Baby needs a new pair of shoes

Right after Oliver's first day at his new daycare, we had to go shopping for a jacket (it's cooled off here) and a pair of shoes. Both were for the playground. The kids play outside a lot at this daycare (even today, when it rained all afternoon and they were essentially playing in mud), and so they require all kids, even those not walking, to have rubber-bottomed shoes. The only shoes we've owned up to this point are the soft-bottom Robeez-type shoes (except the cheap ones from Target). So off we went to the mall, where I knew things would be more expensive but the one place I knew I could find both things and someone to help figure out the size for his feet. Twenty minutes and a chunk of change later, Oliver got his first pair of shoes. I've tried to tell myself that he only needs good shoes for while he's learning to walk and then we can go cheap once he's up and around really well. But honestly, it's helpful to have someone help with the sizing. I've got no idea -- I've even bought shoes too small for myself! She did tell me that kids tend to grow out of a pair of shoes in about 3 months, which isn't comforting. If he ends up with Wes-size feet, he's got a lot of shoe sizes still to go.