scared and freaking out

I am so upset and freaking out right now. I went to the doc last week and he listened to my baby's heartbeat with the doppler (it took him awhile to find it) but he did. It was 156bpm. I was 13 weeks at the time. So I decided to rent my own. It came in the mail yesterday and me and hubby tried for more than 30 minutes but we could not locate the heartbeat. I am so scared and worried. Mostly because I got preg 3 weeks after my surgery so I am really scared about miscarrying. I am still quite overweight (the doc has to lift up my tummy when performing an u/s) so hopefully it's just the extra weight and my baby is ok! I don't have another appt until next month :(

Please don't worry.  It is very hard for a doctor to find a heartbeat early on with overweight women.  I went through the same thing.  Also, I am sorry to say it but those home things are usually never very good.  Try to relax and avoid stress..everything wil be fine

Try not to freak out just yet!!! I had the SAME problem with my first pregnancy because I was overweight...the doc ended up making me do an u/s because they couldn't find the heartbeat with the doppler after trying for half an hour.  But trust me, I rented one and couldn't pick up good reception until about 16 weeks...as long as you bought the doppler version and not the cheap kind you can buy in the store, you should find a heartbeat, but you may have to wait a little longer in the pregnancy.  If it took a trained OB a while to find the heartbeat, don't feel bad that you can't.  If it becomes too hard to deal with, call and make an appt.  Good luck and here's wishing you peace and ease of mind.

So you're about 14 wks now? 

The baby is only the size of a tube of lipstick at this point and still safely tucked under your pelvic bone for the most part... the chances of finding a heartbeat with a home doppler is slim even on a slender mama, let alone a flufy mama.

Relax. 
Have faith in your body that everything will work out. When you go to your next vsit, bring your rented doppler with you and ask the OB or the nurse to help you locate the baby with it. I'm sure they'll be happy to assist you and it'll give you some peace of mind between doctor's visits.

((HUGS))

Keep breathing.  Your little one is in there.  It took the doc a while to find the heartbeat which means the likelihood of you and your DH finding it on a rented home system are probably slim to none.  Don't worry.  Your little bean is still in there.  Have faith and try relaxing.  The further along you get the easier it will be to hear the heartbeat.

This is coming from someone who is absolutely scared to death about m/c.  Stay calm.  I agree it is very difficult to find the heartbeat when you are 12-18 weeks especially if you have any extra padding, and since you had surgery recently we'll assume there is still padding between your insides and your tummy.  Calmly put away the monitor and don't touch it again until your next appointment or until you feel you can emotionally handle not finding the HB.  Most Dr offices are completely A okay with a call to their nurse to just say hey- I am worried can we listen for the baby.  I would say if you have not had any other issues not to be overly stressed.  But I know I probably would have been on the phone this am.  HUGS- keeping u and baby in my thoughts.

Thanks everyone for the calming comments. Hubby thinks that we should return the doppler.

I agree with ur hubby. :-)

HI,
Did your doppler come with the gel? If it is the same kind from the dr's office, it probably needs the ultrasound gel. That stuff can dry up quickly so make sure you are using enough. If you need more, hospital supply stores or probably even amazon sells it for like $4.00 per bottle. I've heard even aloe vera gel works. Start by focusing the wand right above the pubic bone and going up slowly toward your belly button. Don't be afraid to press down hard, you wont hurt the peanut :) It may pick your heartbeat up first then have a really high number like 230. That is interfierance waves it is picking up between you and your baby's. So if you see something like that, it's a good sign. But use lots of the gel! Good luck.

I can understand how upsetting that can be.  My doctor couldn't find our baby's heartbeat with the doppler last week.  She ordered an immediate u/s to check for "viability."  It turns out, that my uterus is tilted to the back, and the baby's heartbeat was hard to get to.  If she had me roll over and listened through my back, she might have had better luck.  Weird, eh?

No stress.  Just breathe, take your doppler in with you to your OB and ask her to try it out on you - it could be a lemon. It is not unusual for a beat to go unheard in early pregnancy - even by a expert.  Try to slip in for a quick appointment this week to alliviate the stress you are experiencing.

Good luck Honey,

Jenn