From the first time we were pregnant in 2007, I’d read about how you can rent/buy a home doppler and listen to your baby’s heartbeat whenever you’d like or whenever your wife lets you spread green goo on her belly.  Of course, we never made it that far the first or second time Elizabeth was pregnant, so I waited for a bit longer than I needed before I acquired one this time.

There are two basic options: rent or buy.  The places that rent (and there are many) would have you believe that the quality of their doppler units are superior to the affordable ones you can purchase in the $80 – $200 range.  However, I’m not sure that’s true for all of them.  For some people, spending $27/month for a basic model is a better deal than buying the same model for $150.  Other places rent ones that supposedly sell for $500+.  For me, I always consider the resale value vs. what I pay and usually it’s better to buy.  Plus, you know, we want to have another baby (getting cocky about our fertility already), so we’ll NEED it again.

I researched enough to find that people who purchased TRUE dopplers (not just amplification devices) were quite happy with the results.  Women consistently were able to find their baby’s heartbeart after 10-12 weeks with models that sold for around $100+.  For best results, a 3MHZ probe is recommended although a 2MHZ still works well.

This is the model that I bought, although I purchased it new on eBay at a $140/free shipping best offer.  Also, the seller was in Wisconsin so I knew I’d have it in days.