Beat your heart out!

This was the first week we went without an ultrasound.  I was starting to feel the slightest bit of anxiety so I decided to purchase a fetal doppler (which is a device that uses ultrasound to hear the fetal heart rate) so that I can listen to the baby's heartbeat at home, whenever I like. I figured this would be the best way to ease my worries as I wait for my next appointment.  I decided to research which are the best and I found many great reviews for the Sonotrax B, which is a handheld device with a display that shows the heart rate.  There were 3 Sonotrax models to choose from (lite, Basic and Pro) so I chose the middle-of-the-road Basic model.  I was feeling incredibly impatient yesterday so I ordered it with overnight shipping.  I figured it was worth it to pay $12 for near-instant gratification to know the baby is doing ok this week.

Today I waited patiently (well impatiently, but I had no choice) by the door for the UPS man to arrive.  Every truck with squeaky breaks that drove by made my ears stand up higher than our dog's.  I hoped my package would have arrived by lunch but I had no such luck.  When I returned home from lunch there was a package on my porch!  I sprung from my car, grabbed the box ....... and was completely deflated.  The box was NOT the doppler box, but the ultrasound gel that I had to order to use with the doppler.  Now I had to sit and wait for the correct delivery man to show up.  So I waited...and waited...and waited.

Finally, 4 very long hours later, the UPS man pulled up!  Brian greeted him in the driveway and quickly tore open the packaging!  I couldn't contain myself!  I ran upstairs, changed out of my jeans and into an easy pair of shorts faster than you can count to "one Mississippi...".

A nano-second later, I was laying on the couch, belly exposed and squeezing gooey gel in a nice neat line just under my belly button.  I read that it could take hours and sometimes days to find the heartbeat using one of these things, so I prepared myself for disappointment, but after 15 minutes of searching and hearing other strange sounds - we heard it!   The most beautiful sound to touch my ears!  Our baby's heart was beating and it sounded like a runaway train chugging downhill....it was beating pretty fast.  "CHUgga-chugga CHUgga-chugga CHUgga-chugga".

I wasn't sure how I would know when I heard it.  I've read that it sounds like a horse galloping or a rapid swishing sound, but all I could hear was a choo choo train inside my belly.  There it was, beating at 139 beats per minute.  Fast, strong and very consistent.  I heard my own heartbeat in the background, which was much slower (81 bpm).  We listened to Brian and Jackson's hearts too, for fun!  They were both swooshing away in the 70's bpm.    I've read that a fetal heart rate over 150 is likely a girl, so perhaps my doctor was right when she guessed that our baby is a boy?!?   If I am doing the math right: 139 < 150 = Boy!  We'll know for sure in a few more weeks!