Really desperate for help

[SunnyR]

This might sound really strange but I am hoping people can relate. I am 18+1 and have generally been feeling okay with a healthy pregnancy up to now. But in the past week or so I have felt 'different' like I just don't quite feel as pregnant as I did.
I am been extremely emotional and irritated and not myself at all. I keep having this gut feeling that the baby is not quite right, like I really really need to hear the heartbeat to reassure myself. And as a result I can't stop crying or concentrate on ANYTHING.
Do you think if I speak to midwife there would be anything she can arrange to check the baby is okay/has a heartbeat etc?
My 20 week scan is not for another 2 weeks but I just can't bear wating that long :(

I was a wreck with my first, brought a angle sounds Doppler in the end and luckily I found babys heartbeat and was much calmer, have read on it people that couldn't find it themselves thou so that could be more stressful. If ring your midwife and explain how your feeling, hopefully she can fit you in before. I'm sure all if fine Hun mine was perfect and I panicked every step of the way! Xx

Speak to your mw. I have had spotting and they were always happy to listen to baby and reassure. They would rather you let them help than worry yourself crazy! It's very hard sometimes to find HB with a doppler so it can even take theit trained ears a few minutes to find it. Please see them before you buy a doppler and don't know what to listen for and get even more worried! You should have their number o front of your notes. Hope they can see you soon. X x

I think how you're feeling is very natural at 18 weeks, as your early symptoms fade but you are still probably too early to feel movement. I certainly remember feeling as you did. I went for a private scan at 18 weeks with babybond and it was lovely

Aw I'm sorry you're feeling like this. Absolutely get in touch with your midwife and tell her your fears.

Thank you everyone. I rang my mw this morning who managed to fit me into an afternoon clinic just so I could hear the baby heartbeat which I did :)
But yes I agree, feel like it's that awkward inbetween stage where there's no exact symptoms and still no noticeable baby movements!

First of all I'm so sorry to hear you're not enjoying yourself so far but I can completely relate from when I was pregnant with my daughter. I was a wreck and snapped (completely unlike me) it was ofcourse the hormones for me getting me down, it was around about 20 weeks when we had our second scan I felt the most pregnant I ever did

I know just how you feel. The time between 12 & 20 wk scans is an age! My MW didn't listen to the heart at 16wks either. I had a consultant appointment at 16wks + 4 and was so worried, told him i just didn't feel pregnant, tiredness and sickness pretty much gone, no real bump.......he did a scan for me bless him, i cried.

I think this is totally normal, I've felt like this with both of my pregnancies but it was much worse the first time round. Definitely speak to your midwife every time you feel like this, they usually are more than happy to help.

With regards to the Doppler, please don't. It gives you a false sense of security and may lead you to not notice other 'signs' that things aren't right. As NurseP pointed out, it's very hard to find the actual heartbeat, even for the trained ear. They pick up all sorts of noises which could be mistaken for the heartbeat, don't google as you don't need worrying but there are loads of stories about how reliance on a Doppler caused issues to be missed. I'm not trying to scare you but you should trust your instinct (even did it's being over sensitive!) as you know best. So, even if that means a weekly visit/phonecall to the midwife then so be it. It's better than relying on an inaccurate Doppler and missing an opportunity.

I hope you start to feel less anxious soon, it's a worrying time but please know that you're not alone.

Deffo make good use of the midwives! I went into triage last weekend as I hadn't felt much movement for a couple of days (I'm 26 weeks). All is well, thankfully, but the MW told me she'd be very happy to see me in there every day until I pop than have me buy a doppler for home use.

I think the wait between 12 weeks scan and first movements is hellish. I didnt feel pregnant at all and got myself into a right tizz every so often, so I can definitely relate. The bean is now merrily stomping on my bladder and having baby discos every night when I try to go to sleep! Hang in there and do call the MW whenever you need