At Home Dopplers

haj1213

I am having no luck with my at home doppler. All of the Bump posts, YouTube videos, and reviews I've found are women saying they found the heartbeat by now. (I am 10wks with the Sonoline B doppler) I had two mmc prior to this pregnancy, so I know I tend to be a little paranoid, but I have yet to find any women having difficulty with this doppler at this stage. Please tell me I'm not the only one that hasn't been able to find the heartbeat!

cjs260

My OB couldn't find a heartbeat at 10wks in the office. Since we just had a great looking u/s, she didn't seem worried. I wouldn't panic, I believe there are many things that can go into a doppler finding a heartbeat, even whether the baby is facing toward the outside or towards your back. 

ceillyang

Just keep trying! And make sure you press down and try different angles. Good luck!

christac1010

I went to see my OB at 10w3d (I had severe back pain and mild cramping) and she refused to use the office doppler on me. She said until 12 weeks, it can be very difficult to find a heartbeat and she didn't want to stress me out. 

Smiley-1980

with my daughter I couldn't find her until 11 weeks 5 days, I am 11 weeks 2 days now and haven't found this one yet either.  My doctor actually wouldn't try with my last pregnancy at 12 weeks because he didn't want to risk not finding it and making me worry for no reason.

LCartee2016

@hiljordan Don't panic! I went in for a routine doppler at 11w5d and two nurses couldn't find the heartbeat, and my ob had trouble chasing it down too. It turns out our baby was just being active and stubborn and "running" from the wand. Also, baby is still pretty small right now, so I wouldn't worry too much, but if you are worried you should call your doc/ob and have them ease your mind. 

canavara

@hiljordan Take a deep breath and try again in a few days We heard our LO's HB in the doc's office at 10w2d but I had so much trouble hearing it on a home doppler at 10w5d... and even by 11w3d, I still had moments where I had to spend a good 10-15 minutes anxiously moving the probe around. At 12w2d it's getting easier but even then, there's still times here and then where the baby is being uncooperative or is moving around in a place not near the front.

If you have a tilted uterus, this can also make it more difficult!

Also seconding what @ceillyang said, try angling the probe down towards your pelvis more. At this point, the baby is still nestled behind your pelvic bone so holding it straight often won't pick it up yet.

ETA: Other tips! Drink a lot of water before trying, having your bladder full can cause the uterus to push up a little bit more and make things easier. And if you're drinking caffeine at all, sometimes having a little bit or a little sugar can help perk the baby up and make it easier to find. Not a guarantee that it'll work, but I've found both of those things to be useful.

poetryandoceans

My good friend is a maternity doc. I had to have a really big, potentially career-altering discussion with work about my pregnancy on Tuesday. So on Monday evening, when I was 10w4d, she brought me into the hospital while she was working, with the plan to use the fetal doppler on me to reassure my PGAL brain that I still had a living, thriving bean in there. Guess what? She couldn't find it. It's her job to find fetal heartbeats. And it was the doppler from LDR, not an at-home model. And the whole time she was tracking down the portable ultrasound to get a different view, she was reassuring me that it's very normal to not find it at that stage. And when she turned on the ultrasound, the little bean was throwing its hands up in the air and waiving them around like it just didn't care. So the heartbeat was definitely there. She just couldn't find it.

So if my friend, who finds fetal heartbeats professionally, can struggle based on uterine positioning at 10 weeks, I feel like it's very normal that you might not pick it up at home. 

It's a really understandable fear. But don't let the fact you haven't found a HB at home *yet* get to you too much. Come chat with the ladies in the weekly PGAL thread; they're great for support through anxious moments.

ThePax89

It is easiest for me to find the hb at night, when my belly is the biggest. I found the heartbeat MUCH higher than I expected. I expected it to be under my pubic bone, instead it was an inch or so below my belly button. I try not to get discouraged when I don't find the heartbeat. It's hard. I'm not sure if a placenta can be anterior at this point(does anyone know?) but if your baby has an anterior placenta it will make it harder to find until he or she is much bigger. 

gapeachrn

Take a deep breathe and relax. I use to have a job where I dopplered women after surgery. I couldn't find mine at first either. I have to do mine at my indie line and tilt it a weird angle. Even when I do find it, the Sonoline B doesn't pick up the actual beats per minute because it's faint. 

sagoon

There is definitely a learning curve to finding it!  I have been checking for mine daily since 9W5D and haven't been able to find it with any success until this week ( I believe 10W4D was my first success, and that was just for a second before I lost it).  It gets easier as the baby gets bigger.  I find that I have to lie absolutely flat on my back to find it at all.  If I am curving my abdomen even a little it is impossible.  Good luck! 

KarliQ88

Of course women who don't find a hearbeat wont comment on the review of it. What is there to comment on? 10 wks is very early to find one. Some trained professionals can't yet find one at 10weeks. Take that On top of you have a home one and they have a more medical grade one. You are probably doing more harm than good by reserarching and stressing about it. Just relax and know that statistically the odds are in your favor at 10 weeks. 

Vivi20

This is why I won't buy a doppler. Knowing myself, I won't be able to find it and I'll drive my doctor crazy calling the office all the time.

EISG918

With DD, I didn't find her until 11w6d. And with DS it wasn't until 10 weeks exactly. I am heavy set so it was hard for me but this is why dopplers can be bad-- they cause a lot of worry! I wouldn't freak out; some people are just lucky to find it so early but it doesn't mean anything is wrong. Hang in

Smiley-1980

finally found my little one last night on my Doppler at 11 weeks and 5 days which is actually the exact day I found my daughter too. 

therealfrizzle

My friends own an at home Doppler and said they couldn't find anything at home until 13-14 weeks in and that that wasn't unusual for at home Dopplers.

susykat77

I set a time limit for how long I will look for it. If I haven't found it then I get up and do something else and then come back to it but only for a few minutes. The first time it took me quite a while to find it (I was really looking all over the place. The second time I found it right away and the third time I had to get up and walk away and then come back to find it. My doctor told me that I shouldn't start looking until 12 weeks (I of course looked the moment it arrived) Placental placement, thickness of abdomen, and tilting of uterus can all affect hearing the heartbeat.

Carly79

My OB has always prefaced my 12 week appointment with a "we will try to find it but it may still be early." I have my 12 week appointment for this one tomorrow and am hoping. She was able to find it with my son at 12 weeks but we also had a mix of mine in there. As nice as it would be to have that reassurance, I'm afraid it would just make me nutty, and I figure that if the OB has to put that warning label on the effort then that means at times she is unable to find it at 12 weeks.

TinaBelcher

Bump for @meggrima

katesmama0706

Thanks @TinaBelcher I was trying to find this for her and couldn't see it!

meggrima

Thank you both @TinaBelcher and @katesmama0706

BriannaE129129

My mom's friend recently let me borrow one to try if I wanted to but I have to buy my own gel... what exactly should I be looking for? What would it be called at a pharmacy? I feel like this may be a stupid question! 

JayneL99

@BriannaE129129  Just buy aloe vera gel.  Works the same!

BriannaE129129

@JayneL99 awesome, thank you! 

canavara

@BriannaE129129 You can use lotion or KY lube too, I've never used lotion but definitely have used lubricant and it works about as well as ultrasound gel.

Joyzie77

Which Doppler did you guys get? Would you recommend it?

ChaoticWolf

canavara said:

@BriannaE129129 You can use lotion or KY lube too, I've never used lotion but definitely have used lubricant and it works about as well as ultrasound gel.

Lol at least someone's getting some use out of their lube. Mine's just been sitting on my bedside table, lonely and half full.

asnowsurfer

@Joyzie77 Sonoline B all the way. It's $50 or less online and I love it. I think best at-home doppler brands were discussed in a previous threat, but from what I remember Sonoline B was the clear winner.

Renee1105

FYI Sonoline B is $40 bucks on Groupon. https://www.groupon.com/deals/gs-sonoline-b-fetal-doppler-with-3mhz-probe-gel-batteries-included

cjs260

I ordered the Sonoline B today, and totally paid for express shipping! 

ThePax89

Yay @cjs260 welcome to the dark side. According to my husband, I'm much more pleasant now. 

ThePax89

Does anyone with the sonoline b experience what sounds like the speakers crackling? The sound is awful, I wonder if mine is defective. 

stumptownmama

@Renee1105 thanks for the tip! Just bought one!

susykat77

@ThePax89 Yes bit happens when the probe is lifted out of the gel. So loud. On that not I was also told to limit the frequency of use as the Doppler is very loud inside the uterus and is disruptive to the babe. When I hear that noise, I wonder if that is what it sounds like on the inside??

canavara

@ThePax89 I get the crackling if I make a sudden movement with the probe but not consistently. Guessing since fetuses can't hear until about 18 weeks, it's probably not the noise that's disturbing them so much as the feeling of something poking on the walls of their temporary home

TinaBelcher

I got my Sonoline last week and could consistently find one heartbeat regularly, but I think I found both last night! These babies had to have had a growth spurt or something because today I'm far bigger than yesterday. I woke up this am, felt my belly while I was still in bed and was like WHERE DID THIS COME FROM??

asnowsurfer

@ThePax89 I found that making sure the probe is already on your belly before you turn on the doppler makes a big difference. Also, make sure you turn it off before removing the probe from your belly. Found that tip online and it made a big difference for me with the crackling noise.

canavara

asnowsurfer said:

I found that making sure the probe is already on your belly before you turn on the doppler makes a big difference. Also, make sure you turn it off before removing the probe from your belly. Found that tip online and it made a big difference for me with the crackling noise.

This! I usually squeeze out some of the gel onto my belly and use the probe to spread it around and then turn the doppler on after it's all evenly spread out. OH says it looks like I'm making crepes on my stomach and using the probe as the batter spreader haha. 

ThePax89

So the crackling is constant. I do what @asnowsurfer said to limit the noise. But it really seems crackly like the speaker is shot. I'll contact them. 

Joyzie77

Thanks everyone! I ordered the sonoline b today. I wasn't going to get one because I thought I might obsess about it but I think it will be great for peace of mind. I think it was $40.00 from their website. 

litzi-2

i just gone mine today! checked twice for fun (crazies). first time took about two minutes to find. second time probably 5-10. i don't expect to find it every time being only 10 weeks today, but its still exciting.