Still can't find heartbeat

MAbride0808 · April 2012

Dh and I tried again today to find pumpkin's heartbeat using our sonoline b. Could it still be too early? Should I be worried? We have our NT scan a week from Wednesday; I don't know if I can wait that long. Any tips to help me find it?

BunnyintheYard · April 2012

It could be too early but I did get to find ours from about 9 weeks onwards. I used to have to lay flat on the bed with my legs over the side (which makes your belly as flat as possible. Then I would have to practically jam the wand so it faced downwards, pushing it south towards my pelvic bone (as if you are tryign to get under it).

There's a lot of background noise so you have to leave it in the same spot for a few seconds and listen really closely. It won't be loud, it will be muffled and sort of in the background.

This early though, even the way the baby is laying can make it impossible to hear. If the chest isn't facing where you have the wand, it's probably going to be too small to hear just yet.

Good luck with this and the NT scan!

Jackie2200 · April 2012

I don't think those home dopplers are as good as everyone says they are. I am almost 33 weeks and stil have a hard time getting a HB. It was near impossible for me to find a steady one from 16 weeks when I got the Sonoline B to about 25 weeks. I rarely use it anymore becasue the nervousness that it caused.

albjag · April 2012

Do not worry - That is perfectly normal

You can't always find it this early, and even if you do, you won't always find it every time you try. Some tips that helped me-- start right above/at your panty line and move slowly. I started in the middle below my belly button and went to the left in a line. I found it on the left- A full bladder helped me find it easier. You will probably find your pulse, then another pulse around 130 (placenta?)- those have a distinct swooshing sound of a vessel. When you finally find the baby it's a different sound and much faster. and I found it, but if I breathed it went away- and if I even shifted my hand holding the probe, or shifted the angle of the probe it went away.

A video that helped me and helped me distinguish the different sounds- if you look up 'fetal doppler review and demonstration' on youtube posted by plus1please

UMichGirl · April 2012

albjag:
Do not worry - That is perfectly normal
You can't always find it this early, and even if you do, you won't always find it every time you try. Some tips that helped me-- start right above/at your panty line and move slowly. I started in the middle below my belly button and went to the left in a line. I found it on the left- A full bladder helped me find it easier. You will probably find your pulse, then another pulse around 130 (placenta?)- those have a distinct swooshing sound of a vessel. When you finally find the baby it's a different sound and much faster. and I found it, but if I breathed it went away- and if I even shifted my hand holding the probe, or shifted the angle of the probe it went away.
A video that helped me and helped me distinguish the different sounds- if you look up 'fetal doppler review and demonstration' on youtube posted by plus1please

This is an excellent video! I watched it too. You may still be too early to pick it up. The doctor wouldn't try it on me until I was at least 10 weeks and told me even then that we may not get anything. DH and I got the doppler at home I think around 11-12 weeks, and since I had already seen them do it in the office I knew where to look for it, how hard to press, etc. I would have never guessed how LOW we'd need to be to pick it up.

To the poster who mentioned that it is hard to find the HB--we have noticed the same thing now that baby is bigger and moving more noticeably. Earlier on (like weeks 11-20) it was pretty easy to find, usually in the same place, and I could find it pretty quickly. The bigger baby gets, and the more he/she moves around, the harder it is for us to find it. The good news is, though, that we hardly ever feel the need to use the doppler now because I CAN feel baby so frequently. I'd say the doppler was most used between that 11-20 week mark for us.

HTH!

MAbride0808 · April 2012

Thanks ladies! I got the 3mghz instead of the 2; could that make a difference as well? I will probably try again next week.

albjag · April 2012

Right before this post, I found the HB and tried again after and couldn't find it. so don't worry if you can't find it.

krismott25 · April 2012

i'd day it may be to early to find it because your baby is probably still in your pelvis. if you still want to try i'd say go low and go slow. make your belly like a grid. but i still think it's too early. they only found my babies at 13 weeks because they were already out of my pelvis.... i was measuring 16 weeks at that point. GL wednesday will be here soon enough!

mandalinn25 · April 2012

Every pregnancy is so different. You could have an anterior placenta, etc. I found the heartbeat super early, but that isn't the norm. Hang in there.

ELF4321 · April 2012

My OB couldn't even find it on me until after 12 weeks with their super-sensitive digital doppler. It can also be blocked if your placenta is anterior (i.e. on the front of your uterus), if you are a little heavier (as I am), or if your LO is just hanging out at the back of your uterus. It gets easier when they get bigger and can't hide as easily.

Brendarph · April 2012

It could still be too early. I bought mine around 12 weeks, I believe and we had a very hard time finding it. There were times where we couldn't at all. I have an anterior placenta so that does muffle it as well. I would suggest laying flat on your back on a hard surface like the floor when you try it. Don't be worried it can be difficult early on.

MAbride0808 · April 2012

I just wanted to say Thank you ladies! I watched that video and realized I was moving the wand too quickly, even though I thought I was doing it slowly. I tried again and I found it! It was the best sound ever!

MrsNap_515 · April 2012

i didn't hear the hb with a doppler until after nt scan at about 14 weeks, before the only time i could hear it was on the u/s machine

sbrowns08 · April 2012

My OB tried last week and couldn't find it, and said she probably would get it around 12 weeks. However, as she was looking, like PP's said, she was wayyyyy lower than I expected. I sort of felt like an idiot for not realizing where my baby was located. Embarrassed

mswood1977 · April 2012

My OB couldn't find mine until after 12 weeks. I wasn't able to find the heartbeat on my home Doppler until 14 weeks and even then I couldn't always find it. Baby is still pretty small and has lots of room to move around. It want until about 16-17 weeks that I could find the heartbeat everytime.

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