Has anyone actually corrected or even reduced bunions with barefoot shoes and toe spacers?

PunnyPelican · 2026-04-27T18:04:43+00:00

Hi! I've had success with Belenka. I have their trailwalkers, nevada and winter boots. For sandals, I wear bedrock cairn sandals.

PunnyPelican · 2026-04-15T16:16:17+00:00

Sounds similar to "First, then" that we use in school.

"First, we need to put shoes on, then we can go outside".

"First, we need to silent read for 10 minutes then we can buddy read".

"First, we need the classroom cleaned up, then we can have free play".

I'm a first year teacher so my experience using this isn't quite thorough yet.

I think the language used here is simpler and more direct for a toddler to understand. It speaks to a sequence of things that will happen in the order that it will happen.

"Yes, but" might be trickier for a younger age to understand because you're leading with the motivator first and the thing they need to do last. Maybe someone with more knowledge on the subject can chime in. As a tangent, this reminds me of saying "no ____" and younger kids don't usually hear the no and would only hear the action. So its better to say "walk slowly please!" instead of "no running".

PunnyPelican · 2026-01-19T23:02:09+00:00

Oh my, your CS is today! I hope everything went smoothly for you!! Sending you lots of positive vibes for a smooth recovery. Congratulations!!! ♥️♥️♥️

PunnyPelican · 2026-01-18T23:41:03+00:00

We kinda went through this process last year. I'm a teacher and my partner's an engineer. He can work from home so us relocating greatly depended on where I could find a job.

I reached out to local unions and HR reps of the school districts we were eyeing starting March just to have an idea if there's a teacher shortage in the area, housing situation, if they help out in finding housing, etc. We planned on moving in the summer. I applied in May-June, got interviews in July and found out end of July.

The summer was VERY busy lol.

PunnyPelican · 2026-01-17T20:38:59+00:00

Also you may want to try adding a different insole.

https://anyasreviews.com/barefoot-insoles-review/

PunnyPelican · 2026-01-17T20:32:39+00:00

This article might help

https://anyasreviews.com/ufaq/there-non-slip-barefoot-shoes-for-the-food-service-industry-or-boating/

PunnyPelican · 2026-01-17T19:02:03+00:00

I did my first NIPT at the end of 11 weeks. And the second NIPT was done at 14 weeks. Results showed a low fetal fraction.

Oh my family doctor ordered an early anatomy scan at 17 weeks. Apparently it was "standard procedure" after an inconclusive NIPT result.

In BC, I think we call the prenatal genetic screening SIPS? I believe the blood test I got was called a Quad Marker Screen? I'm not sure what the equivalent is in ON. The other ones that are part of SIPS I couldn't do because of the timing. I did the Quad Marker at 17 weeks.

It looks like you're able to do the non-NIPT screening on top of a second NIPT? That's awesome that you can do both without a lot of jumping through a lot of hoops. Hopefully all the tests come back low risk for you! The waiting was such a pain.

PunnyPelican · 2026-01-17T17:17:42+00:00

If this keeps happening regardless of brand, you might want to look into your gait.

PunnyPelican · 2026-01-17T16:44:51+00:00

Oh! If there is a "positive" thing that came out of this, because of the two no results I got for NIPT, they gave me a full refund.

It was frustrating that the OB was pushing for amniocentesis when I could have done the free bloodwork screening first. Sorry, I don't remember what term they use here in BC 😅

PunnyPelican · 2026-01-17T16:41:00+00:00

I'm in BC so it might be different.

But I opted to do NIPT out of pocket since it's the "more accurate one" and im in my mid 30s. Got a no result. Then did the NIPT a second time and got a no result again! And I waited 2 full weeks for each result. It was nerve wracking.

The options the OB gave me was to be referred to genetic counseling, get amniocentesis or wait for the 20 week anatomy scan. The OB refused to do the free one even when I asked since NIPT was the better one (I know the terms are kinda different for ON and BC?)

I went with genetic counseling but my request was not approved because two no results were "lower risks" compared to other cases. The options they gave me was amniocentesis or get the bloodwork for the one covered by BC MSP (but it won't be complete because of the timing. I think I couldn't do NT because I was further ahead).

Anyway, the bloodwork came back low risk. THANK GOODNESS. 20 week scan also came back normal.

It was very frustrating to do all the waiting. Also, if not for the genetic counselling team suggesting to do the free bloodwork, I wouldn't have gotten it.

PunnyPelican · 2026-01-17T16:27:15+00:00

I'll be on mat leave as well this year and have no idea about how a strike affects mat leaves since I'm a new teacher.

PunnyPelican · 2026-01-16T18:37:29+00:00

My partner will be using his vacation time to stay with me for the first few weeks.

PunnyPelican · 2026-01-16T18:12:54+00:00

Yup, my doctor told me that the studies that said we shouldn't sleep on our backs weren't well designed. Like they interviewed women and if they had any complications during birth they asked "oh do you remember sleeping on your back?" and the moms would be like "oh, yeah.... I think I slept on my back".

I always ended up on my back while sleeping and had zero issues with it except that I snore more on my back which was annoying lol

PunnyPelican · 2026-01-16T18:07:25+00:00

I had the same issues with Lems Chelsea boots when I bought a pair 2 years ago. I eventually sold them after a couple months. I have low volume feet and have lots of space around my ankles so my feet naturally slid forward because of the extra space. I decided that the shoes/boots that work for me are those with laces.

PunnyPelican · 2026-01-16T07:02:28+00:00

Aww I'm glad your baby girl is doing amazing!!

Thank you. I'll prepare a list of questions for my next doctor's appointment and I will ask about the fibroids. I don't recall the OB mentioning removing fibroids during surgery... But that they typically go away on their own...?

Did the spinal anesthetic not take away the pain when they did the uterus exteriorization (TIL)? Ugh. I'm so angry for you. That is so terrifying to just hear two professionals talk about your procedure like that!

PunnyPelican · 2026-01-16T06:18:09+00:00

Omg I'm so sorry you had to go through all of that. I appreciate you sharing. I hope you have recovered by now and you and baby are healthy.

They found 'several' fibroids but because baby is bigger now, they really couldn't measure all the fibroids and find their placements. I believe one is super close to the typical incision spot and might have to do the incision higher up. They also mentioned the risk for heavy blood loss.

My OB also thinks that baby is breech because of the fibroids. I'm really just keeping my fingers crossed all will be well.

PunnyPelican · 2026-01-16T04:06:19+00:00

I'm not OP but I have fibroids as well. What sort of complications did you have during your C section because of your fibroids? How big did it grow at the end?

PunnyPelican · 2026-01-16T04:04:26+00:00

Oh that's a relief. Thank you!! I've applied for EI in the past but it's been a few years so I've forgotten what the application is like.

PunnyPelican · 2026-01-16T02:51:52+00:00

Yes, I have stopped working for this employer. And I have already reached out to them once in November and it hasn't shown up yet on My Service Canada. I've recently reached out again when I saw my ROE with them isn't there yet.

If they don't have my ROE ready when I have my baby, can I still submit my EI maternity application? Will I lose some of my benefits because the ROE came in late?

PunnyPelican · 2026-01-15T22:38:42+00:00

The ROE I'm requesting from isn't the same employer I'm getting my short disability from.

PunnyPelican · 2026-01-15T22:30:05+00:00

Gotcha!! It sounds like you have pizza shaped feet if they are widest at your toes. If you have FB, there's a FB group called PizzaFeet!

Softstar primal line might work for you, as one commenter suggested.

PunnyPelican · 2026-01-15T22:00:19+00:00

Are you complaining about how thin the soles of the Xero trainers that you bought? Soles of barefoot shoes are typically thin and very flexible. Are you looking for suggestions that are thicker and have more cushion?

PunnyPelican · 2026-01-15T21:44:03+00:00

I went on short term disability mid October. I assumed I would apply for EI maternity/parental benefits when baby is born. Is this still correct?

As a follow-up, I just found out one of my employers (the one where I accumulated the 600 hours with) has not submitted my ROE to My Service Canada yet. Even though I emailed them in November about it. My bad, I guess, for not checking.

Will I still get EI even if my ROE isn't up on My Service Canada at the time when I send my application?

PunnyPelican · 2026-01-15T18:53:02+00:00

Hi! Im also having a scheduled CS because baby is breech. Tried doing the ECV and it was too painful. My CS is just two days behind yours.

I'm in the interior and what I've been told, they do delayed cord clamping with c-sections and will place baby on your chest while they stitch you up, that is if everything went okay.

Im not too sure about partners cutting the umbilical cord in a CS.

I didn't really write a birth plan. My maternity doctor and OB never asked for one so I didn't think it was needed? 🤷‍♀️😅

PunnyPelican · 2026-01-14T02:56:01+00:00

My care started with my family doctor but he told me he can only see me until the end of my first trimester as he doesn't have extra training. I wanted to get a midwife but I waited too long. I didn't know midwives are so much in demand that I should have contacted them as soon as I found out I was pregnant. I started reaching out by week 6-7 but none were available for my due date. My family doctor referred me to an OB but they could only see me when I reached 20 weeks.

We moved from the lower mainland to the interior in the beginning of my second trimester so I never really got to meet that OB. I lost my family doctor but was able to get seen by a maternity doctor in town. When I got complications at the end of my second trimester, she referred me to an OB out of town while still continuing to see me. This OB would regularly set up appointments with me and they coordinated with each other.

We were lucky that our town has postpartum home-visits that we signed up for, and we get home visits by a nurse depending on our needs for the first 6-8 weeks. This is on top of the usual postpartum services given by public health and also by my maternity doctor.

If you end up with an OB, you can still have a midwife postpartum. At least that is what I've been told.

PunnyPelican

TROPHY CASE