At 13 months, Dexter has owned just two pairs of shoes. He is ‘on his feet’ but isn’t able to walk unassisted yet so we usually leave him in socks or barefoot to keep him cool.

Previously, if we went out to the supermarket or to the park, we popped him in his F&F espadrilles (with socks on so he wouldn’t get blisters) and were really happy with them. They looked great, didn’t leave any marks on his feet, and were easy to get on.

Now he’s outgrown these, we’ve trialled him on some infant Converses handed down from a friend. Getting them on is a royal pain in the arse. You have to take the laces completely out, slip them on, then lace them. Despite us being incredibly careful not to pinch him or force them on, he screams the house down and gets really distressed. At first, when they were on, we thought they were fabulous as he couldn’t pluck them off and throw them at passersby in the high street (yes, he’s been known!).

So, we were fairly happy with these until today. Given it’s 24 degrees outside, we decided to forsake socks and strap him into his pumps barefoot. We were only going to Tescos so there wouldn’t be a oppotunity for him to walk and have the shoes rub his delicate skin.

Big mistake! I was positively angry when I saw the state they had left his poor feet in when we got home. They were so sore that he wouldn’t allow us to touch them. Just unlacing them made him scream!

I feel terrible. The lesson has definitely been learnt and we won’t put him in shoes without socks again, but I’m pretty loathe to put him in these shoes ever again now! Whilst he’s unable to tell us if they’re hurting, I don’t want to take the risk. So we’re now thinking we’ll just pop him in socks for short trips - but what do we do when we take him to the park, or he needs to stretch his legs? We’ll need to take precautions against broken glass or other nasties hidden in the grass. He’ll need some form of shoes.

Maybe it’s my fault. Dexter’s has his mummy’s feet. Here’s an old image of the two of us when he was newborn. We both have fairly square feet and they’re very wide. I call my own feet “E.T. feet” as they look like E.T’s hand with the prominent gap between my big toe and its neighbour. Although Dexie’s tend to curl at the moment, I suspect he’ll wind up with the same trademark gap when he’s older.

So we’re on an appeal!

If anyone can offer any advice on what might be right for him pre-walking, we’d love to hear what might be suitable. I’ve considered getting him some soft leather shoes like these from Dotty Fish, or these from Tippy Toes, but I don’t know if these are appropriate for him outside of the house. Even if they aren’t, I’d still consider them for the grip they can provide on our bare oak floors at home.

For outside the house, if anyone has any recommendations, we’d also love to hear them. One’s that fasten so we can ensure a snug fit are preferred, but will happily consider anything that is safe and comfortable for him whilst he learns to walk. I know Clarks have a fabulous reputation and I’ve found a few styles that I like, but is it too early to have him measured at 13 months? Thanks so much in advance for your advice!