Comparing dopplers -- purchase vs. rental

jenb_99

Have any of you used both a rental doppler (such as one from Baby Beats or another shop) *and* one of the less expensive types you can buy on eBay or Amazon (such as the Sonoline dopplers)? I know there are differences in advertised features, which can give shoppers a perceived difference in quality that's not always accurate, but did you notice an actual difference in sound quality, sensitivity, reliability, accuracy of the heart rate readout, etc?

I'm trying to decide whether it's actually more worthwhile to spend $100 on a 6-month rental from BabyBeats (I used one from them the first time around and LOVED it) than to pay $55 for a cheaper model I can resell or give away later.

I should also mention that I don't use the doppler for medical reasons. I'm not a Nervous Nellie who has to find the heartbeat 5x a day and keep track of the exact rate. I just want my husband and son to be able to bond with the new baby, and we found the doppler to be great for that.

prettypenguin28

I bought a sonoline b doppler a few weeks ago. It's still too early to hear the baby's heartbeat but I can hear the placenta "heartbeat" and other noises. I read that the little "blips" that you hear are baby moving I am 8 weeks so I will start really trying to find it at 9 weeks. I still like to listen every few days just to hear what's going on.

ABColeslaw

I have a sonoline B.  Love it.  There is no real need to rent a more expensive model. 

jenb_99

Thanks, ladies! I really loved my BabyBeat doppler when I rented it two years ago, but I'm not going to spend that much this time if I don't have to, so I bought a Sonoline B pocket unit yesterday from the NoMoreRack.com sale site for $56, including shipping.

spano41

Yup....Sonoline B.  You can get them for about the same price from fetaldoppler.net

rowanthefrog

I rented one for my first pregnancy and bought for my second. I honestly didn't see a difference in them. I think I spent around 70-80 for a Hi-bebe one and I found the HB on DS2 and DS3 around 9.5 weeks.

Personally I think its money well spent and you can always resell.

A

sheislisamarie

Yay, you bought the sonoline b! It's a good one for the price. It's what I have, and I was able to first hear the baby at 10 weeks. The baby kind of disappeared on me for a few days, but came back. It's not the strongest doppler in the world and has yet to give me a steady heartbeat rating, even at 13.5 weeks, but as long as I can hear the heartbeat, that's all that matters.

jenb_99

@sheislisamarie It gets good reviews. I don't care much about the HB readout, so that's no big deal for me either. I just like to hear it.