Ladies and gentlemen, Darah is FINALLY walking! She started a few weeks ago and hasn’t looked back! She still crawls around a bit here and there, but she’s getting better every day at walking. She is SO PROUD of herself, too, which just adds to the cuteness of the whole thing.
You may recall that Darah hates shoes. HATES them. I went at least 6 months without even attempting to put them on her, because I knew it was an exercise in futility. This is been a source of concern for me, because I know that she needs to wear some shoes to protect her feet as she starts walking everywhere. I’ve been hunting around for a quality shoe that Darah might actually wear for more than 45 seconds. I discovered pediped, a brand whose tag line is, “the next best thing to bare feet.” I thought that this had to be my best shot at getting her to wear shoes. And if they didn’t work, I’d just be thankful that we’d be saving thousands of dollars over the next 18 years since she wouldn’t need any shoes. 🙂
You guys, what I’m about to tell you is so unbelievable that I have been struggling to put it into words. But I’m just gonna report back to you the facts, which are as follows:
1. Darah wears these shoes. At first she wore them for an hour (which was completely unheard of). Now she wears them for 5 or 6 hours.
2. Darah still won’t wear ANY other pair of shoes that she owns.
3. She brings the shoes to me and asks to wear them. This is after she attempts to put them on herself.
I can hardly believe it myself. Is this shoe magic? What is the secret?! It turns out that pediped Originals line closely mimics barefoot walking. From their site, “When children learn to walk they tend to shuffle, so rubber soles or shoes with grip force children to change their natural stride and can actually make them trip. Originals have a durable, slip-resistant leather sole. They’re roomy so the foot can move and grip and they’re flexible so your child can actually feel the floor. The hand-stitched leather sole allows your child’s foot to breathe.”
I’ll tell you one thing: Darah is going to be getting pediped shoes from now on. They are definitely more expensive than the cute shoes I find on clearance at Target, but clearly a closet full of cute but cheap shoes that go unworn is a waste of money, and I’d rather put her in 1-2 pairs at each stage that she loves and that are good for her growing feet!
I also wanted to let you know that pediped has a great contest going on right now, and you should definitely enter! In celebration of the latest Tinker Bell movie, pediped is giving away a trip for 4 to London! Go to the pediped website and fill out the simple form, and you’ve got a chance to win!
Buy it!: pediped offers amazing shoe options for the pre-walker, early walker, toddler and full-on runner in your house! I am one thrifty mama but I’m telling you, these are worth every penny they cost. Check them out; you won’t be disappointed! I’m thinking about snagging the Annie shoes that are on sale! edit: I DID snag them! 🙂
Disclosure: I received a complimentary pair of shoes in exchange for my post. The opinions expressed here are strictly my own.
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