Pram shoes/booties etc - please educate me...

[emsyj]

I'm expecting my first baby in June and have begun to look idly at clothes etc now that I've sorted the basics. Just wondered how 'safe' it is to put those little soft shoes on a baby??? Instinct tells me they shouldn't wear shoes until they start walking and they should be professionally fitted, but would soft shoes (cloth pram shoes etc) do any harm? I am buying mostly footed sleepsuits for the first few months but when baby gets a bit bigger I can picture a lot of 'socks fallen off' moments and wondered if soft leather/cloth pram shoes (with a fully soft sole, not a walking sole) would be okay or if I should steer clear.

thanks

They dont need them. In the winter you may want to put them on their feet as an added layer when they're out of all in one snow suits but honestly, they're just an added expense you dont really need. DS2 is now 1 and only just got his first pair of tots shoes last week as he's walking everywhere - now those are brilliant and worth every penny once your baby starts walking...

Have bought a truckload of snowsuits for the winter, had forgotten about that actually!

Hmmm maybe just one pair of really cute ones then eh....? Just one?

Perfectly safe. And good for keeping socks on or as an extra foot layer when a bit chilly but not snowsuit cold.

But they are best, as dinky says, when they are mobile. My 3.6yo DS still wears them at home.

you will probably get more use out of a pair of sock-ons.

wait before buying though

they are a popular present so you may end up with more than you need

shops will still be open (and have sales) after the birth - June is ages away

For a summer baby there's no need even to have socks. Any type of sock or shoe can constrict the foot and babies should be barefoot as much as possible. In winter, for a non-mobile baby you should stick with socks and a good blanket or cosytoes on the pushchair.

And if I were you I wouldn't buy too many 'seasonal' clothes too far in advance. You have no idea what size your baby will be and may find that the snowsuits don't fit when they are needed.

What are sock-ons???? Will google...

Re: size of baby, I'm fully expecting a GIANT one as DH was huge as are all the babies on his side of the family - as FIL delights in telling me.

Have bought new with tags snowsuits on ebay in various sizes, one of each of 3-6, 6-9 and 9-12 months, not spent a fortune. "Summer baby" I suppose only really applies if we actually get a summer this year...

sock ons

Hmm, maybe I should invest in some sock-ons to stop DS2's post-prandial sock habit...

My DD is two weeks old...to date, we have received as gifts 5 pairs of soft booties, a pair of snow boots and a pair of gold sequinned shoes, plus 27 pairs of socks...

People love to buy booties, for the cute factor - and socks are cheap...I have enough white frilly ankle socks to keep me going til she starts school it seems!

I got given some and then bought a cheap pair only in a vain attempt to keep ds's socks on in the cold weather, it didn't work as he just pulled them off as well, we had to resort to tights in the end!

I'm pleased to hear that stressheaderic, I haven't bought a single pair of socks so far!!! Just a few footed sleepsuits. Might leave it at that actually and wait and see what we use/need.

I like the little footed trousers - under other trousers in cold weather, and on their own on warmer days. Pairs of anything are just asking for one to be lost.

I have had a June baby and am expecting another and will not be buying shoes until 6-12 months at the earliest and then the leather soft ones.
There is so much other stuff to spend your money, it truly doesn't hit you until after all the presents arrive that 40 outfits age 0-3 months were not required and you've nothing to put on your 3-6 month old (and no money to them either in our case )

OP - I am inclined to agree with those who have already said don't bother. Your baby will be most comfortable in sleepsuits in those early months. Wait until the colder months and then I would say go for tights with socks over the feet for bit of extra warmth. Alternatively Polarn O Pyret do lovely little woolly slipper socks with a suede sole and a little piece of elastic that goes over the front of the ankle to keep them on. My DS2 has lived in these since the autumn. But you don't need anything for a long time yet. MillyMollyMoo is right. You will be given stacks of stuff to last the first few months and then you'll be able to go shopping. I think those sock-ons look a bit weird and orthopedic!

Oi Pluto - get yourself over to the latest Fab Feb 09 post natal thread to fill us all in about big Al's latest exploits...