[I luv Riley]

I am new to the Yorkie owner world but I have had my baby for 2 weeks and I am sooooo in love. He is almost 9 weeks old and the most precious thing on this earth (besides my two children of course)!! I am just alittle confused on potty training. I am hoping for some help from all of you. I chose not to put Riley in a crate but in a bathroom that he can stay in while I am at work and at night. He does very well at using his pee pads during the day/nigh and I really felt like I had been doing a good job in the evening with watching him and getting him to his pads when he looked like he was ready to go. This morning I talked to someone and they made me feel like I was doing it all wrong and that I had to use a crate or he would never be trained well enough to not have accidents on into adulthood. I have mixed emotions about trying to put him in a crate now. Any advise?? I chose to use just pads because he is only 1 lb and I didn't want him to have to go outside in the winter being so small.