Round ligament pain and the inevitable doppler freakout

I read in one of my pregnancy books that round ligament pain (RLP) is "slightly uncomfortable" and is common starting around 12 or 13 weeks. Well, they lied. I've been experiencing this pain since around 8 weeks, and it's not "slightly uncomfortable", it hurts!! It's been more noticeable lately, and seems to be more apparent at night. But it reminds me that there is a baby in my ute that is causing it to have to stretch and grow.

I should have kept that in mind when I tried to find Bunny's heart beat this morning. Usually I would find it around my bikini line, so, that was the first place I checked. It sounded really, really faint and made me nervous as heck. Then I couldn't find it anymore, so I'm searching all around going from one side to the other hands shaking because I can't hear that precious sound. I took a break for awhile, but it was really bothering me, so I decided to try again. Same thing, the heart beat sounded really faint. The monitor on the doppler wasn't even picking up the beats per minute. Finally, I went up a little bit higher and I could hear the heart beat a little bit more. I went higher, and there it was! There was the sound that still brings tears to my eyes, it was loud and clear. I was shocked that Bunny was so high up, sure I'd been having RLP, but for some reason it didn't actually register that my uterus was growing. I found Bunny's heart beat about an inch and a half above my bikini line. Amazing!! So of course I cried, and then I decided to reward myself with a popsicle. Yes, I ate a popsicle at 8:30 in the morning! LOL! I'm so addicted to them.

This doppler freak out was bound to happen. But I'm so glad that it was an easy solution....

Love at first listen

My doppler arrived in the mail yesterday. I was tempted to use it as soon as I got home from work, but I had promised my husband that we would go to Outback Steakhouse for dinner. I've been so tired lately that I've been coming home and going straight to our room, where I'd just lounge and watch TV before falling asleep at around 7PM. My husband has really been wanting to spend time together, so I wanted to keep my word.

Once we got home, I ran straight to our bedroom with my new doppler and a bottle of ultrasound gel in hand. I squirted the gel, turned the doppler on and placed the probe on my belly near my bikini line. Nothing.... Absolute silence. I thought that was weird so I grabbed the directions. I read the whole thing, with goo all over my belly, feeling frustrated. Finally, I looked down at the cord and noticed that the probe connector wasn't fully inserted into the slot where it connects to the monitor. The speakers must have been on full blast because it sounded like I had just turned on a really loud record player, you know that muffled static sound?

I placed the probe on my belly again, near my bikini line, and heard the most beautiful sound right away. The "woosh, woosh, woosh" of my baby's heart beat. The monitor that I bought displays a heart whenever it detects a sound that is regular enough to be a heart beat, the rate was around 160 beats per minute. My husband came in the room with a huge smile on his face. Being the "realist" that is he, he asked me how I knew for sure that it was the baby's heart beat and not my own. I explained to him that the baby's heart beats much faster than ours, and placed the probe over my heart. It sounded much different than what we had just heard. Still unconvinced, he had me place the probe over his heart. It sounded just like mine. I found the baby's heart beat again, and my husband said, "Wow, it does sound totally different!!". He was super excited after that. I listened again this morning, and I am completely in love with my new purchase. Sometimes it's so hard to believe that there is actually a human in my tummy. I can't wait to feel kicks and movement. The doppler helps put me at ease, and it's so easy to use. I just love it!

Thank you all for the kind comments on my previous post. I've started to write things down in my pregnancy journal about my mom that I want to share with the baby. Thinking about all the great memories made me feel a little better. It's still a struggle, but I'm working through it.

I hope everyone has a great weekend.

I broke down....

And ordered a Doppler today. I bought if off of Amazon.com along with the ultrasound gel. I was going back and forth about getting one, and I think it's going to be a good investment until I can start to feel discernible movement. It has an LED display which counts the beats per minute, and a speaker so DH can listen along with me.

I paid for express shipping, so it should arrive on Friday. I've been feeling kind of unsettled lately, so I'm hoping that the Doppler will help put me at ease.

I belong to a pregnancy forum, and so many ladies on there are experiencing miscarriages. It just breaks my heart. It also makes me worry about my pregnancy even more.

My heart feels so heavy for Rebecca. She recently had an ultrasound which showed her that her baby had passed.

I feel so down today so I'm glad I chose today to purchase the Doppler, it gives me something to look forward to, since my next doctors appointment isn't for another two and a half weeks.