. In fact, that's an officially licensed baby Mickey Mouse. The Issho Ni Nenne (say that 5 times and tell me it doesn't sound cute) also comes in Minnie Mouse form. Too bad it's Japan only.
I wonder where my polar bear is now.
via Ubergizmo
Geez that baby's bed is bigger than mine!