Does wearing Birkenstocks make my feet bigger?

I asked my husband this recently, and he just chuckled.  When we first started dating, I had a closet full of daring high heels and wore them everywhere. I was the girl about town.  I even had a walk-in closet all to myself, with my clothes and shoes neatly arranged by season.   My heels were organized in clear boxes with cheeky labels on them: “hot librarian oxford heels” or “stilettos to die for.” Seriously.

Fast forward six years later, and I am more likely to be seen in my Birkenstocks. Mind you, I think they are quite fashion forward and were even profiled in the NY times style section.  And I do have them in three fun colors: silver, red patent leather, and metallic grey.  But alas ladies, they are Birkenstocks after all. The NY times article did mention they were “homely.”  When I read this, I started thinking about the previous post about a new mama bringing sexy back.  (I am rooting for her.)

For me, two pregnancies later, my feet have um, changed shape.  During pregnancy, my feet swelled and I had sausage toes; those Birkenstocks were the only shoes I could bear to wear.  But even post-partum, my feet have remained Flinstone feet...not really bringing-sexy-back feet. I learned recently that it is actually the hormone Relaxin that has been responsible for loosening all those ligaments in my feet for good, making some of my more beautiful shoes just a tad too snug for comfort.  My feet are no longer content to be stuffed into three-inch pumps, and my toes want some breathing room.

Lots of mamas have told me they’ve had the same experience.  One mama's feet grew a half size each pregnancy—imagine the results of that, three pregnancies later.  Well, I finally came to terms with my feet this weekend. Like Cinderella, I tried on all my glass slippers--and got rid of almost 20 pairs of fabulous, but ill-fitting shoes.

When I told a good friend the results of my labor, she comforted me by saying, don’t worry--now you have more room to add a few new beautiful pairs (my husband again chuckled, a little more nervously this time).  Wisely said, my dear.  And I do like the edited version of my collection—most are cute flats, but some are also gorgeous heels, and some are downright girly, spiky, or glittery.  Kind of fits my current lifestyle better—after all, I am now a mama about town.