I'm sure this must've been covered but the Search feature doesn't seem to be working - or I'm just thick :-), so please forgive me if it's been covered already.

I have just taken the plunge and switched over from platform pedals to my first pair of clipless pedals & cycling shoes and I wasn't given any help with the shoe fit at the LBS. Now that I've been using my shoes for a couple of weeks, I have some questions about the fit:

1. Should there be any gap/room through the top part of the shoe? I ask this because going up hills I especially feel that when I pull-up in the pedaling motion, there is room to spare in my shoe and effort is wasted as I pull up in that empty space (if you know what I mean).

2. Should I have any numbness in my 2 smallest toes on one foot? I am a woman with a small but broad foot and took this into account when I bought my Shimano SH-WM61 MTB shoes, and they feel almost too roomy in the toe department that I don't get it.

These cost me a lot of money and it's not quite how I imagined it should be. (on the bright side tho, I was told I would fall off my bike 2x getting used to clipless pedals and it hasn't happened yet; I'm loving them). Now to get the shoes sorted ...Thanks so much for your help :-)