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BR: Unexpected U/S
I had my 12wk appointment today, the first with one of the OBs. She came in and we chatted for a minute about testing and stuff, then she decided to get right to the doppler. She said she'd find my heartbeat first, since that was easy to pick up. She started moving the wand around. A little more. Still moving and all we hear is the crackling of the doppler as the wand moves.
I can feel my heart rate quicken. She turns the machine off and on and says she'll try a moment more, then send me for an ultrasound. Still nothing. She tries to reassure my by saying the baby is still small and 15% of women have tilted uteruses which also makes it hard to find the heartbeat. The next 5 minutes waiting for the u/s room to be ready were torture.
The u/s tech found the baby right away, and while it had definitely developed since the 8wk u/s it was still a question of whether there was a heartbeat. She zoomed in on the chest and had the heartbeat bar run along the bottom of the screen, then we heard it. 
155bpm (11bpm lower than 8wks). Everything seems to be fine and the baby was moving all over the place. While it was quite a scare, we got some great unexpected pictures as well.
"Waving" at us:
Maybe sucking its thumb: 
Re: BR: Unexpected U/S
The first time I heard the heartbeat was at my 14 wk appt. I had a similar experience at my 10 week appt (first OB appt but had an u/s at 8wk). It's definitely stressful both waiting for the OB to pick up the heartbeat and then waiting for the scan. I'm glad they sent you for the u/s right away!
Scary! How stressful. So glad they found it and you got to see the baby! Love the pics.
glad it went well!!
as a sidebar, is the doppler just like a fancy stethoscope? I never saw one and am curious (esp since I gather its the common thing used for fetal monitoring)/ In the beginning the RE did measurements & heartbeats with trans-vaginal u/s, and when we moved to the OB, they did it with the abdominal u/s. The only time I ever saw a HB tracked w/out u/s was at the NST.
ETA: PS, are you going to find out the sex?
2012 Reading Challenge
thank goodness everything is ok! Isn't it amazing how different they look at 12 weeks vs 8 weeks?!
Emily - a doppler is more like a mini, portable u/s, just without picture. It has a little wand attached to a battery pack/heartrate counter thing. You need gel on the belly to use it properly
Emily - At the appointments with the OB they just check the heartrate via doppler for the normal pregnancies (not use if they do something different for multiples or high risk) because it is quick and easy. The problem is that early on the baby can still be behind the pelvic bone, so it can't be heard. Usually by 11 weeks you can hear it in majority of women, but I guess I'm not in that group. All the u/s are separate appointments from the OB appointments and they do those at 8w, 18w, and 35w at this office. Luckily they had a free room so they got me in.
We will probably find out the sex. At first I was thinking girl but lately I've been thinking boy.
Thanks for the clarification...I'm in for it if I ever get pregnant...I think I was really spoiled by our U/S at each visit, etc
What is your EDD? I think its a boy b/c there's so many Sept08 girls and the odds are favor of a boy!
I'm glad they got you in for the u/s right away!! I would be panicky too, if they couldn't find the hb on the doppler.
I love the pictures!!
A+S | Met 8/24/06 | Married 9/27/08
Started TTC 12/2008 | dx PCOS 5/2009
6 failed clomid/femara/TI cycles, 1 failed clomid/ovidrel/IUI cycle
Successful Cycle: 5/12/11 - 1000mg Metformin + 100mg Clomid(late response) + TI = BFP
? 2/13/12 - We proudly welcomed our daughter, Hadley Teresa! ?
? Lots of Luck to all of 3T/IF ?
how annoying! I'm glad (well, plus that all was well!) you got the extra u/s