U/S: bringing LO?

bettertogether27 · January 2016

There are a few questions wrapped up in this one. DS is 13 months and my sitter fell through for my u/s today.

First, have you ever brought your LO with you to an u/s without an accompanying adult? It sounds like bad news. I don't want to put it on the hospital staff to monitor my kid because that's not their job, but SO seems to think they do it all the time. I can't be the only mom to ever bring my kid with right?

Second, have you ever had an early u/s last a full hour? We're barely 7w but when I was attempting to reschedule my appt the tech mentioned that it would take an hour.

ETA: SO wanted to come but got called in to work, so he won't be there.

backoffunicorn · January 2016

Is your SO going to be there with you? I'm sure people have brought toddlers but it's probably tough since he probably won't want to sit still for too long. I doubt it'll be an hour but that's just from memory of my 1st.

CClark2014 · January 2016

I don't have personal experience on the patient side, but my office has really specific rules about bringing children to appointments. Maybe check with them about their policies.

If you can bring him, I would make sure he has quiet things that can keep him entertained so that its not as distracting to the tech, you want them to be able to focus on the Ultrasound and making sure they aren't missing something critical.

AnnaS930 · January 2016

I haven't asked how strict the policy is, but it clearly states in the rooms of the ultrasounds of the hospital I use that children are not allowed (Not sure if that's with or without an extra adult - definitely not without). My 13 month old most likely would not be content for an entire hour without getting into trouble yanking cords etc.

Best of luck to ya!

0SeaMonkey0 · January 2016

I agree that you should call the clinic. Some have policies stating that you cannot bring unaccompanied children. And no, the hospital staff is not "used to" watching their patients other children. I'm sure they are used to having older children there who can sit quietly and wait, but they won't have the staff to watch a 13 month old. In my experience, the early dating ultrasounds are short, maybe 15-30 minutes and the later anatomy scans are around an hour. Either you're getting a more detailed scan than I did, or possibly the nurse was confused when she was talking to you?

Sporty1216 · January 2016

I've brought my LO to other appointments unaccompanied and put him in the stroller and gave him snacks and the iPad to play with (gasp!). It worked but it wasn't great. Is there another person you trust who could come with you?

Sarafuss · January 2016

I would call and ask what their policy is. My hospital just states that you can't have anymore than 2 people accompanying you, including children. I brought my DS to an u/s last pregnancy and they were fine with it. Although he was 3 so he was able to sit still. Unless the kid is sleeping, I wouldn't expect a 13 month old to sit still. As far as the u/s taking an hour, it won't. My hospital always schedules u/s with an hour block of time. They are never running on time and it's just standard to schedule an hour. The actual u/s will take about 10-15 minutes.

mommytimesfour · January 2016

I've had now 3 different OBs for all 3 of my kids, and the policies do vary. When I scheduled my appointment for next week they specifically told me no children allowed. I remember bringing DS with me to an early ultrasound last time when he was 2. It was nerve wracking trying to make sure he wasn't getting into things and he was also afraid when they shut the lights off to view the screen. I would try and schedule the ultrasound around a time where you could possibly get a babysitter or have someone come with you to help out, if at all possible.

bettertogether27 · January 2016

@Sporty1216 stroller is GENIUS! I say that because I was on the right train of thought with pack n play, bouncy chair, walker, high chair, anything to contain him basically, I just never reached the switch for the lightbulb on the stroller thing.

Good news though, I finally found another sitter last-minute, so all my stress has dissipated! I really didn't want to bring DS with by myself haha. Thanks for all your input ladies!

0SeaMonkey0 · January 2016

@Sarafuss
OT: how did you get a ticker like that?? I love it but when I go to The Bump ticker page they don't have that option

TheTamedShrew · January 2016

I personally would reschedule. It took about an hour for them to do the u/s, wait for the nurse, get weight/blood pressure checked and talk with nurse, get urine sample, wait to talk with the doctor, then talk with the doctor, get a pap smear (I was due for one), then have a blood draw. Plus we were in the waiting room about 15 minutes. I would not want to have my 2 yr old there during all that. No way.

eta: I typed all that out before I read your last post. Glad you found a sitter!

KimmySchmidt · January 2016

I go to a 45 minute physical therapy appointment every week, and I put my 16 month old (she was 12 months when I started PT) in a stroller with lots of snacks and obnoxious toys with blinking lights. It's not ideal, but she knows the routine now and does well enough. I brought her as a newborn to all of my PP appointments and it was no problem. I've been met with understanding.

I'm planning on bringing LO to as many appointments as I can. My OB is 30 minutes away, runs late, and changes appointments with little notice. Around me sitters cost $20/hour. I can't afford to spend $40+ every time I have an appointment, especially once they start happening frequently.

KimmySchmidt · January 2016

bettertogether27 said:

@Sporty1216 stroller is GENIUS! I say that because I was on the right train of thought with pack n play, bouncy chair, walker, high chair, anything to contain him basically, I just never reached the switch for the lightbulb on the stroller thing. Good news though, I finally found another sitter last-minute, so all my stress has dissipated! I really didn't want to bring DS with by myself haha. Thanks for all your input ladies!

Wait. You considered bringing a pack n play into the doctor's office but you hadn't considered a stroller? How have you been surviving the past 12 months? Is it too early to blame pregnancy brain?

bettertogether27 · January 2016

@KimmySchmidt yes that's exactly what I'm saying. I knew I was missing the key, I just couldn't place the big piece I was missing. I vote Not Too Early To Blame Pregnancy Brain haha

AnnaS930 · January 2016

@bettertogether27 how did the scan go??

Sarafuss · January 2016

0SeaMonkey0 said:
@Sarafuss
OT: how did you get a ticker like that?? I love it but when I go to The Bump ticker page they don't have that option

Sorry just saw this @0SeaMonkey0! The pink one with the "how big is baby?" descriptions? I think I went to the main page and went to tools and selected pregnancy ticker. And you can choose green, blue or pink for the background color. I'm mobile now and I did it on a desktop originally so I'm not sure of the exact steps. I can try and figure it out tomorrow when I'm at work and at a real computer!

bettertogether27 · January 2016

@AnnaS930 u/s went fairly well for what it was. I'm measuring way behind but still showing adequate growth. Tech chalked it up to late ovulation. I'm now 5w4d instead of 7w5d. That was a bit of a tough cookie. This time there was a gestational sac, whereas last time they couldn't even see that. I'll go back in two weeks for another.

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