I'm getting a complex over SHOES.

seeker

Wed, Jan 25 2012, 12:12 am

So for my toddler's first pair of shoes, we got dragged along with family tradition to a store in Boro Park where an old timer fits the baby's feet. We left with $70 of tiny shoes that would supposedly hold her feet just so and keep her from curling her toes (strong habit here) like so. She really did walk beautifully in them, very straight and confidently.

A couple of months later, she was kvetchy and tripping, and lo! It seems the shoes are too small.

For a week or so until I could get out, we reverted to our first, cheap, floppy shoes that were the same smaller size but still fit, though they did nothing in the way of support.

Then I went to Stride Rite, because word on the web was that they are great quality shoes and they personally help fit you in the store. The nearest Stride Rite isn't close, but it was about as good as Boro Park and held a much greater likelihood of affordability. So much for personal attention; we were the only ones in the store and it wasn't nearly closing time but the lady didn't seem so analytical. She put the baby's feet on the measuring thingy, pronounced a size, and pointed us toward the shoes. I picked out several that I liked, asked to try them, and found out that none were available in her size. She did say that all of x styles fit the same, and all of y styles fit the same, so we could try different ones for size and then look for designs online. So I tried one x style, the lady said the fit was right, the baby seemed to walk fine in them. I tried a y style, they seemed to me a bit of a pain to get on and I didn't like the style as much, so I said forget it. Style z they didn't have any in her size at all. Sigh. I drove 40 minutes for this!

Got home, looked online for style x in her size in a normal color. Looked, looked, looked - found! Ordered. Arrived today. Tried on. Kid seems to be walking kind of floppy. They do seem a little wide. But it's a medium, and they don't seem to make any narrower. And if I recall correctly, the old shoes were also a little wide in front at least at first. But she didn't walk floppy in them. Am I imagining this? Is it just because they're new or is this a bad fit for her? Am I destroying my baby's feet?

Maybe I should just kill another Sunday and another $70 and go back to Boro Park? Do those guys really know something I and all the Stride Rite fitters and podiatry consultants don't? Or maybe I should try ordering style z online, maybe they're more supportive? I think the ones I have now (new) have the strap more across the top of the foot while the old shoes and style z have it tilted more to the ankle, maybe that holds it better? Or maybe I need to look for a different brand that comes narrower?

AAAAAAAAUUUGH! I can't stand all this overthinking and analyzing and spending two weeks or more in the parsha of replacing toddler shoes (it's not even the first pair)!!! I thought the first time is a biggie and then you just chill out but apparently I haven't.

And that, my friends, is how a piece of leather and rubber barely big enough to fit over two of my fingers, is costing me my sanity. Sigh.

jelly belly

Wed, Jan 25 2012, 12:28 am

Does your daughter actually have any special foot related needs? Or are you just being a first time mom? If there are no special needs, I have done very well with printing out the chart from the stride rite site and fitting myself. You will measure width and length, and buy accordingly. I am kind of neurotic about these things too, but it works perfectly for me. I actually like stride rite because they tend to have very flexible, lightweight shoes. Which is what is currently espoused by specialists as best for babes. My kids always found them comfortable. And they are affordable Smile

bnm

Wed, Jan 25 2012, 12:35 am

seeker,
1-you overanylize everything, you have to relax a bit or your going to end up a nervous wreck
2- my mil sent me to the $70 pair of shoe store, since she didn't offer to pay I went down the block to the $50 a pair shoe store and they sold me the SAME EXACT SHOE for 20 dollars less, same size. also a million years experience. when I go shopping for shoes now I walk into a store and say the price I want to pay and please find me a pair. when my daughter claimed to have thrown out her shoes I told the shoe store guy I need a $20 pair since I just bought one 3 weeks ago. he found some in old stock that wasn't selling, I checked online and the price was $50

seeker

Wed, Jan 25 2012, 12:47 am

Yes I KNOW I'm being a neurotic first-time mom but I am genuinely concerned that she seems to be walking funny in the new stride rites. She's quite an experienced walker by now and was walking with her feet straight in the BP shoes and tonight (admittedly it was just in a few overanalyzed minutes) she seemed to be turning her feet this way and that. Is that normal new-shoe behavior or is it just a bad fit?

I tried doing like you said, BNM, asking the BP stores for something outdated that isn't selling but they said they didn't have :-( (which store is your cheaper one?)

She doesn't have special needs but she does have a rather long/narrow foot shape. Used to be much more dramatic, maybe it spread out a bit from walking, but still skinny, so everything's wide. The question is whether it's problematically so.

I'm also confused about the sizing, the new ones don't seem that much bigger than the old ones; does everyone go up one size at a time or do you skip sizes to have room to grow into? Stride Rite says you should have a thumb width between the toe and the end of the shoe but it's so hard to feel those tiny skinny toes inside the rubber-tipped shoes!

seeker

Wed, Jan 25 2012, 1:10 am

bnm wrote:

also your daughter might need a more high top type of shoe with more ankle support

Yeah that's what I'm afraid of... For a while "they" were saying ankle support doesn't really help them and they should just develop naturally, but they seem to be swinging back now to say ankle support is good for toddlers... so go figure, even the experts don't seem sure.

So I'm thinking of sending back these which are totally adorable and $10 cheaper on amazon and maybe instead trying to find something like this which seem to me must be harder to get on and off. And now that I'm comparing the pictures I see even the second one the strap doesn't seem to hug the ankle. But I guess you need to see it.
While I'm doing the linky thing, our $70 BP shoes were almost exactly like this (nicer design but seems to be same shoe)

Ya think maybe it's worth paying $80 for Ecco's and not having to do this as often?!!!

Last edited by seeker on Wed, Jan 25 2012, 1:16 am; edited 1 time in total

pinkbubbles

Wed, Jan 25 2012, 2:28 pm

I would return the stride rite since she isn't walking normally in them, as you said.

You can definitely spend less than $70! Just keep asking in different shoe stores (BP has many, no?) and you shouldn't have to go to more than 2 stores to find a shoe that fits well, unless she is really hard to fit or has very small feet.

For my first child I have to spend more since he has flat feet and walks to the side a little so needs a high shoe. I stick to Ecco or Pepino (Ricosta). I spend about £40-£50 but have no choice. His feet don't grow that quickly though.

For my second, he has a high instep but doesn't need a high shoe. I bought him the third pair he tried since he was off and running as soon as he was put down.

It was £32 and I wanted to spend £25 on last season style in a different store (but couldn't get to at the time) Shoe stores like to sell old stock for cheaper. So what if its not current season? Doesn't make a difference to me.

studying_torah

Wed, Jan 25 2012, 3:06 pm

I took my kid to stride rite- where I usually do well, to get fitted for her first shoes. they sold me a 'softer shoe' with no ankle support. My daughter hated the shoes and couldn't walk properly. A couple of weeks later, I took her to an outlet shoe store, got her fitted again and bought shoes w/ ankle support- she walked fine.
Sometimes, they really do need the support!

On a sep note, my 8 yr old daughter kills every pair of shoes- no matter how cheap or expensive, the bottoms fall off, the front peel, etc. and her feet are wide so it is hard to fit her in general. I wish I knew what to give her to wear that will fit wide feet and she can't destroy. (I tried Zappos and the other online places, didn't work for her.... and the jewish stores here only sell "imported'' shoes that don't run wide....