I’m not a delicate rosebud.
By the time I was in junior high, I wore a size 10 women’s shoe. I remember the day I hit that mark…I sat in the middle of the shoe aisle and cried. Women’s footwear has come a long way since then, and I think there are a lot more of us proud double-digit-wearers than there used to be, but at 13 years old it was devastating.
(Also? Cinderella is my least favorite fairy tale. With her stupid dainty feet and her stupid glass slipper that her stepsisters couldn’t wear because they were bigfooted monsters. Don’t even get me started.)
And then I had four kids. And somewhere between Pregnancy #1 and Pregnancy #4, my feet grew. An entire shoe size. And never went back.
A lot of you in our community have had this happen, too, and it makes me feel so much better to know I’m not alone.
I did a little poking around to see why this is, and according to this study, during pregnancy our arches flatten out and our feet can get wider and longer (yeay). About 60-70% of the women who participated in the study found their feet got bigger, with most of the changes coming during the first pregnancy.
Of course, our feet also swell when we’re pregnant and sometimes even postpartum, and that goes away eventually. So it can be hard to decide what to do about our shoe wardrobe.
Photo: istock
My advice? Buy one or two inexpensive pairs of shoes that are comfortable and fit your feet the way they are now. I pretty much lived in my flip flops (my OB/GYN joked she could always spot a pregnant woman in Colorado because we were the ones wearing flip flops during a blizzard). After you’ve given yourself some time, you can start trying on shoes and seeing what feels good and — if you must — buy larger sizes. Maybe the too-small ones can go to a consignment shop, or you could donate them and help other women?
But I want you to know I feel your (foot) pain, sister.
Did your feet grow after you had kids? Do you have any advice or tips for us?
CommentsFor more kids’ activities and easy recipes, you can find Laura at Peace but not Quiet, and on facebook and Pinterest.
