Ollie Octopus was a gift to us when my son was born in February, and he has been well loved for the last 6 months. The toy comprises a round green head, eight legs, an orange hat, two little ties on the top so that Ollie can be hung above baby, six little coloured "fins" around his neck and finally a fish on a pull-chord hiding underneath, that plays Brahms' lullaby when pulled. The eight legs are very colourful, with stripes and spots, and different textures for baby to feel and discover. Each of the legs has a particular feature, e.g. it squeaks when pressed or it rattles when shaken. Unfortunately, there are not eight different features, so you have two squeaky legs, three "crinkly" legs, one rattle leg and two legs that both rattle and crinkle.

The toy is advertised as being for 0-12 months, but Ollie is quite chunky and colourful so I would say that he is too much for a very new baby. Babies who have not yet learned to grasp toys will have to have him hung above them so that they can bat at him, but the view from underneath could be quite overwhelming for a newborn, so I would say that this toy really comes into its own when it can be grabbed and pulled around. Our Ollie has had some rough treatment over the last few months but shows no signs of wear and tear so is clearly up to being handled by a tot.

A few of Ollie's features are too difficult for a baby to use, e.g. the fish chord-pull or the squeaky legs as you need a certain amount of strength or dexterity to use these, but parents can demonstrate the music and squeaks for their babies, and I am sure that by the time my son reaches the upper age limit for this toy he will be able to achieve these bits for himself (although he may have lost interest in Ollie by then). His favourite part of the toy by far is the orange hat, as this is very crinkly (it makes a sound like a crumpled crisp packet) and is also easy to grasp, so a fascinating item as far as my little one is concerned.

As Ollie has a music box inside him, he cannot go in the washing machine, but neither is he wipe-clean. Ours therefore has a very slight odour about him now as he has been dribbled on regularly, but a baby wipe usually mops up anything untoward on the fabric.