Olivia needs some new shoes. One pair started making her walk funny, so they immediately went into the "too small" bin. Two pair are holding on, but are tight getting on her feet. Her boots are the only shoe that legitimately fit her. Or at least I think they do. So I've been saying for weeks that we need to get her fitted. I wanted Michael to go with us, so it kept getting put off and put off. That is until the shoe frenzy that happened on Monday. It went something like this....
Shoe shopping did not happen over the weekend how I had hoped, so I decided just to print off a sizing chart and order from online. I printed Pedipeds chart and then also Stride Rite's chart for good measure.
I measured both and then took a look. Pedipeds chart said she needed a size 8. I thought, surely that can't be right. She is currently wearing a size 5.5/6. I figured we were looking at a 6 1/2. Stride Rite's chart looked a little better.... until I entered the numbers in some calculator on their website. It said she needed an 8 wide. I started to panic slightly. How was it possible that I was shoving her feet in shoes that were THREE sizes too small? I sent Michael a text explaining that we had failed as parents and that we were headed to Stride Rite immediately after nap.
We arrived and Olivia's foot was promptly measured. The girl said that she was a 7 1/2 wide. I hung my head in shame and began looking for an appropriate shoe. I put a 7 1/2 wide on her foot and it was a freaking boat. I mean, HUGE. We are talking clown shoes. So I tried on a 7 wide. It was still pretty big, but better. I went down to a size 6 1/2 wide (the size I thought she'd be) and it fit perfect. All that worry for nothing. Shame on you Stride Rite! So the girl comes back to see how I'm doing and I explain that my entire (large) thumb could fit between her toe and the edge of the shoe with the 7 1/2. She said, "Yes. That's how it should be." I asked if she was kidding. I've heard of buying them a half of a size bigger, but this was ridiculous. I then explained that my child didn't want to row her boat down the river, but rather walk like a normal 20 month old. We aren't interested in signing her up for the circus quite yet. I think the girl thought I was crazy.
So I tried to scavenge for some wide shoes (nearly impossible, let me tell you!), and Olivia decided it would be fun to run up and down the aisles. I knew I wanted Michael along for a reason! I had grand plans to take pictures and blog about our first shoe shopping experience at a shoe store. That went out the window as I was throwing off my sweater to prevent heat stroke and chasing my little runner up the aisles.
The closest SR to us is an outlet. Great, if you are looking for a deal. Not so great if you'd like black shoes in a 7 wide that actually look somewhat cute. We left empty handed, and I was once again ready to entrust my toddler shoe shopping to the internet.
HOURS later, I finally settled on a few pair. You may wonder what took so long. Oh, let me tell you... finding wide shoes in Olivia's size proved to be a bit of a challenge. Add in that I wanted them to look someone presentable and all bets were off. The kicker was that I was not really wanting to pay $55. Yes. $55 for a pair of shoes that my child will wear for 3 to 6 months. No thank you. I can't even remember the last time I bought myself shoes. (Sadly, it's been a LONG while) But I don't even spend $55 on my own shoes and my feet are done growing!
All that to say, shoes are on their way. Thank God for a Grandma who likes to help out with Olivia's necessities. Michael and I have decided that we are going to look into the practice of foot binding. We just can't afford wide feet in this house. (I kid!!!!)
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