feedback for "Parental Advisory: All-Ages Screening"

1. I took my 3-year-old niece with me to my 20 week sono. She had been the baby in our family and she was nervous about me not loving her as much when my baby girl came. She loved looking at the pictures and asking the technician questions. It was great. And she has adored her "cuzzin" ever since. My daughter is 14 months old now and whenever my niece is playing with her she always tells her how "I saw you when you were in your Mama's stomach."

   posted by : Athena76 on 7/2/2008 at 10:52 AM Flag For Abuse

2. My not yet two year old came along, despite a fear of doctors. She did great. I had my husband and mom with me, just in case, which I agree is a good idea. This way if she got upset, they could take her out. She loved going and talks about her little brother hiding inside mommy all the time.

   posted by : CaliMama on 7/2/2008 at 1:19 PM Flag For Abuse

3. We almost took our 4 year old daughter to our first appointment, but the timing didn't work out. Thankfully it didn't. We found that that there was no heartbeat and I had to be admitted for a D/C that day. I am grateful we didn't need to figure out how to deal with our grief, our daughters concerns, and the immediacy of my health.

   posted by : KarenGB on 7/2/2008 at 1:24 PM Flag For Abuse

4. I took my 3 year old along and it turned out he was just witnessing the fact that I was having a miscarriage. He didn't understand what was going on, and my husband whisked him away as soon as we realized what was happening, but I'll never take that risk again. There are some great books that show pictures of what's going on inside the womb that you can use with no risk.

   posted by : Darkandstormy on 7/2/2008 at 1:56 PM Flag For Abuse

5. I totally understand the concerns about people bringing their children along only to discover they're miscarrying - how sad. But everyone needs to decide for herself. I brought my 4 year old son and he was fine, a little fidgety towards the end, but we'd brought a book and toy along that gave him something to do.

   posted by : maresi on 7/2/2008 at 2:11 PM Flag For Abuse

6. I absolutely think it's a GREAT idea to take your 4 year old with you!

   posted by : Michele74 on 7/2/2008 at 2:50 PM Flag For Abuse

7. The 20 week not a good idea its long and detailed...He would have more fun at a 3d/4d fun ultrasound...My son was horrible with the level 2 but fine with the quicker easier to view fetal photo we got at 29 weeks.

   posted by : carliec on 7/2/2008 at 3:36 PM Flag For Abuse

8. We took our DS when he was 4 to one of my ultrasounds, and he was totally underwhelmed by the event. This was a shorter ultrasound, not the 20-weeker. It was later in the pregnancy than that, maybe even at 30 weeks. I think it's a great idea to bring your 4 year old but I also think it's a good idea to bring another adult along (in addition to yr partner who may want to watch the proceedings unencumbered), if possible, to entertain the kid should he/she get bored. Of course that's not always possible, and you'll all muddle thru however you do it. Good luck!

   posted by : JennyOndioline on 7/2/2008 at 5:02 PM Flag For Abuse

9. I found out at the 20-week that my child had a severe heart defect. This was totally out of the blue. If my older kids had been with us they would've witnessed mom and dad sobbing and a grim-faced doc advising that we terminate. Ultimately our baby died in infancy. Obviously this is very, very rare, but it is possible. I'd opt for the brief date check or some such glimpse at about week 28 or 30 (if it's offered) after you get the all-clear that the heart has four chambers, the brain is in tact and the feet are not clubbed (to name a few.) 20 week u/s is very intense!

   posted by : BBBGMOM on 7/2/2008 at 6:15 PM Flag For Abuse

10. of course "everyone needs to decide for herself" (maresi, above), but the miscarriage issue is real. i, like another commenter, had planned to take my son to the ultrasound; fortunately, due to a scheduling change, he wasn't around to hear that the baby was nonviable. don't think i would have been a competent parent to him, had he been there.

    posted by : jerseymama on 7/7/2008 at 2:28 PM Flag For Abuse

11. I think it all depends on the child. My three year old son Felix and his dad were there for the 20 week sonogram and Felix was much more interested in the female anatomical drawings in the room then the blurry dots on the screen. I was lucky not to have any painful surprises to go through at the time, but found that his ability to absorb what he was seeing was very limited which really hampered my partners availability to me when we found out we are having a girl - OMG! I think if Felix was the quiet, attentive type of boy things would have gone differently. You all know your kids best and that should be your guide, in my view. I don't regret having taken felic, it was worth a try, but now I do have to go into the anatomical differences of boys and girls a little more often then I'd like....Heh.

    posted by : zziomecka on 7/7/2008 at 5:01 PM Flag For Abuse