Shoes = Tantrum and Tears

Okay so Hayden is now 12 months and he has never worn shoes. no it's not because we live in Kentucky it's because the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that baby's shouldn't wear shoes until they are walking independently and even then shoes really only need to be worn outside. Apparently toddlers learn to walk better by feeling the ground with their bare feet. So being a first time mom I am trying to follow everything by the book (breast milk exclusively until 6 months, vaccinations on schedule, on the back to sleep, no bumper in the the bed ... you get the picture) So even though Hayden is not walking independently he is cruising and using a walker. We went to the UK football game on Saturday and I thought since it was cold and we would be outside he would benefit from having on shoes and his Nana Dede has been strongly suggesting shoes for months now. Well as usual we were running late so no time to try to figure out what size shoe he needed and which pair to pull out of the closet. So Sunday comes and I am determined to at least try some shoes on his feet. No problem, right? WRONG! He threw a fit with the biggest tears rolling down his face for the entire 20 minutes I had the shoes on him. They were a 1/2 size too big so I know they were not pinching his toes. He acted like they were glued to the floor. He just stood there and would not move his feet. So then I put him on his hands and knees so he could crawl. Nothing he just stayed on all 4's with tears pouring down his face. I then took the shoes off. He immediately stopped crying and started playing. So I picked him back up and put the shoes on him again. Same story .. waterworks. I left them on about 5 more minutes and then surrendered. So now on Monday Nana Dede comes over and I tell her the shoe story and tell her to knock herself out trying to get him to wear shoes. She is insistent that he needs shoes. All her boys wore shoes early on and poor Hayden should have been in shoes for months now. I tell her all the reasons that I don't think he needs shoes but if she really thinks he should wear them then she can put them on him and see how he cries. So I leave for work and then I came home at 5 to find my blonde haired little boy playing happily in his play room WEARING SHOES! Yep that's right he has on shoes and is smiling. Deanna said he fussed just for a minute and then was fine. I guess sometimes Nana's and Grammy's just do things better or at least less traumatic!