Piedro boots

[Thomcat]

Went to a meeting last night with other mothers with children who have DS and mentioned the non-walking/standing thing with Lotbags and they suggested I ask my physio team for Piedro (sp) boots for her.

What do you girls know / think about them?

my daughter has them and they are good. She couldnt walk before she had them but with a few weeks of having them she was walking. Miracle boots I call them They are nice too not like in the old days. My daughters are mauve and dont look too bad. She copes in trainers now too. Also you should ask about insoles because of Lotties hypermobility. This affects the position of the foot. Penny has had some casts made of her feet and then they make a heel cup to put in the shoe to stop the foot moving around inside the boot. Ask about this aswell!

I have typed my daughters name in aswell LOL I am getting dizzier by the minute

I already knew her name!

Thanks Fio.

I have an appointment on Friday and just wanted to know a bit about them and what you girls thought.

DS wears these, and gets on v well with them. Could you ask your physio team whether they should refer you to an orthotist for boots?
look at these
Definitely worth a try.

my dd had them but they weren't great for her. The sole is totally rigid and her walking seemed very uncontrolled - a bit like a fast stumble. They're really heavy and rigid (but cute-looking, no worries there!).
After a few months of her walking I decided to try ordinary toddler boots by Ricosta, which offer a lot of ankle support but have a nice soft sole. Dd's walking improved lots once we changed. I tried her with some Naturino shoes but they lack ankle support and she didn't walk as well as she does in boots.
Even though the physios kept badgering me about the need for Piedros long before dd could even crawl I decided to ignore them and follow Pat Winders' advice on shoes from the 'Gross Motor Skills' book - she advocates bare feet or soft-soled shoes.

DS wears these

geekgirl, Piedro do soft trainers, too.

My dd wouldnt have been able to walk in bare foot at all so I suppose it depends on what the orthotist says. They are dizzy men who measure feet! IME anyway

Thanks for the link, they aren't as scary looking as I had imagined. So where do you get these boots from then? The way these women were talking I thought they were NHS things! They look about £50 shoes.

you do get them on the nhs love, dont worry

Thomcat, I just remembered this other great aid in getting dd to walk: a very sturdy and stable pushcart . Dd was able to push this when she'd only just started cruising, it really helped her practise and is much more stable than the standard push toys you can buy. Not cheap but incredibly well-made.

thanks Blu will check it out. Our shoe clinic seems to have a 'one type fits all'approach.

Piedro boots were great for dd1 TC, but ds2 is not advised to use them. They come in a a variety of styles, but are fairly heavy. I think they are more than £50 nowadays. I used to love seeing dd1 wearing them. They have sandal styles for summer as well.

i think the nhs allow you to have 3pairs a year.

I think they cost £100 a pair - and DS has to have two pairs as his feet are different sizes And I think we go every 3 months, so about 4 pairs a year - but they have balked at letting me have two pairs at once, or sandals and boots at the same time. these are the ONLY shoes he can wear as he has a specially moulded insert and soles so the poor thing is banned from puddle jumping, or sandals on the beach
But yes, Thomcat, as Fio says, if your physio or Ortho thinks Lottie needs them, you will get them on the nhs.

By the way, this message - and one below are from me, Blu. I changed my name for the boys clothing thread to add votes in the petition to Matalan! (Nil is Bengali for Blue)

nil/blu that is like our daughter, yesterday she ran into the sea with her trainers on and I had to run in after her, poor thing cant wear sandals...so wet trainers all round here!

dd was never given sandals, only ever the little kitty boots. I asked for sandals but was refused, the ortho reckoned they don't provide enough support. Very annoying! Sounds like we have a rubbish shoe clinic here.
Dd ended up being barefoot all summer (she wasn't walking independently then anyway).

dd2 has piedros too, they are very heavy and she hates them, but she can stand up a bit better in them if forced! No walking in sight though. Didn't know they did sandals, feel a bit cheeky asking if they cost £100!!

Ive just bought my daughter a pair of sandals today..........they are pink piedros, they support the ancle and have 3 velcro straps which cross the foot, they look like elefanten sandals. Anyway, they cost £80, add 2% if paying by cards and add £5 if they deliever.....

Oh for a lottery win....

Caroline - all the Piedros are about that price, I think, so couldn't your DD have sandals - or trainers- if the lighter shoes would suit her better? But I think it's possible that not all models suit all orthotic needs, so it may not be possible anyway.

Thomcat: How did you get on at the appointment?

Thanks Blu, I'll ask about it next time we see the orthotist - no idea if the sandals/trainers are suitable. What I meant was I felt cheeky about sandals as well as the boots which still fit her fine!

There is a pic here of the sandals. Dd1's looked nicer irl.

Caroline: We're having the same dilemma. DS is asking non-stop for sandals, and I find it hard managing with only one pair of shoes at any one time. His cost double, too, as he has diffferent sized feet. We did ask, and the orthotist looked doubtful!

they are really nice little boots, not at all different looking, quite smart, we don't use them as dd is too small and isn;t really needing them but we got shown a pair to show what we should look for in a shoe.
Nut sure about adaptations but from a purely aesthetic view they look groovy!