fetal doppler - struggling to work it out

[vmcd28]

OK, so I am 10-ish weeks. So I know I am early to hear a heartbeat. But my hired BT200 arrived this morning, so of course I was going to give it a try!
However I am struggling to work it all out. No matter where I have the probe, I can hear MY heartbeat clearly. I briefly heard a whooshing, and THINK for a split second I heard the heartbeat. But I couldnt find it again.

Any tips/advice?

It's too early. Most MWs struggle at this gestation. I didn't find my baby's HB easily until closer to 14 weeks. The whooshing is the placenta and that's a good sign and if you do briefly see a high reading that is probably baby, but you will struggle to get a long strong segment of their hb at 10 weeks so I'd give up for now. Try weekly until you find it easiy and even then, remember not to use the doppler to often as it can cause stress to the foetus.

I FOUND IT!!!!
Thanks for your reply, and I agree I struggled to find it, and will struggle again, I am sure. But when I did hear it, there was no mistaking. Ah, what a lovely sound to hear.
Unfortunately the monitor does not have a "reading" on it, it's only now I see why that kind would have been better. However, I can relax a bit for now, though. (well, no, I cant really).
CAN it cause stress? I know it says only to use it every 2-3 days, but I read that it isnt going to cause a problem, and uses a much lower frequency than the scanners in hospitals.

vmcd28 - I am thinking of renting one of these - what does the "reading' do ?
Is there one you would recommend to me ?

well, the one I hired is a proper ultrasound. Some of the other brands, eg Summer, I believe are just amplifiers so they are hard to use.
This one is just like the ones the midwives use.

I believe - but I dont know for sure - that the ones with readings show you the actual heartrate of the baby. HOWEVER, now I think about it logically, it will only be able to do this IF you can manage to find the heartbeat in the first place!! And the only advantage I can think of is that it tells you its actual heart speed.
However, again, it is fairly easy to know if the baby has a healthy heartrate, as it should be a lot faster than your own.

I do not know if there is any kind that is better than the others. The one I have was £10 a month to hire, off ebay, and had good reviews on various websites online.

I am hopeful that the heartbeat will become easier to find as I get more used to it, and obviously it should get easier as the baby gets bigger. I think I have been very lucky to have heard it without too much effort today.

thanks , will go over to ebay and have a look...
Im the same stage as you -

For anyone looking for updates/advice or reassurance, after hearing the heartbeat at 10w, I had two firther tries during the week, but couldnt find it, no matter how hard I tried.
However, last night, at 11 weeks, we heard it almost instantly (obv a fluke) loud and clear, a bit like a steam train chugging.
THEN, the baby obv moved away, but I could NOT find it again, no matter how hard I tried!

So the moral is, it's really hard to find this early on, even when you know where you heard it seconds earlier! So dont panic if you hear it one day, but then not a few days later.

I'm now 11w 4d, and I couldnt find the HB again tonight. I thought I had become a pro at finding it, but clearly not. Trying not to worry, but of course I am a little bit...

I think this is what makes me reluctant to hire one of these dopplers....it can be very worrying if for some reason you can't find the heartbeat. Part of you will always wonder 'what if?' I am now 15weeks and still in two minds...though I think it would be an amazing way for my other two children to feel 'involved' and start to bond with baby number 3.....hmmm, jury's still out for me....

i think, by your stage it gets much easier to find. from what i believe, i'm still awful early to hear it. But yes, they can be a bit of a worry. Ugh!

And here I go... I work for a company who make these things. Please treat them as toys, not medical instruments, unless you have been specially trained in their use. There have been heartbreaking occurrences of mums using a doppler to check on a baby they have concerns about, finding a heartbeat and leaving things, only to miscarry/have a stillbirth that could have been prevented had they sought medical advice when they became concerned.

[/lecture] Have fun!

ugh, oh no - I'd be the opposite! If I was concerned I'd rush off to the hospital, whether or not I'd heard a heartbeat!!
But good advice, though. And do you agree that it can be really hard to find the heartbeat?

And they DO cause foetal stress as do ultra sound scanners. Being scanned or having the hb checked
by a professional, then the benefit out weighs the risk but for home use, you are blasting your baby with uncomfortable sound waves for no reason and so it should be kept to a bare minimum.

virtually everything online says they are "safe for continual use" but advise to use them every few days

And if you're having real trouble with them remember to use a lubricant to make it easier to pick up the HB, last PG I used baby oil and leftover durex lube

vmcd - I'm sure this is stating the obvious but... are you trying to find it REALLY low down? I used a doppler in my last pregnancy and started at about 10 wks too, at first I really struggled, but then found I could get the HB reliably its just that it way lower down than I was looking IYSWIM.
Hope it gets more reliable for you soon, I found it so nice to hear it regularly.

I'm not being able to hear anything much today, which is starting to worry me now. This is the downside of a doppler. Any reassuring words...?

I wouldnt panic, babies wiggle out of positions all the time; last PG I could only find it REALLY low dow as LittlePeople says, just above the bikini line.

Your best bet is probably to step away from the doppler and try again when you are feeling relaxed. In the early days it could take me a while to find it because it is still so little, its really a needle in a haystack!

I used to put it just above my pelvic bone and then tilt it downwards, as if looking inside my pelvis towards my 'bits'. I think at this stage of pg the uterus may not have risen out of the pelvis brim yet. [Disclaimer - its a while since I read up on it and I may be talking rubbish, have v bad memory!]

Oops - pelvic brim

thanks for the advice. I'm trying not to worry.
The last couple of times I heard it, it didnt seem to be very low down, but I do know that I heard it last week, but then couldnt find it again, no matter how hard i tried.
I remember now that my DS, now 5, looked like he was on a trampoline at his 12w scan, so I'm fairly sure they move about too much to find at thos stage too - theyve got so much room to play in!