Bringing children to ultrasounds

VexyMommy · May 2015

What are your thoughts on bringing children to witness their siblings ultrasound?

I would like to do this with my daughters. The girls are 9 and 10yrs old and I have no known risk factors with this pregnancy. I could see it being a problem if the children were significantly younger or if the pregnancy were high risk.

Pontot31 · May 2015

I think they are old enough to sit still and be quiet.
We may end up having to bring my 3 year old... Which doesn't sound as fun. But she will sit on the iPad and be quite when asked.

They would probably think it was cool! My 3 year old was at my last appointment and kept saying "the baby is waiving at me!"

Laura&brad1 · May 2015

I will take my 9 year old to my 19 week scan bt not to the 12 week one waiting till after that before I tell her as last preg I told her the day before my 12 week scan and came home with bad news don't want to put her thru that again and really glad I didn't take her and her have to go thru that. Personal choice tho I think

VexyMommy · May 2015

Laura&brad1 said:
I will take my 9 year old to my 19 week scan bt not to the 12 week one waiting till after that before I tell her as last preg I told her the day before my 12 week scan and came home with bad news don't want to put her thru that again and really glad I didn't take her and her have to go thru that. Personal choice tho I think

That makes a lot of sense. I've had my 12 week scan and would just bring them to the anatomy scan.

fitmama89 · May 2015

I definitely think your kids are old enough. Especially if they WANT to go.

I had a last minute 6 week ultrasound that I ended up having to bring my 4 year old to! She LOVED it. The tech was great! Now we call my appointments her "big sister appointments" and she gets all excited. They make her feel important and included with this baby!

*only appointment she will not go to is my NT scan this coming Monday!

LauraK33 · May 2015

I've brought my kids (ages almost 3 and 4) to every appointment. We just moved across country and know no one so no choice! I bring coloring books and iPads and we've had no trouble. As far as older children, if it's something you're comfortable with and want them to be a part of I see no problem...it could be exciting!

anneof2 · May 2015

I take my son to all my appointments. We don't have ipads and such to entertain him. So i have to hold him the entire time. I'll have to pull my DH out of work for the anatomy ultrasound. And if I can't then we will just have to skip it.

Penguin81 · May 2015

I try to avoids bringing mine to ob appointments on the regular for one this pregnancy has been rough and two I have the luxury of leaving her with someone.

She will come to the automony scan and see baby on the "big t.v.". My husband involved her really early in the pregnancy and so she now rubs my belly and says good morning and good night - so he really wants her there.

Bootsie81 · May 2015

LauraK33 said:
I've brought my kids (ages almost 3 and 4) to every appointment. We just moved across country and know no one so no choice! I bring coloring books and iPads and we've had no trouble. As far as older children, if it's something you're comfortable with and want them to be a part of I see no problem...it could be exciting!

Our kids are almost exactly the same age. And I've had to bring mine with to just about all of my appointments too! I made DH take a day off work to stay with them for the NT scan though.

nycmommy13 · May 2015

This is my first, so I can't offer any advice, but I can tell you I was told no children are allowed in the room for the 20 week anatomy scan.

maura+c · May 2015

I think she is absolutely old enough. Sitting still is huge and being able to control her voice it's even bigger. I took my one year old to my last appointment and it was awful. He was screaming because he wanted out of his stroller and I couldn't here the doctor. Incredibly distracting- as a result though, I have to schedule my appointments around my husband (so he can watch him) and then he doesn't get to come either. But 9-10 is a great learning experience for your little girl and she can get to know her little brother or sister early! Have a good appointment

katiedhunter · May 2015

With both previous pregnancies any us my DH wasn't allowed in until a certain point in the us. So I'm not sure they'd welcome kids into my us.

Pontot31 · May 2015

katiedhunter said:
With both previous pregnancies any us my DH wasn't allowed in until a certain point in the us. So I'm not sure they'd welcome kids into my us.

Really? That's weird?
I've heard no kids before. But not husbands.
My practice has their own tech that does ultrasounds so they are pretty laid back.

sarahsnowball · May 2015

I really want to take my DS to my US at 20 weeks, just before his 2nd birthday. I think it will be lovely to involve him and showing him the baby on the 'big TV' might make it more real for him... or he might not have a clue what is going on lol

rox7777 · May 2015

I took my 2 year old to one I had last weekend. He was entertained by the baby for about 2 minutes, but he sat with me on the table and watched the screen, so it ended up working out. I think older children would be able to handle it as far as the sitting and waiting part.

gkarla1114 · May 2015

My 9yr old has been asking me to take him to my previous ultrasounds but i didn't want him to miss school. Finally tomorrow I have my 3D scan to know the sex of baby. And he is very excited to go! My 5yr old and 2yrold will be joining us along with my husband. :-) Can't wait!

cherryonion · May 2015

I see a high risk ob and no children are allowed in the office at all - you will be rescheduled. Doesn't sound like that's the case with OP, but I thought I'd mention it in case someone else was looking for info on this thread.

oliarnmom1517 · May 2015

I was actually thinking about this today and planned on having my close friend come with me but she will have to bring her 3 year old daughter (I'm a FTM so don't have any other kids besides the one inside of me) but her daughter is usually quiet if she's next to her every second but I have a kindle with a couple of fun kid movies that she can watch (I baby sit 5 kids all under the age of 5) so I think if we give her my kindle and let her watch some movies I think she will do fine!

VexyMommy · May 2015

cherryonion said:
I see a high risk ob and no children are allowed in the office at all - you will be rescheduled. Doesn't sound like that's the case with OP, but I thought I'd mention it in case someone else was looking for info on this thread.

I was curious about that. I'm very lucky that I don't need a high risk ob. I could see why it would be a bad idea in those situations. My doctor does have a similar sign posted in her waiting room though and I talked to her about it. She explained that it was mostly for parents of children too young to sit quietly in the waiting room or participate in regular visits.

brielise414 · May 2015

My ultrasound today was at a specialist and there was a sign saying no children in the sonogram room. But there were other people there with a young child and they took him back. My only concern is that for certain scans, like NT scan or anatomy, they take longer and could be a bit much for a young child. The tech couldn't get the baby into a good position so mine was taking awhile and I could tell even my husband was getting impatient…. but he has a short attention span haha. I think it depends on the child - like my niece would be fine but my nephew is not great at sitting still for any length of time.

kmd91 · May 2015

For my official ultrasounds (NT and anatomy scan) they allow no unchaperoned children under the age of 10. So if say, the baby's father was coming they allow you to bring your other children as well so that if the child is fussy or causing any issues they can be taken out without the mother having to deal with them while they're trying to complete the ultrasound. Obviously that isn't the case for every office, every office is going to have their own rules, as well as how strictly they adhere to rules. The way I see it, it's always best to ask, and once you know then you're golden.

This is my first, so I don't know what I'll do as far as subsequent children at ultrasounds, but I think it's great to get older children involved, and I think an ultrasound can really help make it feel more real for them. Heck, seeing my baby on the screen made it feel more real for me, despite all the morning sickness and slight belly I'm getting, haha.

dogsombrero · May 2015

I won't take mine because he's too young and into every thing to be anything but a distraction. The girls sound old enough to enjoy being included and I'm sure they know how to behave. If your office has given the okay I'd go for it.

jasbaby2 · May 2015

I know lots of people do this and that's fine. I might take our 5 year old to a late ultrasound If we have one towards the end of the pregnancy. Us are scary for us because of our history of loss. I don't want to bring him into a tense environment like that so for the foreseeable future he won't be coming

Penguin81 · May 2015

cherryonion said:
I see a high risk ob and no children are allowed in the office at all - you will be rescheduled. Doesn't sound like that's the case with OP, but I thought I'd mention it in case someone else was looking for info on this thread.

This isn't uncommon for high risk clinics.

loverofnaps · May 2015

We brought our 2.5 yr old to our dating ultrasound at 10 weeks. It was quick. He sat on my husbands lap and did fine.

MarchABC · May 2015

I also have the luxury of childcare during my appts so I take advantage of that.

My boys are younger than your girls but personally, I would not bring my children to an ultrasound unless I knew the risk that something could be wrong was extremely minimal. When DS1 was almost 20 months, we did not bring him to the anatomy scan. However, we did bring him to the extra session we had around 30 weeks at a boutique place, along with grandparents as support.

Your girls are older but I would just hate to receive bad news with my kiddos in the room and have no way of shielding them from my reaction. Worst-case scenario thinker I guess.

On the flip side, to make it about them, I am super excited to do some sort of gender reveal gathering for them. We will find out on a Wednesday and then have a little pool party with close friends/family on Saturday where they get to open a box of balloons or take the first bites of cupcakes with colored filling inside. Just want it to celebrate them and and their new baby.

momsterNAT · May 2015

I have no sitter and husband works days. My 3 year old had to come. Though I brought a juice mix a toy and my tablet, he was very patient, interested with the ultrasound and walked over and held my hand and smiled. After it was over he lifted my shirt and said. "Hello, baby? Baby, hello!!"

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