I knew that I needed to find a way to help my daughter get used to wearing shoes. So I did what any mother would do, I put them on her while she was in her carseat or riding in the stroller. This helped her get used to the feel of them on her feet without giving her the opportunity to tear them off of her feet. It was especially helpful when she fell asleep in her carseat because she was was unknowingly getting used to the feel of a shoe. It took a little while for her to be willing to stand in her red (almost snowboot like) boots. Of course boots are not the best “first” shoes so when my mother-in-law offered to buy the grandchildren shoes, I knew that I would be able to find exactly (or at least very nearly) what I wanted for my daughter’s shoes.
We met grandma (and consequently grandpa who had taken the day off to see the grandchildren) at the mall to find my daughter a pair of shoes. I already knew that I wanted to find a pair of shoes that she would be able to wear with any of her outfits including dresses. I also wanted to find comfortable shoes’ which was grandma’s goal as well. After browsing a couple of children’s shoe department filled with colorful shoes in a multitude of styles, we found among the bright colors and animal prints a few pairs of black Mary Janes. Some of these shoes were clearly only suitable for occasional wear for dressy occasions. While really like the dressy aspect of black shoes, I knew that they needed to be comfortable as well as classically stylish. If only someone made an infant/toddler shoe that combined the comfort of a tennis shoe with the style of a dress shoe…
(To be continued…)