When can you hear the heartbeat on a home doppler?

meganbz Posted: 03-09-2010 11:39 AM

I know there was a post about this somewhere but I can't find it....

When's about the average time one could hear a heartbeat on a home doppler?

And, does anyone have recommendations for a home doppler brand?  There's a pretty big price variation for the ones out there on the market!

Thanks!

katbriil replied on 03-09-2010 12:14 PM

I heard mine a few days before my midwife was able to find it in the office. I'm not sure exactly of the dates, but I believe I was around 12 weeks at the time.

I bought a Hi-Bebe brand monitor, which wasn't super but was decent, and I got it off of Craigslist for about $60. It was worth it to me!

nursemom09 replied on 03-09-2010 12:29 PM

In my past two pregnancies, I just rented a home doppler from BabyBeat.com.  They are professional ones, the ones used in the MD office and pick up the hb super early. I heard it at 10 weeks at home.  It's not that expensive, only like $25/month and  totally worth it. No searching for the HB, you can find it fairly easily, ESP in those last few months when baby is bigger.  I loved it.  Gonna do it again this time!

shellymoe replied on 03-09-2010 1:04 PM

I also rented one from babybeat.com with my previous pregnancy.  I'm not really into the whole home doppler thing, but when I had an SCH scare at 10 weeks, I decided that if I was going to lose my baby, I wanted to know before I was told.

I got the doppler when I was between 10 & 11 weeks and after about 5 minutes or so, was able to hear the heartbeat.  Babybeat was a great company to work with and should I feel the need to rent a doppler in the future, I'd definitely go with them.

annie1978 replied on 03-09-2010 1:22 PM

I bought an Angelsounds Doppler from Amazon.com, and it's terrible!  We were finally able to pick up the heartbeat this past weekend (at almost 17 weeks), and it took us several minutes to locate it.  The sound is also really terrible, so if I move at all it nearly blows my eardrums out.  I definitely would not recommend it.

detcb replied on 03-09-2010 2:06 PM

annie1978:

I bought an Angelsounds Doppler from Amazon.com, and it's terrible! 

I have this one. Using ultrasound gel or thick body butter/lotion improves the sound quality dramatically!

I love it, it was really nice during those weeks before I could feel the baby's movement  well.

meganbz replied on 03-09-2010 5:12 PM

Thanks for the replies!  I hadn't thought about renting one - didn't know you could do that.  I'm not sure if there are any companies renting doppler's in my small northern Michigan town but I'll check into that.

happy4me replied on 03-09-2010 7:43 PM

meganbz:

Thanks for the replies!  I hadn't thought about renting one - didn't know you could do that.  I'm not sure if there are any companies renting doppler's in my small northern Michigan town but I'll check into that.

I have rented mine online both times, first time from storkradio and then last from babybeat. I will do it again this time!! It is great for reassurance, I loved it! I found mine both times at about 9 weeks.

ETA: on babybeat website, the standard doppler (one I used with my second ds) is only $20 a month! :)

CarolinaBlue replied on 03-10-2010 9:42 AM

I waited to rent a home doppler from Babybeats until I heard it for the first time at the doctor's office.  I didn't want to freak myself out if I couldn't find it when I thought I should.  So, it was about 12 weeks when I heard it on the home doppler, but chances are I could have heard it earlier.  I also recommend Babybeats -- the doppler seems to be of good quality, and I've never had problems locating the heartbeat.  Sometimes I have to chase the little bean around, though!  Since I have a history of loss, the reassurance of the home doppler is priceless. I may return it once I start feeling regular movement -- right now it's just flutters.

piper replied on 03-10-2010 10:42 AM

I rented one from Babybeat as well and loved it!  They send the gel with it and I was able to find the h/b at 11 weeks - I got the one where you could record it and save it to your computer so now I have a copy of it  - so sweet!

mommakatx2 replied on 03-10-2010 11:00 AM

With DS#3 I rented one online, I can't remember the name of the company now though!  This time I purchased one off eBay for around $70.  I found the HB between 11-12 weeks though it took me a long time.  Now at almost 18 weeks, I can find it immediately. 

Be sure you have lots and lots of gel!  I went through a LOT in those early weeks trying to find the HB!  And generally speaking, the more gel you are able to use, the better the sound.

13

10

4

8/28/10

 

 

 

 

 

 

modemaiden replied on 03-10-2010 5:21 PM

I got a doppler off ebay that had a tiny probe. I was finally able to hear heartbeats at 11.5 weeks.

I ran out of gel and just started using hand lotion. It works great, and I can rub it into my belly skin when I'm done finding the heartbeats.