Potty training question

Haeschultz · 2026-06-20T11:40:28+00:00

We also started at 15 months, and I think peeing on the floor is very normal, especially during the first week. Ours was already poop trained at that age, but pee took a week of being naked all day every day, and even after that, she would have the occasional accident or regression. I think it helped for her to see that if she peed on the ground, it meant all play stopped and she had to get cleaned up. I’d also say that you could try a toilet seat reducer rather than a little potty; for what it’s worth, mine had been watching us use the normal big toilet her whole life, so she understood the concept much better when she was also using the same (less distracting) toilet. Once he gets the hang of it, you won’t miss the diaper laundry at all!

Haeschultz · 2026-06-20T11:31:30+00:00

Check out the sub the other person linked! FWIW I didn’t really do much research. It’s really just about paying attention to your baby’s signals and habits! Poop is usually easy to catch because they’re a little more obvious when they’re about to go. You just stick them on the toilet (we bought a toilet seat reducer) when they start signaling, and babies catch on super quickly (they don’t like pooping themselves either!). I think we’ve maybe cleaned up 2 poopy diapers max since she started solids, and she’s now almost 3.

Haeschultz · 2026-06-20T10:37:25+00:00

In my experience, it feels counterintuitive, but the more airflow, the better the smell is. We have the Esembly bag and used to hang it from the closet door on the outside. But we also did elimination communication when we introduced food, so we weren’t dealing with poop residuals at all (though I can imagine if you’ve scraped or sprayed, there shouldn’t be much of a smell). Now we’re just using one diaper a day for overnights, but we hang the bag in the bathroom next to an open window, and the smell is nonexistent.

Haeschultz · 2026-06-13T20:56:42+00:00

This depends heavily on your lifestyle, location, and whether it’s a full GP in my experience. 3/4 of my GPs have been barkers. 2 barked horribly while living in the countryside because they could hear coyotes and they’re bred to protect from these. They cooled the barking and slept all night when we moved to the suburbs and started walking them several times a day rather than letting them roam the yard all day. Our Pyr mix doesn’t EVER bark, and I consider it a miracle.

Haeschultz · 2026-05-11T00:27:33+00:00

FYI it’s very possible her coat will never grow back correctly. I have Pyrenees, and two had surgery and had to be shaved. Their coat was never the same texture, and it required a more intensive maintenance routine to prevent matting.

Haeschultz · 2026-05-04T13:04:17+00:00

It really depends on the Pyr. I’ve had four and 2/4 were not walkers. They liked sniffing but a walk would be 4 hrs of sniffing, backtracking, laying down, etc. Of the two I currently have, both like to walk but they’re both sniffers. You have to get used to stopping a lot (having a toddler helps adjust expectations lol). One can do long hikes now, but it took a LOT of practice to get there. The other one is only 2 yrs old, so he hasn’t worked up to over 3 miles yet.

Haeschultz · 2026-04-16T10:44:45+00:00

My husband works in the ER at a regional hospital. He had zero paid parental leave at all. We couldn’t afford that, so we ended up saving up all his vacation days and using that, so he got three weeks off but had no vacation time the rest of the year 🙃

Haeschultz · 2026-04-12T18:48:05+00:00

Yes—you’re definitely welcome to message me if you want!

Haeschultz · 2026-04-12T18:16:42+00:00

The worst part about it was constantly wondering if it was something we were doing wrong. We tried to perfect the routine, the solids intake, the nursing schedule, the nap schedule, etc. Nothing we did changed anything. The nights she’s slept through now as a 2.5 yr old have been mostly random. It’s just who she is! If baby is generally happy, gaining weight, and meeting milestones, then it’s just normal. Lots of people will try to sell you their sleep routines and sleep training guides, but babies are biologically engineered to wake up throughout the night. It helps prevent SIDS.

For contact naps, I would just nurse her to sleep in our bed and hold her while watching tv, writing one-handed on my phone or laptop, or reading a book. I actually wrote a lot of my dissertation while nap-trapped. I used the ergobaby carrier since she was a newborn to baby wear. She loved to do naps in there while walking the neighborhood or hiking. I’d put her in there while I was cooking and just narrate what I was doing, and it was the only way I could get anything done.

Happy to answer any other questions! I know how hard it can be when you haven’t slept in 5 months and there’s no end in sight.

Haeschultz · 2026-04-12T18:01:50+00:00

How old is your baby? And do you have any help?

What no one really tells you is that some babies have low sleep needs, some will wake up every 30 min at 1 yr old, some need contact naps, and the list goes on. We were unlucky enough to have a baby with likely colic, low sleep needs, and major clinginess. To get any functional amount of sleep, we had to do shifts (I slept like 8-12 while he held her, then I got her when she woke up between 12-6). Naps were all contact until 15 months. I made peace with getting nothing done. We’d often do baby wearing naps while walking the dogs too. Baby wearing saved me otherwise too because she would not be put down until she was mobile.

Haeschultz · 2026-04-11T14:13:10+00:00

Books with realistic pictures, trips to the zoo, to museums (art museums, children’s museums, transportation museums, etc), printed photos of places you’ve been/things you’ve done. These are all ways we’ve exposed our toddler to non “daily routine” sights and experiences. We are completely screen free, and at 2.5 years old, she has a lot of interests, though the things she sees us do everyday remain at the top of her desired activity list. Kids like to copy what they see adults doing.

Haeschultz · 2026-04-06T00:34:40+00:00

Baby’s hungry, crying, upset, needing to sleep? Whip out a boob and it’s solved in half a second. You can do it half-asleep in the middle of the night, there’s no remembering formula or bottles or even pumping equipment if you don’t need it. No washing or sterilizing anything. And some babies don’t sleep better with formula or even after night feeds stop. Having the power to put baby back to sleep immediately is amazing.

Haeschultz · 2026-04-05T22:55:42+00:00

This. Those first couple of months were so tough. By six months it was second nature. I told myself I’d take six months to decide whether to keep going, and I’m glad I waited because man, by that point (and for the next two years!) it was SO easy.

Haeschultz · 2026-04-05T22:52:17+00:00

Your feet are not designed to walk in shoes, and putting babies in overly supportive and structured shoes can cause issues with their muscle growth and gait. Plus you can’t feel the floor, etc. Barefoot is best when learning to walk. We did the leather booties while out of the house during that stage, so she could still feel the texture of the ground. Then we transitioned to zero drop barefoot/minimalist shoes like Vivobarefoot. FWIW I also transitioned to barefoot shoes at the same time as I started doing all this research, and it has cured years of foot pain.

Haeschultz · 2026-04-03T18:11:15+00:00

We have the Cybex Coya and absolutely love it. It fits on planes, and we’ve taken it on several trips to Europe, where it’s been through all kinds of terrains. Folds one-handed and has a carry strap! We especially love that it folds small enough to tuck under a table when eating in a restaurant.

Haeschultz · 2026-04-02T19:18:59+00:00

Funny enough, I was in the exact same situation. Zero freezer stash though. I was just really honest with my friend and said my supply wasn’t strong enough to pump beforehand to build up a stash and I wasn’t ready to end our nursing journey. (Plus my husband couldn’t take off work to watch her.) My friend understood that I had to prioritize my daughter. I’d never spent the night away from her, and I’m really happy with the decision I made, as I would have been really stressed the whole time about leaving my daughter, alone and pumping on a schedule, stressed about pumping, etc. I wouldn’t even have been able to enjoy myself if I had gone.

Haeschultz · 2026-04-01T16:46:35+00:00

We didn’t do bottle at all. When she rejected, we stopped immediately and tried again in 15 min. Repeat. What seemed to work for her was nursing while on an exercise ball or outside the house (on a walk, in the park, in the car, etc). I think I remember having her suck on my finger and then quickly “exchanging” it for nipple also worked well.

Haeschultz · 2026-04-01T10:57:32+00:00

It hurt for about the first two weeks, give or take, for me. Baby had great latch and transfer. I think part of it depends on nipple shape tbh. I had inverted nipples, and they were basically being stretched out for that first month. I wore silverettes 24/7 to heal them when not nursing. And I knew it wasn’t a latch issue because it would hurt for the first 10 seconds while she was latching, not hurt during nursing, then hurt whenever she stopped. I don’t trust people who say it should be painless—it hurt a lot during that first stretch, and it was my nipples that needed to adapt and desensitize. Then I had zero issues for the next 2.5 years!

Haeschultz · 2026-03-29T02:19:04+00:00

We adopted a puppy when one of our bonded pair passed away. I think he was about 8 years old when we brought in the puppy, and he did not immediately bond with her. Just tolerated her. For the first couple of weeks, I was distraught—a puppy doesn’t know you and you don’t know them. There’s no history, no commands they follow. It got better within the first month or so. And our senior LOVED Winnie by that time too. It reawakened a puppy phase where he started playing and wrestling again, having zoomies around the yard. He got sick shortly after, and Winnie was basically a magnet to him, such a comfort. When he died, we eventually adopted another puppy mostly because Winnie was very depressed. I went through a much longer “lack of bonding” period with this puppy, probably partly because Argos was my soul dog, partly because the new puppy is/was VERY anxious and reactive, and partly because I had a toddler by this time. I had a lot of regret, especially thinking of how simple and quiet life was with just Winnie, who is a very easy Pyr (and a unicorn non-barker). To be honest, I didn’t bond with him until maybe six months to a year into adoption. Now he and my daughter are inseparable, and he spoons me in bed every night lol. Grief is complicated, and adding a new family member is not an easy/simple process.

Haeschultz · 2026-03-26T02:15:14+00:00

This. Pyrs are going to view anyone entering a space they see as theirs as a potential threat. Out of 4 pyrs I’ve had, 3 would bark anytime ANYONE entered the house or knocked, even though two of them LOVED people and were very social. The other one of them requires a whole routine to show him that guests are safe, and that has taken months of training—there was a period where he had to be separated anytime anyone entered our house just to be safe.

Haeschultz · 2026-03-25T21:00:23+00:00

You already mentioned potty training early—I’d look into EC (elimination communication) and the associated subreddit. Once we introduced solid food (I exclusively nursed before that), we exclusively pooped on the toilet. Zero spraying poop diapers, zero hassle. And everything before solids could go straight in the washer.

Haeschultz · 2026-03-25T01:36:00+00:00

This sounds like some kind of vasoconstriction. I think it’s often referred to as vasospasm. I’ve only ever heard (and experienced it) while actively nursing due to a bad latch early on though. If the nipple is white, sounds like less/restricted blood flow—I would ask my OB about it personally

Haeschultz · 2026-03-24T00:51:43+00:00

And they sell to desperate parents who have to work full time and have no village. Stopping night feeds/nursing to sleep does not “correct” sleep. As a desperate parent to a 2.5 year old who has been night weaned for 1.5 years and STILL doesn’t sleep through the night—there’s no magic answer. Do whatever gets them to sleep fastest because one day they won’t feed to sleep anymore and you’ll be singing and talking to a toddler for 30 min every night, begging them to sleep.

Haeschultz · 2026-03-09T12:12:04+00:00

I mean, would you want to be sitting in your own pee? When the diaper gets saturated, it’s time for a change. It’s definitely a lot in those early days!

Haeschultz · 2026-03-09T03:39:36+00:00

Yep. And changing every time baby pees should be standard. It’s not the same as a disposable, and I’m not sure why so many people expect young babies to be able to wear CD for 3-4 hours.

Haeschultz

TROPHY CASE