12 weeks pregnant: Belly Beats Doppler ($5 off !)

For those of you who don't frequent our message boards, you may have missed that I'm pregnant. I'm 12 weeks in, with what feels like a long way to go!

Consider this my first "installment" of what I hope to be weekly updates of products I'm using throughout my pregnancy. My first product review is one I used with my son's pregnancy: a Belly Beats doppler. A nervous pregnant person the first time around, the doppler provided me with the security of hearing my son whenever I wanted. I thought I'd rent it a short while and send it back once I felt movement - but I loved hearing his little heart beating whenever I wanted, that I kept it until we came home from the hospital.

Although I'm way more laid back this time, I wanted to rent a doppler again. I went straight back to Belly Beats, where the price had gone down since I had my son.

I'm renting the standard doppler - it's the no frills doppler, and it comes with a 2 oz sample of ultrasound lotion (you won't need any more unless you're doing it every night) and a couple Preggie Pops. It all comes in a nice box with easy instructions and return postage for when you're ready to send it back. The standard doppler rents for $25 a month.

You can also rent a digital doppler (will tell you the heartbeat count) for $45 a month.

Use coupon code MWS5 for $5 a month off your order (a great deal!) for however many months you rent. I can't recommend it enough - the customer service at Belly Beats is fast, and the thrill of hearing your baby's heart whenever you want can't be replaced.

Note: I will say that it can be hard to find the heartbeat in your early stages of pregnancy. It's important to remember that if you rent one.