Little shoes for little feet

I love presents. So I was delighted when the postman arrived yesterday. Ok, so stuff that you order online doesn’t technically count as presents – but because it takes a few days or even weeks for the packages to arrive, I’ve usually forgotten all about them by the time they get here, so there’s always that moment of excitement as I wonder “Oooh – what’s this?”

Yesterday’s “present” was an order from Snugglefeet.com, one of my favourite online baby stores. As the name suggests, this site sells snuggly things for baby’s feet. While Little Man was at the crawling stage, I could never get him to keep socks on, not to mind shoes. But I felt he needed something on his feet when he started cruising around the furniture. Initially, I took him to Clark’s to have his feet measured, and bought him shoes especially designed for “cruisers”. They were so expensive – over €30! For shoes that would fit him for less than six weeks! And he hated them. He didn’t like having them put on, and he hated standing in them. So in the six weeks that they actually fit him, I’d say he wore them at most 10 times, and never for longer than about 15 minutes. (By the way, if you know anyone with a baby boy who’s interested in buying a second-hand, barely-worn pair of size 3.5 Clark’s cruisers, you know where to send them!)

So once he started taking his first steps, I knew he needed shoes, but I was hesitant to go the Clark’s route again. Then I learned about Snuggle Feet at the Pregnancy and Baby Fair in the RDS, Dublin. They sell the cutest little soft leather shoes, with non-slip soles, and elasticated ankles to keep them on. For Christmas, I ordered a white pair with Rudolph on them! And I ordered a pair of navy boots, which were fur-lined and absolutely adorable.

The pair that arrived yesterday feature a giraffe. After all, that’s Little Man’s favourite animal, thanks to James and Sophie! I also got a second pair of the fur-lined boots because he has worn the original pair out!

Now that he’s walking properly, I plan to get Little Man a pair of real shoes soon. I even had him measured today. But I think I’ll continue to get Snuggle Feet shoes for him for wearing indoors until he outgrows their selection next year. How could I not? They’re just so cute!