POTD: Elective Ultrasounds?

ksf13

Is anyone going to have an elective ultrasound at an ultrasound studio to find out baby's sex before your anatomy scan?

ksf13

I'm a little excited about the first thread I've started haha. I usually just reply to the others .

I said "haven't decided", which is the main reason I started the poll haha. I want to go next weekend (I'll be 16 weeks), but at the same time I don't want to get to my anatomy scan next month and be like "oh I already knew" lol. I know some doctors aren't fans of elective ultrasounds. Also, I'm worried they will be wrong after we spend the money on it. I'm so ready to know though lol. I'm leaning more towards making myself be patient and wait. 

riverrainez

I chose "we already know" which isn't technically true because we don't know yet, but I'm getting the Harmony test next week at 13w so we'll know well in advance of the AS.

ETA: With my first I waited until the AS and it was exciting to find out that way.

carries2018

riverraine said:

I chose "we already know" which isn't technically true because we don't know yet, but I'm getting the Harmony test next week at 13w so we'll know well in advance of the AS.

ETA: With my first I waited until the AS and it was exciting to find out that way.

+1 that is what i picked but i won't get results back until next week. i found out at AS with DD1 and panorama testing with DD2, i will say AS way is more exciting way to find out. but i need to know all the things immediately.

sjohns908

I don't think there are any places around here that do this. But regardless, I've always just found a way to cope with waiting until the a/s. I figure what's another couple of weeks when I still have 17+ weeks to plan and buy stuff before the baby is born

ksf13

We found out at the AS with DD too. It was fun, and I did make it to 20 weeks haha. Maybe I can just talk my doctor into doing it at 18 or 19 weeks with this one. DH didn't get to go to my AS with DD (he's in the Navy and had duty), so I'm looking forward to it even more since he gets to go  

yasandson

I chose no. Just cause Im too cheap to pay for something Ill later find out for free. 

natleilynn

GO TEAM GREEN!

purplestarz

@ksf13 I'm in the same boat as you. I can't decide. The place near me does it starting at 14 weeks and it's only $40. It's so tempting. 

I posted this on another thread, but we did it last time too (though closer to 19 weeks, DH was on jury duty and was going to miss my AS so we paid for this one so he could go). I was worried the doc was gong to be mad that I went so I acted surprised during my anatomy scan haha which I'm sure was totally unnecessary. One perk is we got a discount to come back and do a 3D ultrasound later and get a video of it since we did the early ultrasound there.

I keep telling myself I can wait...but....the end of May seems like an eternity.

soprano19

We're going to wait till our AS. I feel like the earlier we try to find out, the more likely it is to be wrong. I'd rather wait till it can be as accurate as possible.

ForwardnBackward

Newp. Whenever I think about it, I always worry they would be the one to tell me they can't find a heartbeat and that is NOT where I want to find that out.

ksf13

@ForwardnBackward That has crossed my mind too

@purplestarz I think I would definitely go if it was $40, the closest one to us is an hour away and starts at $99. That would be a little expensive for them to possibly get it wrong haha.  

@yasandson That's exactly why we didn't go early last time. I'm thinking we are going to end up waiting this time too! Time is really passing pretty fast. Just the fact that I'll be 15 weeks tomorrow blows my mind! 

JessDG

We were planning to wait until our anatomy scan because I wasn't going to pay extra for that.  We are patient people.  I had to have an ultrasound this week because of some bleeding....so I asked and found out.  

beezeee

We're waiting until the AS. I am not a patient person at all, but honestly, I've never really even considered trying to do it early. I'm so anxious to know, but like someone else mentioned, there's still plenty of time after the AS to prepare based on baby's sex.

I mentioned this in one of the other threads, but a friend of mine went at 16 weeks for the elective US, was told it was a girl, and posted all over social media about it, including the girl name she had picked. 4 weeks later at the AS, she found out it was a boy. I would not handle that well (although, I would definitely not post about it on social media until the AS confirmation). I think this is probably a lot more common than the other way around, because if they see boy parts early then that's probably pretty clear. 

ladyglittersparkles

Team green! I'm also terrible at waiting for things so this is a true test of my strength. 
I've prepared myself and DH for this for 3 years (when DD was born)
thay we could hold out and that it will be an amazing surprise 

dinosaur

I'm not sure either. I really want to do the ultrasound but DH doesn't want to spend the extra money. I'm super impatient and need to know all the details ASAP, so the idea of waiting another two weeks is killing me.

Also, I'm flying to my home town next week to look for new apartments (we're moving home) and I really want to tell our parents in person.

Boobopgirl

yasandson said:

I chose no. Just cause Im too cheap to pay for something Ill later find out for free. 

This!! Besides IF it turns out to be a boy our first stop after the anatomy scan will be a boy clothes shopping spree and i'll need the $$ to spend there.

bluejeanbabi05

There's a place near us that does elective 4D ultrasounds (obviously a lot further down the road) for $40. My bff just had one done, and it's amazing. I'll probably do that around 30 weeks or so.'

eta: not to find out the sex, we already know that, just to see baby in 4D

dogperson11

I voted SS because we get an ultrasound at every OB appointment. My OB will tell us at the 16 week appointment (which will actually be 17 weeks for me) if he can tell. If not then we will find out at the anatomy scan. With DS her cord was in the way at my 16 week appointment so we found out at the anatomy scan at 19.5 weeks. DH can't go to either appointment (16 wk appt or anatomy scan) so I'll have them write it down in an envelope and well open it together.

ac1259

I have my first cervical check at MFM at 16 weeks and last time they were able to tell me then. So I'm thinking I'll find out then. 

Mommaswizz

So we did an elective last time at 16 weeks. While i want to side eye myself for not being able to wait the extra 4 weeks, I have to say this. Everyone knew we were gonna find out at 20 weeks. Getting those 4 blissful weeks to have a secret between DH and I was awesome. Possibly the funnest 4 weeks of the whole pregnancy lol

This time, i wasn't going to bother. The difference of 4 weeks is nothing. However, DH wants to find out early again. Sooooo i might just agree to it since it would make him happy. Plus another 4 weeks weeks with a fun secret would be nice I voted "undecided" cause i'm not convinced it's worth the $50. 

ksf13

Officially changing my vote to no haha. Y'all talked me down, I'll be patient until the AS. I did the exact same thing with my daughter. I really wanted to go find out early, but decided I could wait. @Boobopgirl you are sooo right about using that money for baby stuff haha. Even it it's a second girl (and we kept EVERYTHING), I'll still want to go shop haha. I do have an excuse, because we moved from South GA to New England since DD was a baby. We have NO cold weather clothes for this baby, even if it is another girl. 

tyannej

I'm going to be patient, just because with my last pregnancy *TW* I didn't have insurance at the time, so I went to the elective place to see baby and they had told me everything was fine and that I didn't need to worry, a week later I went to an actual doctor and they had told me I had a silent miscarriage and that they didn't know how long it had been because the other place said there was a baby and there wasn't once the dr looked at the ultrasound. I know it wasn't really their fault but with that being in my past I would rather wait and find out from my doctor! 

PizzaMonster3

@Mommaswizz we found out at 13/14wk NT scan but keep telling everyone we're waiting until the 20wk AS. It has been a fun secret 

kncollins09

 Our doctor does an elective scan at 15 weeks and we paid the $50 happily! I couldn't believe how clear we could see it. Everyone says you can't see it until 18 or 20 weeks but it was crystal clear. So happy we have our baby boy!

ksf13

@kncollins09 If my doctor offered one I'd be all over it! They used to, but now they have signs up everywhere that says they no longer do them. Boo! 

shan24

I voted yes, but only because at our hospital they don't tell you at the anatomy scan. So, if we want to find out the sex, it's an elective scan or nothing!

dogperson11

shan24 said:

I voted yes, but only because at our hospital they don't tell you at the anatomy scan. So, if we want to find out the sex, it's an elective scan or nothing!

That's odd, why wouldn't they tell you during the anatomy scan? It's a super detailed ultrasound that takes like 30 minutes. Even if you don't want to know the sex they still check out the genitals (and tell you to look away) to check for abnormalities.

emwj10187

We already know. But my Dr scheduled me for an Early Anatomy Ultrasound at our Hospital at 16 weeks. Not sure why... 

acnd08

Still haven't decided. We're getting on our own nerves. 

jasmuin

My Dr office does it at 17 weeks for $25. I couldn't pass that up!  Plus it will be more fun for my older girls to see a fast ultrasound then to have to sit through the whole anatomy scan. 8 more days! 

hippiegirl884

I'm going tomorrow. Last pregnancy I had an ultrasound at every visit so this time I feel like I'm missing it. I have been able to find the heart beat on the Doppler easily lately so I'm not overly concerned about getting bad news (though it's  always in the back of my brain). Also, DH has missed so much the last two pregnancies that it would be awesome for him to experience it..also the boys are allowed in the room so they can see the baby too. This will be our last baby most likely so I'm going to embrace being in a place where it's easy/somewhat cheap ($65)... If DH didn't want to find out, I would totally go green though lol! 

shan24

@dogperson11 I'm not exactly sure. We asked the docs and they weren't even 100% sure why.  Super annoying. 

ForwardnBackward

shan24 said:

@dogperson11 I'm not exactly sure. We asked the docs and they weren't even 100% sure why.  Super annoying. 

My last OB said they don't even put the sex in the report as that's not medically necessary to report so the only way she knew the sex without genetic screening was if she needed to do another ultrasound or I told her what the ultrasound tech in radiology had told me.  I'm not sure why they wouldn't tell you though. 

dogperson11

ForwardnBackward said:

shan24 said:

@dogperson11 I'm not exactly sure. We asked the docs and they weren't even 100% sure why.  Super annoying. 

My last OB said they don't even put the sex in the report as that's not medically necessary to report so the only way she knew the sex without genetic screening was if she needed to do another ultrasound or I told her what the ultrasound tech in radiology had told me.  I'm not sure why they wouldn't tell you though. 

Yeah, I know they don't record the sex in the report, but they still check for normal growth, so it's really odd that they don't tell you

dinosaur

I did some more research and found a place that does it for $60. Now I have an appointment tomorrow. Lol

purplestarz

dinosaur said:

I did some more research and found a place that does it for $60. Now I have an appointment tomorrow. Lol

Ahhh, you're making me really want to go now haha

dogperson11

You're all making me want to find a place, especially since DH can't go to the 16 wk or AS appointments with me...

erink7211

I voted SS. Our doctor offers a 15 week sneak peek and we have that scheduled but he said it's obviously not a guarantee we will see it. If by chance we can't see it, I would be VERY tempted to pay for an elective US for a week or two later. 

But I also don't know what's wrong with me this time around. With DS we waited for the AS and even waited an extra couple of days to find out at our reveal party. But with this one I must know RIGHT THIS SECOND. Maybe it's the pressure of wanting a girl after a boy? I dunno. 

Edit for typos. 

beautyundefined

Going today to hopefully find out 

TallMomma29

Lurking from November (due with twins so likely to give birth in October)... I had an ultrasound at 15 weeks with my first and I was told boy, and it turned out to be wrong.  At 15 weeks the genetalia can still look really similar and it's pretty easy to guess wrong.  If you want to go the elective route, just make sure you don't waste your money going too early!