Infants and AFOs

[Ziggy]

6 mo old Sweet pea is getting his first AFO soon. What sort of shoes are needed with them? Can he wear soft soled shoes like Robeez or does he need something with stiffer soles, laces, velcro, what? I know "barefoot is best" for typically developing feet but Sweet pea has a slightly spastic ankle.

[smoop]

I know people who used Robeez for their infant AFOs. For my daughter we bought the white crib booties from Payless for $12. They sell them in a wide.. we started in size 5 and she has actually worn these type of shoes for 2 years. We just kept buying new ones every 6 months or so.

[Ziggy]

cool, so they don't need to be the lace up or stiffer soled shoes?

[bcain]

I used a Robeez-type leather bootie/slipper. It was the only thing that would fit over her fat feet and the AFO's without being huge and cumbersome. Wearing a larger than needed size shoe just made her clumsy. The slipper was the best. Once she started to walk good enough for outside I really struggled to find an affordable shoe to fit. I just took her with me to the store, tried the shoes that would go over the AFOs, leave them on her and brouse for about 10-15 mins, take them off to check for marks. If there weren't any marks Yeah!!....I bought them. Try to get the lightest weight of shoe possible though.

[leigh828]

We also just used Robeez or went with just a sock and the AFO. Especially when they are that young and are only wearing them for positioning. Once she is a little older and is wear the AFOs for standing, then you may need to get a shoe.

[Ziggy]

Has anybody been offered a rubber sole for the AFO? Our orthotics guy said that was an option, he'd wear a shoe on the other foot and nothing over the AFO...

[Dodger67]

That is cosmetically unacceptable. Anything other than a matching pair of shoes just makes the child appear even more "abnormal". Kids need social acceptance almost as much as food.

[Ziggy]

I understand that for older kids, but Sweet pea is only 7 mo old, and this AFO is only expected to last him about 3 months...

[bcain]

After much frustration in not finding a proper shoe to fit with the AFO I asked for rubber soles to be put on. It didn't look bad because she wore them on both feet, but she slipped alot still, because the edges are still slippery. anytime she was on the carpet the velcro straps would catch on the carpet.

I'd definately use the Robeez slipper for this age. As babies they spend alot of time crawling and pulling up to stand. Any leather type slipper can be stretched over the AFO, you can go with a larger size than needed because they're so light weight(stuff the toe with soft batting). My daughter even wore her leather slippers outside for a few months, until I found a sneaker to fit. I didn't buy the expensive shoes because infants feet grow so much in the first years. I'd wait til he's walking a little before the decision to buy shoes.

There are special shoes for AFO's and certain crocs also work. Here's a list of sites. http://www.lifestyleaccelerator.com/index.php?pr=Socks_and_Shoes

[Dodger67]

Yes I understand that. I was responding to the idea of using an AFO with a sole, obviously only relevant for children old enough to walk anyway.

[Ziggy]

I got a lot of flack from the orthotist when I showed him the Robeez. He basically said "that's not a shoe" and that I was going to have him falling all over the place if he tried standing with them on.

I think we'll stick with Preschoolians once he's ready to walk. Hopefully we won't need two different sizes... I don't have enough money for two pair at a time!

[LisaJoy]

Sounds kind of crazy to me -- I mean, he's only six months old. Surely he'll outgrow them before he's ready to stand and take steps? Typical kids (i.e., non sb) don't even generally start standing and walking until 12-14 months, right?

I don't think you should feel bad about using Robeez if you want to.

[smoop]

When my daughter was that small the orthotist just put non-skid soles on the bottom of her shoes. It worked out very well. It wasn't until Analise was about 18 months old when she started wearing the $12 crib booties from Payless. I'm telling you... I thought I was going to buy a cute pair of Stride Rite shoes since they sold extra wide shoes. I could not find any there that fit over her braces without going up several sizes. That's when I found the crib booties and they worked great! I have yet to pay a lot of money for shoes and she's now 4 years old.

[XoBLoNDiE85]

SMOOP- so the ones from payless you dont have to go up too many sizes? i hate the fact that they have to get big shoes for the afos!

[Lifeisgood]

I do all of my shoe shopping at Payless (but I do not have AFO's). I like Payless because it is the most affordable place to buy shoes and I can typically find the same shoes in both of the sizes I need. They have pretty stylish stuff too.
Big fan of Payless. :)

[smoop]

I started Analise on the infant size 5 in wide when she was 18 months old. They were a tad bigger than her AFO size but not to the point where she was tripping over them. I believe that over the past few years I have purchased about 5 pairs of these exact shoes. Now she's outgrown the size 6 and they don't run any larger.