Help!

srboyd33 · February 2017

Okay, so a week ago at 9 weeks I went in to get my levels checked because my progesterone was low at my first appointment. I asked if we maybe could try and hear the heartbeat and they were glad to try. So we go in and she used a LifeDop Summit Doppler and found the heartbeat at 150, which had went up 6 beats from 144 at my ultrasound at 7 weeks. We were so happy to hear it because my first pregnancy ended in miscarriage at 6 weeks and it was a missed miscarriage so we didn't find out until an ultrasound at 9 weeks and never got to see or hear the heartbeat. We found out on Christmas morning I was pregnant again. Well now I'm 10 weeks and not scheduled to go back until March 6th. A girl I work with had a fetal Doppler and I bought it from her today. It's a Sonoline B Facelake Fetal Doppler. When I got home from work I tried it out for an hour and a half and haven't been able to find the heartbeat. I've been crying like crazy scared to death we have lost this baby too. Hubby says maybe this fetal Doppler just isn't as good as the one she used at the doctor's office but it's 3mhz and I've read that's what most OBs use. I'm scared to death. I watched videos and my uterus isn't that big. It can't be that hard to find it. I dug around an hour and a half and she found it a weeks earlier in about 10 seconds. Can someone help me out on this?

sableeg · February 2017

I don't have any advice for you, but I'm so sorry you're going through this fear! I would suggest calling your OB's office in the morning to check. FX it's just a faulty doppler!

lap018 · February 2017

Yeah there's a reason doctors offices wait until the 12 week appt to try and find a HB on a Doppler. Try to not worry over it. The uterus is still in the pelvis until the 12 week mark too so it could be harder to get a Doppler to pick up if baby is down really low. I know the waiting will be really hard but I would wait a couple of weeks and try again

comealongponds · February 2017

Lurking

this is why home Doppler are a terrible idea. You're very early, you're chasing something the size of a blueberry around your uterus and you don't have any clue what you're doing technique-wise. Back away from the Doppler, call your OB for a HB check if you're that worried but chances are there's nothing wrong.

mrs_tacos · February 2017

I'm sorry you are scared. Chances are your doctor/nurse found the heartbeat so quickly because they know exactly where and how to look. I think it's worth calling your doctor with your concerns, they may be able to get you in early for an ultrasound or to hear the heartbeat.

sarahufl · February 2017

Sorry you are scared, but this is probably why people shouldn't have home dopplers. If you aren't trained to use them properly, they stand to cause more worry than anything. Hopefully everything is ok.

HollyGolightly09 · February 2017

I'm basically just repeating what everyone else has said, here...

I'm sorry you are so scared... I completely get that stomach sinking feeling. Please try to breathe, and step away from the Google. And the Doppler, for that matter. I won't be getting one for this exact reason. The baby is tiny. It's heart is tinier. I don't have a clue what I'm doing, or the emotional stability to handle the uncertainty. It would result in nothing but me being a puddle of crying mess in the floor.

Really though, please try to breathe. I say this as kindly as I can.. you don't have a clue what you are doing/how to do it. Quit trying. This is going no where good.

NicoleRN1979 · February 2017

I wouldn't stress. I ordered a Sonoline Doppler from Amazon. It arrived yesterday and I tried forever to find my baby's heart beat. I am right at 9 weeks as well and I wasn't able to find the heartbeat. I don't think the Sonoline is very strong at all. I put the transducer over my radial and brachial arteries and could barely hear anything at all with the volume turned all the way up. I'm a nurse and I use a Doppler almost everyday to check peripheral pulses. With my first pregnancy, I "borrowed" a Doppler from work and brought it home to check the fetal heart rate. I wasn't able to really find it on my own with a "good" Doppler until 11-12 weeks. And even then, it was sometimes difficult to find. So, again, I wouldn't stress unless you had other reasons to believe something was wrong with your pregnancy, like bleeding or loss of pregnancy symptoms.

DPandMB · February 2017

Echoing PP. The only other thing I have to offer is go by your OB. During my last pregnancy my OB told me to stop in anytime I wanted to hear the heartbeat. She told me it can be so scared in the first trimester and really until you can start to feel the baby. I'm sure your OB is probably just as understanding. Especially provided your history. Try not to stress.

Texafornian · February 2017

Call the OB to calm your fears...
I used a Sonoline B with my first pregnancy and because it was my first, I wasn't able to even locate it on my own until 12w. You're pretty early still...try not to stress and definitely stop using the Doppler!!

BookitBoo · February 2017

It's so scary to be pregnant, and especially after a loss. Just like everyone else has said, it's really early to find a HB on a Doppler. Try not to worry too much. When is your next appointment?

srboyd33 · February 2017

I'm 10 weeks trying to do it not 9. I was 9 weeks when they found it at the doctor. Does that make a difference? From what I read, and even the girl I got it from, didn't find it until 12 weeks, so that's still 2 weeks behind. Could I have done any harm digging that thing around trying to find it? Thank y'all for your input. I love this group. Y'all have really calmed me down. When I read all these to my husband he said, "SEE!" Haha we are going in the morning when he gets off work to the OB to get it checked just to be sure.

Texafornian · February 2017

@srboyd33 no...don't worry...baby is quite protected in there! You didn't do any harm...

srboyd33 · February 2017

Thank you so much!

ColoradoHiker · February 2017

My midwives refused to do heartbeat checks until 12w for this exact reason with DS. Even with professional grade equipment, it can be very hard to get anything, and it only scares the moms if they can't.

Everyone else covered what I had to say, except that the heartbeat rate will vary greatly depending on trimester, etc. Don't worry about exact heartbeat from visit to visit.

awildrose · February 2017

I'm sorry you're scared.

This is is my third baby and I'm 10 weeks and I had an extremely hard time finding the heartbeat, and only got a couple seconds of sound time when I did. It's definitely really hard to find. I would not have been surprised to not find it at all. Step away from the doppler for a few more weeks.

ashley2824 · February 2017

Echoing what everyone else is saying. My dr doesn't try to use the Doppler until 12w as well for this reason. It's most likely just too early, but if itlll give you piece of mind, call your OB

kelseyrayay · February 2017

Yeah the only reason I know mine has a heartbeat is because of the ultrasound I had. And we could barely hear it with that. It was more of we just saw the flicker on the monitor. But my last pregnancy I was 12 weeks before they even tried

juliebeannn · February 2017

PPs have given you a lot of great advice and I agree that 10 weeks can be too early to find it at home. I did happen to find mine right around 10 weeks, but only after a few attempts with no heartbeat. I read that depending on time of day, amount of bloat, full/empty bladder, full/empty stomach are all factors that could affect the reading. I tried a few combination of things and finally found it, first thing in the morning, empty stomach and empty bladder. This is no guarantee but just thought I'd give you my experience. If you think it'll continue to freak you out, I'd suggest to just wait until 12w.

Incandescent · February 2017

Try tilting the end at an angle to get in the pelvis. There was a great video on YouTube search for early doppler. That was how I found it after like 45 minutes of freaking out.

Incandescent · February 2017

https://youtu.be/aUPevYH-3mw

Sugargirl1019 · February 2017

So.. what everyone said! Breathe, everything is fine! Dopplers are hard and finicky, and babyies are sneaky! I have a Sonoline B doppler, and I found the HB at 9 weeks. Few days later nothing. Few days later found it loud and clear. Now I'm 10 weeks and I couldn't find it and cried. Until I found the sneaky little thing, who MOVED to a different side in my uterus, after I cried and tried for 30 minutes.

I always have best success on an empty bladder and empty stomach. Food makes baby do weird things. I also prop my hips up with a rolled up blanket so my uterus is more projected up and forwards. I use a ton of lube, and I always press down right next to the pubic bone and angle it underneath. The tiniest little tilt can be the difference in hearing it and not hearing it.

My u/s showed baby in the right side, and that's where I always found it, until today. When baby decided to be smack dab in the middle.

It's probably just user error, said in the nicest way possible

Trust and have faith that baby is okay in there!

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