Fracap - M121 Miele - Struggling with break-in

Ordered (12/28/25) a size 8.5 (US) for a 25cm long foot...EU size 41.5. Fracap recommended a 40 as there's 1.0cm-1.5cm of additional length they add automatically. I'm struggling with break-in...I wore them out for dinner one night and they were OK. I then wore them on a trip to Paris, France last week - home to airport (IAD)...walk thru the airport...on the plane...walk thru airport (CDG) - airport to hotel...took them off and didn't wear them all week. Repeated the same wear schedule for the trip home. The pinkie toe on my left foot is a hot spot - very uncomfortable. Any thoughts? Do I need more wear time? Should I give them a good coat of leather balm to soften them up? FWIW - I'm using nice cedar shoe trees. Any thoughts/help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.