heard baby with fetoscope today!

[Mariposa]

had my 20 week appt with my MW today and she listened with the fetoscope to see if she could maybe hear heart with it. she did!! i listened, too and think i heard it for a fleeting moment. heard the baby moving around and felt him/her kicking against the fetoscope, too. she sent me home with one to use until baby is born. how cool is that! i tried listening today, but it was too noisy in the house. will try again tonight when there is NO noise. she said in a few weeks i should definitely be able to easily find it and once i hear it, i will know what it is! i am excited that we won't have to use the doppler so much now. we didn't use it today. she said the baby is really strong and heard a nice strong heartbeat for 20 weeks.

i was measuring at about 1 fingerbreadth below my belly button, but she said that was fine. i have only gained 5lbs, but she was okay with that too since i am eating healthy. blood pressure still great, which was a problem with my last pregnancy and i am praying for no problems with it this time.

anyone else using a fetoscope at appointments or at home??

[rmzbm]

I'm not but wanted to pop in & say congrats to you, how exciting!! BTW...no weight gain here at ALL...I have LOST weight...with a much bigger tummy, too - LOL!!!!

[yvonnemlv]

i'm looking around to borrow a fetascope, but I may end up just buying one instead. I am hoping for lots of kids, so I guess I should just buy one, tee hee. OKay, I convinced myself, I will buy one. I love listening to the heartbeat, just don't want to use dopplers. Although, when she is aligned just right, I can feel, VERY VERY faintly, her heartbeat with my fingers. That was SO cool!

My lil girl likes to stick her butt way up high on just one side, so one side of my uterus is a finger above the belly button, and the other side is like 3 fingers above, LOL. It's so cute. I am getting sooooo excited. I cannot wait to meet my lil girl!

Glad to hear you're eating well and it's supporting your body's needs!

[Kam]

That's great! Congratulations on the good appointment.

I have been wondering whether we might be able to hear the heartbeat with a fetoscope yet, and now I know!

[Birth Junky]

How exciting! I am hoping to buy a fetoscope myself (as an aspiring midwife, I figure I will be able to use it after this pregnancy as well! ) . . . you can find them fairly inexpensively on Ebay:
http://cgi.ebay.com/FETAL-STETHOSCOP...QQcmdZViewItem

[nubianamy]

I haven't pulled out my fetoscope yet. No luck with it two weeks ago, but I'm in no hurry. She's kicking so much I can tell she's fine!

[CawMama]

Ebay Scope

I picked up one from Ebay and tried to use it two days ago. First, practiced on listening to my own heart, then tried to find Ben's....couldn't. I'll try again in a few days. I am feeling guilty using the doppler. Now that he is moving more noticeably, I don't use the doppler unless I feel nothing for an entire day...that paranoia thing I suppose.

Had a second ultrasound yesterday...Saw a really cool image of his face! This is my first pregnancy, and it's the coolest thing ever. Except having gained 15 lbs. so far. Everyone says I carry it well, but they haven't seen me naked....LOL!

[Mom2Adam]

We are planning a homebirth (May due date) and are not doing ultrasounds - but haven't decided on doppler yet. (Maybe you momma's have some input????) -

We are only 13 weeks and I am pretty sure I felt the baby moving around last night (first time!) - I am not slender but this is my second baby so....

I like the idea of the comfort of hearing baby with a doppler - but am still trying to weigh the potential risks.

So good to hear about your experiences with fetascope!

Traci

[yvonnemlv]

If you are not doing ultrasounds, then you will want to avoid dopplers unless really necessary. Dopplers use stronger waves than even ultrasounds do.

[amyrobynne]

Your 20 week appt. sounds almost identical to mine--we were surprised to be able to hear the h/b with the fetoscope--the apprentice was even able to get a count (144 bpm). I too measured 19 cm and I was up 7 lbs. Last pregnancy, we couldn't hear anything until 23 weeks (and it was very faint) so it was exciting to really hear it at 20 weeks this time. We didn't do any doppler or u/s's this time so it was the first we'd heard from the baby.

[Mariposa]

Originally Posted by amyrobynne

Your 20 week appt. sounds almost identical to mine--we were surprised to be able to hear the h/b with the fetoscope--the apprentice was even able to get a count (144 bpm). I too measured 19 cm and I was up 7 lbs. Last pregnancy, we couldn't hear anything until 23 weeks (and it was very faint) so it was exciting to really hear it at 20 weeks this time. We didn't do any doppler or u/s's this time so it was the first we'd heard from the baby.

how funny. we did do doppler at the 16 week and 12 week, but didn't at the 20 week since we heard on fetoscope and now baby moves so much.

i am having u/s today. he should be here in 2 hours or so.

[Ilovelife]

I heard my babe's hb on fetoscope at my midwife appt today, too! Pretty exciting! She even let my little girl, listen, too, although I'm sure she had no clue what she was listening for. Babe has been so active I've had no worries. S/he gave a good kick right to the midwife's hand today. I, however, am up about 13 pounds already.