Angelsounds Fetal Heart Detector

I think one of the greatest things all mums to be look forward to is feeling their baby move.  It gives you that added reassurance that things are going ok in there, as well as help you really bond with your baby.

I was told to expect to feel my baby move between weeks 17 and 24 in my pregnancy but by week 18, I still hadn't felt a flutter or even the hint of a bubble, as some mums describe it.   This made me feel a little bit worried - as everything does in pregnancy - but even more so that all the other mums to be that I know in real life and online were already feeling their little bumps squirm away long before me.

The paranoia is very easy to get to you when all you hope for is a healthy pregnancy and baby but I have been determined throughout my gestation period not to jump on the phone to the midwife at the least wee thing that doesn't seem right.

Now to be fair, at 18 weeks, I still didn't have anything to worry about but I wanted some peace of mind, especially the more I heard all the other mums talk about feeling kicks and punches from their little ones.  That's when I decided to purchase the Angelsounds Fetal Heart Detector.

I didn't do too much research on it to be honest, I basically went for the first doppler style device that had a half decent review on Amazon and didn't cost too much (£18.99).  I purchased it along with the Anagel Fetal Doppler Ultrasound gel (£2.50).

The device is really simple.  It comes with a set of headphones to plug into it but I prefer using a loud speaker so both my husband and I can listen to our baby's heartbeat.  You literally plug in the speaker/headphone, using the sound dial for volume and apply some gel before placing the device on your tummy.  On first go, you might have to do a bit of manoeuvring around to find the heartbeat but once you find it, it's amazing and the sense of relief hits you!

It definitely helped me feel a little better with regards to not feeling any movement but finally at week 22,  I finally felt some baby gymnastics! :)   I seemed to have missed the flutter/bubble/butterfly stage and jumped straight to the sensation of baby doing somersaults in my tummy.  It is something I just couldn't imagine before but it's absolutely lovely and not half as weird as I expected it to feel!

It just goes to show that we are all so different and no 2 pregnancies are the same.

Has anyone else used a home doppler device?  Did anyone else miss out on flutters in the early stages?