First Big Boy Shoes

Since you remember every nitty-gritty detail I post here on this blog, especially regarding Nathan and his clothing, I'm sure you have not forgotten that my mom generously gifted Nathan with his first pair of real shoes for Christmas. (For a non-walker, we stuck with barefoot most of the time, and soft-soled booties like these when it's cold. Don't take my advice on that though, since he is a very late walker.) So I picked some shoes, had them shipped to mom's house to wrap and give to Nathan last week, and all went as planned.

Except that nothing ever goes as planned. I thought the stroller hunt put me through the wringer, but it pales in comparison to the hunt for Nathan's first big-boy shoes.

So the shoes we ordered from Bobux are super cute, and super well-made. But they were way too big, and I also ordered a harder sole than I intended (he's only just started walking after all, so he needed something extremely flexible). Anyway the Christmas shoes have been put on a shelf for when Nathan's foot is big enough and his walk is steady enough to wear them, hopefully this summer.

Back to square one.

After lots (and lots and lots) of online research, and a mini-road-trip to Cary (where I never fail to get lost, seriously what's with that town?), I had pretty much decided on the shoes I wanted for him. But I wanted to make a quick trip to Stride Rite to see if they had anything comparable, for cheaper. (How sad it is that Stride Rite could ever be a cheaper alternative to anything? Alas, it is true.) And the people there convinced me that the super-soft sole I had been looking for was the wrong shoe type and that he needed a bigger size after all. Whaaaat?

Back to square one. Again.

Well, square two, actually. In tears in the parking lot on the way back to the car, I realized that I had the Christmas shoes at home which might be the right size. But after putting them on, my original gut reaction was affirmed -- too big, and way too hard. And I did have a good second choice to fall back on, at Stride Rite.

[I should say here that by this point, Mark was ready to strangle me and every pair of toddler shoes in the Triangle. I don't know how not to stress about stuff like this. It's a lot of money, especially for kiddie shoes, but I really wanted to be sure I chose something that would encourage his walking and movement. Lord knows the child does not need any more reasons to not move around; he's behind enough already. Comfy, supportive, transition shoes were worth the investment, in my opinion (oh yeah - and his doctor's too). Anyway while Mark appreciates my efforts to be a good steward of our resources, he does not appreciate drama. Especially baby shoe drama.]

My wonderful friend Lois sent me to her favorite shoe store for a second opinion. The people there were great, agreed with the smaller size, but didn't have a great selection of flexible transition shoes.

So I decided on the cute, versatile, flexible, appropriately-fitting shoes from Stride Rite. Amazing, huh?

But before I could purchase them (stop groaning), I needed to make sure I was getting the best price on them. Shoebuy.com had a great sale yesterday for 20% any pair of shoes, but of course the ONE size they didn't have in this shoe is the size I needed. (And I was not compromising on size, after all this.)

So I officially decided that no discounts were worth any more of my time and energy (Mark concurred, wholeheartedly) and called Stride Rite to make sure they had the size I needed in stock, and headed to the mall.

But they didn't actually have them in stock. Of course. Fortunately they were able to get them from the Greensboro store, ship them to my house for free, and they should be here on Monday.

And then Nathan can wear his first pair of big-boy shoes! If this wasn't an event in my mind a month ago, it is now!