[AnnaBonana]

A milestone!

Twelve weeks today. What a huge sigh of relief. I still don't have much in the way of pregnancy symptoms, but I have had some nausea at night. Also, today I had to buy new bras! Mine are all tight and restrictive. So that was my first maternity purchase.

Now my next milestone will be the gender ultrasound in about five weeks.

I'm still deciding on a home Doppler. Any advice? I'm just terrified that I won't be able to use it properly and I'll cause more anxiety if I can't find the heartbeat. Thoughts? Did you get one? Was it helpful?

[Ame C]

Congratulations on hitting milestones and yay for your first maternity purchase! Gender ultrasounds have got to be one of my favorite parts of pregnancy. I can't wait to hear what you find out

As far as a doppler I got a sonoline B. I'm not sure that there are many other choices than a sonoline b. Just make sure you get one that says FDA approved. I LOVE mine!! I will admit, at first when I was trying to use it really early on (7-10 weeks) It did freak me out when I couldn't find a heartbeat and at that point it caused me more stress than anything else. But now it works every time and it takes me 10 seconds or less to find the heartbeat. If I didn't have it I think I would be way more stressed out than I am already. For example when baby is having a lazy day and I don't feel movement for several hours I begin to panic... like hard core panic. If I didn't have the doppler to show me that my baby's heart is still beating and baby is still moving around (you can tell if the baby makes movements that you can't actually feel because you get a reading in one spot then baby moves away from the doppler probe) I probably would have already taken a trip to the ER at least 2 different times by now. That might seem a little crazy to some people, but basically it happened to me before and that's one of my biggest fears that it will happen again. Okay, I'm rambling now... lol, but yes I LOVE mine. Worth every penny in my opinion. I got mine on ebay because that was the cheapest place I could find it.

[EverydayJoy]

Woohoo for 12 weeks! That's a big one, and it's so nice to be able to be past the first trimester. I know for me the anxiety was less in the 2nd and 3rd trimesters.

I never got a doppler, but I think I would have liked one. It sounds nice to be able to reassure yourself anytime you want. I say go for it.

Can't wait till you get your gender u/s and can tell us whether it's a boy or a girl! How exciting.

[MelChicago]

Congratulations on 12 weeks! Awesome milestone!

[Empty arms]

As you know, I LOVE my doppler. Since I'm 12w also, it is a bit difficult to find the HB at this point, and there have been days that I didn't find it. But I know it is normal in this stage, and it doesn't cause me any anxiety. Last year I got it when I was 22w, and I was able to find the HB really fast every time. We get kind of used with it, and it becomes easy. In my opinion, it you are in a stage when finding the HB should be easy, and you try a few times and don't hear it, plus the baby doesn't move, you should run to the doctor!
I have one called Bistos, I chose this one because it's the same kind we use in the hospital here, and it is very good. Well spent 100$!

[melissalaw]

yay!! That's awesome news. 12 weeks is a beautiful thing.

I have the Sonoline B which I think works great. You just have to make sure and use lots of gel. I got mine at www.fetaldopppler.net and I think I paid around $60.00. The shipping was really fast and for me the doppler really helps reassure me.

[Schofield06]

Congratulations! Getting to 12 weeks was a pretty big deal to me too!

I have the sonoline b as well. I really like it. It does take a bit of practice to use it, but after you get it it's super easy. It's helped to keep me from going completely nuts while waiting for my next appointment.

My ultrasound where we can find out gender is in 4 1/2 weeks! Can't wait for both of us.

[AnnaBonana]

Thanks ladies! DH and I are currently deciding if we have a bit of extra $$ for a Doppler. I think it is a worthwhile purchase for my peace of mind but we are doing some pre-baby renovating and that is taking up our finances! LOL.

Thanks for all the well wishes! We are so excited to make it to this point ... I've even started telling people about the pregnancy!

[humnck]

Congrats on hitting that milestone!! YAY

I also have a sonoline B, got mine on ebay for around $50 two years ago, with free shipping. I was able to find my baby's hb at around 9.5/10 weeks, took some time most nights, but I would just remind myself, if I couldn't find it, that baby was tiny and it could take some time. If that still didn't work, I drank cold water or waited an hour and tried again. Anyways, well worth it for me, I got it for myself for Christmas

[isawastar]

Congratulations! Each milestone is such a relief, isn't it? I'm excited for you

I'll be avoiding a doppler, because I'm generally high anxiety anyway and am terrified of not using it correctly, not hearing a heart beat, and freaking myself out more! For some people though I know they're reassuring, and without anxiety it would be great to listen to that beautiful heart beat any time you wanted! I'm completely not helpful on this subject