If the Shoe Fits ...

Sweet Pea and Little Man have been barefoot all summer, but fall is approaching, so I headed to Stride Rite to get them some shoes.  I didn't have Sweet Pea and Little Man with me (shopping is challenging with babies in tow), so I guessed at their sizes.  Sweet Pea is so tiny, I got the smallest shoes they had -- Size 2.  Little Man is bigger, obviously, so I got him a Size 3.

When I got home, I tried on their shoes.  Sweet Pea's are fine -- a little big, but fine.  She has some room to grow into them.

But I couldn't even wedge Little Man's foot into his shoes.  I figured maybe he needed a wide shoe, so I decided to take him with me to get sized properly.  So I packed all three kids and the double stroller into the car and headed back to Stride Rite.  The nice saleslady measured his foot ... he's a FIVE.

Holy cow!  You know who else wears a five?  CC!  Now they wear the same size diaper and the same size shoe.

The saleslady also told me something that made sense: Little Man tries to walk with his toes curled under, so he really needs to wear shoes to train his feet to remain flat.  When I told her that doctors have told me that babies learn to walk best with bare feet, she said that the soles of Stride Rite Step 1 shoes are made to mimic what it feels like to be barefoot, while still providing structure to the foot.

It's been about a week of Little Man wearing his new shoes, and I have to admit, he seems to be a little more solid on his feet now.  It's definitely helping him not curl his toes so much.  And he's come very close a few times to pulling himself up to a standing position, so it looks like the shoes are definitely making an improvement.