All this Doppler craze has me thinking....

charmedgrl517 · January 2012

I keep reading the posts about dopplers and I am still trying to decide and prob won't make a decision until after my doc appt on jan 30.

I asked DH about it and he said he would be fine with whatever I decide but he thinks it would cause me to worry and obsess more esp if I can't find a hb.

Out of all the replies to the Doppler posts it seems like most of you ladies love it and find the hb pretty easily. I guess I'm wondering if anyone has had a not so good experience? Could never find the hb? Is that really possible or god forbid not find a hb and find a missed m/c? .

Im prob just over thinking it but I really wanted to get all opinions and appreciate it very much. TIA

JulyMomma2U2 · January 2012

Look back through the recent threads.. not sure if it was yesterday or the day before.. but someone had posted about just that.. not being able to find the heartbeat..

It's common, from what I've been told, to not find it in the early stages.. my doctor actually told me not to get it because so many women can't find it consistently until 16 weeks or so that it ends up causing more alarm then good..I didn't listen to her, and got one anyway..

My DH was very much the same as yours.. was okay if I wanted to get it, but encouraged me not to.. worried that, since I"m already SUCH a worrier, it would cause me more stress and anxiety..

I've not read any posts about someone not finding the heartbeat and then finding out it was a missed mc.. but, that's not to say there's hasn't been.. sorry, I don't have more advice on that for you..

Best of luck with your decision.. I would say I'm one that loves my doppler.. brings me an incredible amount of peace and sanity when I'm worrying something might be wrong..

krista624 · January 2012

I got a BFP this morning and instantly went and looked at the dopplers. DH questioned if this would be a good idea for me to get. He thinks that I would freak myself out if I could not find it. I am curious to see the responses.

williams4me · January 2012

I would get one for sure. Ours came in the mail when I was 11w 4d and we found the hb in about 3 minutes, and once we got the hang of it, we found it immediately when going to find it.

It is such a comfort...Once baby started kicking (around 22w) I hardly ever was using it, but it is SO nice to have when they have their "slow days" just to check in and take a quick listen! Now I can just set it on my tummy turn it on and the hb it right there...it's quick and easy especially the bigger they get!

charmedgrl517 · January 2012

Ok I must have missed that one....so far most I have read have been good and haven't had too many problems and eventually found the hb after a few tries/weeks. So I'm more or less wondering if anyone had never actually found a hb and if that is possible with a healthy LO or had had a bad experience with them cause it seems like most experiences are great!

quezzo · January 2012

So, I had a bad experience with mine, but that hasn't kept me from using it again. The day Alexander died, the doppler is the way I found out. He was there in the morning and gone a few hours later. With that said though, if I didn't have it who knows how long it would have been until we found out because my DH thought I was being paranoid.

So is it possible to find out something is wrong with it. Yes. Is it possible to know something is wrong before 15/16 weeks? Doubtful. The babies have so much room in there before that that they wiggle all over the place. You won't find a first trimester miscarriage with it because so many people can't consistently find it until they are in second tri.

I had some doubts about using it this time obviously, but I did anyways. I wasn't able to find the HB until today at 11w2d. The only reason I think I found it today is because I think the baby was sleeping. The other day when I tried I heard movement or some type of wooshing, but couldn't find the HB.

JulyMomma2U2 · January 2012

I will see if I can find the one I'm thinking of.. I'm pretty sure she was saying she heard something, and she thought it might be baby, but wasn't sure.. let me look ;-) If I can find it, I'll post up the link!

JulyMomma2U2 · January 2012

https://community.thenest.com/cs/ks/forums/thread/62443602.aspx

That's the thread

JulyMomma2U2 · January 2012

quezzo:
So, I had a bad experience with mine, but that hasn't kept me from using it again. The day Alexander died, the doppler is the way I found out. He was there in the morning and gone a few hours later. With that said though, if I didn't have it who knows how long it would have been until we found out because my DH thought I was being paranoid.
So is it possible to find out something is wrong with it. Yes. Is it possible to know something is wrong before 15/16 weeks? Doubtful. The babies have so much room in there before that that they wiggle all over the place. You won't find a first trimester miscarriage with it because so many people can't consistently find it until they are in second tri.
I had some doubts about using it this time obviously, but I did anyways. I wasn't able to find the HB until today at 11w2d. The only reason I think I found it today is because I think the baby was sleeping. The other day when I tried I heard movement or some type of wooshing, but couldn't find the HB.

Your thread was the one I was thinking of

gilmoregirl105 · January 2012

I had decided not to get one, because I was worried if I couldn't find the hb I would freak out. But this week I completely changed my mind and ordered one on Thursday night and am anxiously awaiting for it to arrive.

I decided to get it because my last ultrasound was around 8 weeks and at first I thought I could hold off and be okay until the NT scan, but then I made the appointment and it is not until Friday, February 3. I just had to know if lo was okay still before that appointment so I ordered the doppler.

Last night, DH and I went out with friends and my friend is 13 weeks pregnant and was saying how her sil had given her a doppler. We wound up going back to their house and she offered to try it out on me. She couldn't find the hb, but after a few minutes, I was able to do it. Now I'm even more eager to get my own and try it out!

charmedgrl517 · January 2012

Quezzo, thank you very much for sharing your experience. I am so sorry for your loss. I appreciate you telling me your story.

charmedgrl517 · January 2012

Missbea, thank you!

quezzo · January 2012

charmedgrl517:
Quezzo, thank you very much for sharing your experience. I am so sorry for your loss. I appreciate you telling me your story.

Thank you, and any time. I actually think it will help reassure me and hopefully keep me sane as we make our way into second tri with symptoms going away and no movement yet. Then on quiet movement days it will help keep the anxiety away too so at the end of the day, I am glad I have it.

Daisiesinmygarden · January 2012

See, I think I'd find myself walking around with it duct taped to my belly. Probably NOT a good thing for me. I find myself lusting after the portable u/s machine my OB has and wondering how she didn't live attached to it while she was pregnant.

charmedgrl517 · January 2012

Your welcome your thoughts are very helpful with my decision and I'm glad that you enjoy using it and it makes you feel better thanks again!

Thanks so much ladies!

damabo80 · January 2012

If not finding it within 60 seconds or every time before 15w is going to send you screaming to the nuthouse, then the Doppler isn't for you.

If you can maintain your sanity when you can't find it before 15w, and instead can just put it down calmly and try again in a few hours or the next day, then a Doppler is great to have.

I loved my Doppler when I was pg with dd.

damabo80 · January 2012

Daisiesinmygarden:
See, I think I'd find myself walking around with it duct taped to my belly. Probably NOT a good thing for me. I find myself lusting after the portable u/s machine my OB has and wondering how she didn't live attached to it while she was pregnant.

In the earlier days, I thought that too. But, as my pg progressed, I found myself using it less and less. And many times would only use it once a week or so if I hadn't felt any movement in awhile.

adoxyinherear · January 2012

Charmed, I have been thinking the same thing. I know I will end up panicking like there's no tomorrow if I can't find it... but waiting until after our next appointment seems like a good way, at least, of having some positive (I hope) response from the CNM to keep me a little sane.

charmedgrl517 · January 2012

I agree, I think that's what I am going to do.....wait until my next appt in a week and hope for a good appt and ask the doc what she thinks even tho I think she will tell me the same thing everyone else is saying that it is ultimately my decision and if I think I'm going to be more stressed about using it then maybe it's not a good idea.

Im thinking the pros out way the cons and it will prob make me feel better than worse so we shall see!

JulyMomma2U2 · January 2012

charmedgrl517:
I think she will tell me the same thing everyone else is saying that it is ultimately my decision and if I think I'm going to be more stressed about using it then maybe it's not a good idea.

When I first asked the OB about it, she was against it.. she said, if I was going to get one, wait until 16-18 weeks, etc.. she said she never recommends it.. but, I went ahead anyway..

Then, at my last appointment, I saw a different OB.. when he was about the check the HB for us, he asked if we've heard it before.. when I said yes, we have a doppler at home and listen almost every night, he, too, was semi-disapproving of it..

I think, in the end, my experience is that the OBs are pretty against it.. I guess I can see why.. I"m sure they have a lot of people that will call in a panic because they aren't able to find the HB and end up having a lot of emergency visits because of that..

charmedgrl517 · January 2012

I think that is how my OB is going to be too and your right I can see why too. I think I am just going to pray for a good appt next monday and then make a decision

Thanks so much!

MrsSilky · January 2012

I don't post here a lot but I did want to say that I had a doppler with my pregnancy in Sept. and I found the heartbeat once at 9.5 weeks and couldn't find it again. I posted on the March board (and here i think) asking others if they had a similar experience and everyone reassured me that it was probably too early. By week 11 I still couldn't find it and I knew something was wrong because I never had an issue finding the hb when I used it for my son's pregnancy. I had an u/s at 11wks 3 days and discovered a missed m/c and baby stopped around 9.5 weeks.

After the m/c I got rid of the doppler because I didn't think I could handle the stress of not finding this baby's hb. Even if it were a fluke and baby was playing hard to find. So I know my situation is very rare and had I not had a missed m/c last time I would be all about the Doppler again because it gave me such peace of mind for my son's pregnancy.

charmedgrl517 · January 2012

MrsSilky, Thank you for sharing your experience. I am so sorry for your loss. I hope you have a happy and health nine months this pregnancy

xoladiebug · January 2012

I love my doppler but I wasn't one of those that found my daughter's heart rate right away. It was delivered somewhere just before my 10th week and I attempted only once knowing it may be too early. I tried once more at 11 and 12 weeks. Frankly I think I was looking in the wrong spot but who knows. I was finally able to get her heart rate between after 14 weeks (my OB's office didn't even try until 16 weeks).

The other reason why I love it is for that time when I wasn't exactly feeling her movements or even regularly enough. I'd use my doppler during those times by just placing the piece on my stomach. You'd hear her movements and could tell because of the sound on the doppler. It was amazing because I couldn't feel these little movements but the doppler was reassuring me she was moving just fine.

biddy53178 · January 2012

My OB is against it, well not really but kinda like "I bet your one of those moms who has a doppler at home" But at my 14w appt the midwife couldn't find the HB on the office doppler and I ended up with an unscheduled u/s to make sure everything was ok- after that she wrote me a prescription for a medical grade one I could use at home. I didn't use it consistently until about ~15-16w as he was so hard to find on it that I was worried about making myself nuts but then used it almost daily until I started feeling him move on a regular basis which for me wasn't until about ~24-25 weeks bc of my anterior placenta. Now I have it in case I need to use it but honestly haven't used it in weeks- It gave me the peace of mind when I needed it altho my OB said I could have come in at anytime for a HR check-(if only we wanted to worry about their heartbeat during office hours lol)

sbphotos · January 2012

Speaking as someone who's had a very "eventful" first half of pregnancy, the Doppler was a sanity saver. I highly recommend it and suggest you don't ask your ob...I can't imagine they'd be all for it. Yes, it's worrying when you don't find the hb right away, but it's totally worth it when you do. I'll take a day of worry over multiple weeks of worry while waiting for next appt, scan, etc.

Mellimo83 · January 2012

I'm only 6 weeks so still really early. I've been thinking about the Doppler though, we have one at the clinic I manage and I'm going to try to ignore it for as long as possible, but honestly, I will probably be taking it home a few evenings to listen.

Gummybear · January 2012

Haven't posted here in a while but I also discovered our son had passed b/c of the doppler. I had been finding the hb easily every day for a month and one day, nothing. I went in the next day (I asked to be seen because I was not able to find the hb for 2 consecutive days) and he was gone. I was 16.5w pg. and the baby measured 17w.

I thank God I found out how I did. It would have been a million times more crushing to go in for my scan the following week expecting to find out the sex and see my baby had passed. To have my family waiting on pins and needles boy/girl, only to have to call them all with bad news. I expected that he was gone when I went in for the emergency u/s.

chusum · January 2012

I have a love hate relationship with it. I am fairly thin, and I didn't find the HB until around 11 or 12 weeks. It was a cause for a lot of stress, and I wasn't finding it consistently until 14 weeks. It stressed me out and until my doctor showed me how to use it I would spend 15-30 minutes searching. I wanted to throw it out the door. Now that I am much further along I still use it just as often, about once every other day, and I can find it within seconds. Very reassuring now.

laoch101 · January 2012

Patience is the key. I don't know a doc that would be like yeah, go get one. But I don't care about their opinion in this one instance. I love my Doppler. Now I have specific rules set on myself and that helps me maintain sanity. Pregnancy after a loss makes you a little nuts, it's ok,

My last pg, I started labor at19wks, didn't know it. I found it the first day but couldn't find it the second day but I knew stuff was going wrong from other things going on.

Whatever you decide will be right for you. There's no right or wrongs just preference.

charmedgrl517 · January 2012

Thanks is much for all your thoughts, opinions, and stories! I appreciate your posts very much and helping with my decision whatever I decide!lol

Joni&Mike · January 2012

So far it has been so helpful in reducing my worries because I have had spotting off and on the past 7 weeks (sensitive cervix) I started listening around 8.5 weeks and found it at 9 weeks 4 days. I think that starting earlier then I expected to hear it helped me because when I didnt find it, I didnt stress because I knew it was "too early". It also helped give me some time to learn the machine and stuff before I was actually able to hear it. Since then, I do it about 2-3 times a week and I am able to find it each time, within a minute. Twice I had to get up and use the bathroom and then try again but was able to find it quickly after that. So weird that I need an empty bladder when most need a full one. Personally, I would rather learn about a miscarriage by not finding the heartbeat and calling the doctor, then waiting a few weeks for my next appointment. Also, I havent told my doctor I have it, because he always tells me I can call anytime I am worried but its much faster I check myself!

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