Mum Milestone - O's First Shoes

O has been wobbling for a few weeks, but since last weekend his confidence has really grown and his walking has gotten better and better. There is no feeling of pride quite like that of watching your baby take their first steps!

He was doing fine pottering around wearing his soft leather slippers until recently. But he has decided a few times lately that he wants to walk when we’re outside, as it's January and the ground is wet and cold, the time had come to get him his first real shoes!

I did a little bit of research before we went shoe shopping, so I thought I’d share what I learned about buying your baby's first pair of shoes.

When should I buy a first pair of shoes?

This depends on the type of shoes you want to buy and how long your little one has been walking for:

Pre walkers

These are super flexible shoes for babies that are just learning to walk and taking a few steps here and there.

I think we missed a step (?) on this. I had read about not putting him in shoes too early as his feet and balance are still developing. As a result, I did not even realise that pre-walkers were a thing. It turns out that these were still the best option for O.

Walkers

These are more supportive and structured shoes. The general consensus seems to be to wait until they are walking independently for 6 - 8 weeks before getting them properly fitted for a pair of these.

What Should I Look For When Buying A First Pair Of Shoes?

As those squishy little feet are still developing, it’s really important to get it right with these early shoes. First shoes should:

have a soft flexible sole with good grip
be made from flexible and comfortable material (leather is best as it’s breathable too)
have a secure fastening (but also be easy to get on and off by parents, not eager little hands)
be lightweight
have good heel and arch support
be fun/cute (obviously not essential, but some of the shoes out there are unnecessarily awful)

Where should I buy baby shoes?

We went to Cripps in Terenure with Grandma. It was recommended to us as a nice and kid friendly shop for first shoes and it definitely was!

A kid friendly shoe shop will have:

knowledgeable staff: they should measure both the length and width of the feet and be able to recommend and assess the best shape and style of shoe for your little one's feet and walking stage
different brands with plenty of choice of styles (so there’s something for all foot shapes) ?
friendly staff: the lady was great at playing with O and ticking his toes!
be kid focused: they threw a soft ball for O to chase after to see how he walked in each pair of shoes

How does baby shoe fitting work?

We waited for a store assistant to be free. (I entertained O by looking at all the different shoes and the big bead maze table).

O sat on my lap whilst the lady measured the length and width of his feet.
She then recommended the best brands for his foot shape (some brands run narrow or wide).
I picked some styles that I liked from those brand and she then grabbed a selection in his size from the storeroom.
She took out the insoles and measured them up against his feet (there should be one finger width between his toes and the top of the insole).
She fastened the shoes onto his feet and felt for his toes.
Then she rolled the ball across the room so he would chase it and she could see him walk in them.
We repeated steps 6-7 three times.*
We found a pair that fitted him!

*there was a lot of whining and bribery with snacks in between these steps.

Tips for buying your baby's first shoes

Chose a child friendly shoe shop

Wait until they are walking confidently for a few weeks

Make sure they are not tired/hungry/cranky when you arrive at the shop

Try to pick a quiet time of day (try going during school hours)

The Verdict

I don't love the style of shoes we ended up with for O, and the experience was more of a whinge-fest than a magical milestone, but they fit him well and he seems comfortable in them so I think my mission was a success!

I’m already looking forward to picking his next pair, probably in 6-8 weeks - little feet grow fast, so we’ll need to get his feet measured again then!