Opinions Sought on First Child Seeing Second Baby's Ultrasound

I took my son...he was about 3.5. He was interested mostly in the sucker he got! He was a bit disappointed that we weren't taking the baby home...(he was a little confused). And he was very excited it was a girl...he was telling me it was a girl. I'm glad we took him and made him part of the experience.

hey L.h
being a mother of five with another on the way i alwats took my youngest with mt for my ultrasound they thought it was cool to see the new baby in mommy tummy and to find out if they had a little sister or brother. they just sat up there with me and smilled

my daughter was just 1 year old and she went to my ultrasound as soon as they turned off the light she was scared and started crying..

Also -- young kids thing the babies ultrasound looks like a monster.

I would not take him as he wont understand and it might be scary.

Depending on the hospital they may not allow children in the room. It is for safety reasons. The parents are understandably distracted and the child could either get hurt or damage expensive equipment. At the UofM the child has to be at least 10 (I think).
It is also a very long time for a small child to be in a small room.
You can always show them the pictures and maybe even a DVD of the ultrasound! My kids really like the pictures!!
Blessings, K.

We have always included our kids in the Ultrasound. I just had my 20week US and took all three with us. The Tech printed off face pictures for each of the kids as a keepsake. :-D

I am pregnant with my second child. I am planning to take my daughter with me for my mid-term ultrasound. She is 7 years old and is used to being the only child. I want her to be as involved with my pregnancy as possible so she won't feel like she is not getting all of the attention once the baby comes. I want her to feel like a "real big-sister" and that she is part of a bigger family. The father of this child is not her father, so that makes me feel like this is even more important that she go. I want her to feel like she is an important part of this baby's life as the "big sister" by being able to say she saw the baby before it was even born. I truly believe this will give them a sense of being a part of something magical. I think that taking your son will make him see that there really is a baby in your tummy and that he is able to be a part of it. It gives them a sense of involvement and not feeling as if they are being left out and that they are just as important to you as the baby and always will be. Let him know it means a lot to have him involved and being a part of the new baby's life.

I think it would depend on your older child's temperament and attachment to you.
My daughter has always been very attached to me and very needy and didn't seem to care too much about her impending sibling, who was born just before she turned 3. We thought that taking her to the ultrasound would be a family bonding experience and BOY WAS I WRONG! My daughter started freaking out when the ultrasound tech (who was a seasoned grandma and still seemed annoyed by the tantrum my daughter was having) started the ultrasound and had to be physically removed out to the car by my husband. It was horrible.
Some kids get nervous because they think "something is happening to mommy." I would talk to the ultrasound tech or call the ultrasound department if possible to discuss.
Congratulations on number two-- sorry if this scares you, but if I could either save someone else from the same mistake I made or go back and do it differently, I would. Makes a good story now, but I was so embarrassed at the time!

We took our kids to their sibling's ultrasounds and it worked out well. My daughter was 3 when I was pregnant with my youngest. I took her to one of my checkup appts at the OB and she was delighted when she got to come up and help hear the baby's heartbeat. She had even brought along her toy stethscope.

Try to keep your son involved in the pregnancy so he feels a connection to the baby that's coming and so that he doesn't feel left out. He might not seem like he's getting it, but trust me, it sinking in there.

Best of Luck!

Need to check with the office. My docs do not allow more than one person and it cannot be a small child under any circumstances.

hello LH. Congrats on your second pregnancy! I am a mom of soon to be 4 so I can understand some of the anxiety you're feeling. I am also an RN married to a doctor, so I also know some medical stuff...lol. Anyways, I read your post and I don't think it's a good idea to bring your little one to your ultrasound. It's a pretty important appointment and you and the tech need as little distractions as possible. I do know that some places don't even let the parents bring the little ones in for that very reason. Most children won't even realize that the pictures on the screen is a baby anyways. I do hope this helps and please let me know how it all turns out! God bless!

I think you could go either way, but I think you'll be disappointed in his lack of interest. It's just too abstract. We didn't take our kids to any u/s appointments...they were just to young to 'get it'. Even now, at 5 1/2, I will stop when I come upon a baby being born on TV and he will say "Oh, THATS what happens?" then lose interest quickly.

My daughter was 3 1/2 years old and we did not take her. We ended up showing her the pictures and she wasn't all that impressed! She felt like the baby was NEVER going to get here so we felt it would be more confusing. My advice would be not to take your son...my girlfried took her son but he was 6. Whatever you do will be the right thing. Good Luck!

Hello L H

Congrads on Baby #2! Why don't you ask your son if he wants to go? Or what if the person that you have to watch him goes too, that way if he wants to go and see he can, but if he changes his mind then they can sit in the lobby with him, or go for a walk. When we were pregnant with #3 (or so we thought) I didn't have anyone to watch my then almost 2 year old. They had called and said that my blood work came back and they wanted to do an ultrasound. I was worried, but didn't want to go by myself, and didn't have anyone to watch her on short noticed, so we took her and the oldest was at school. Turned out we were having twins and she was there when we found out. No she doesn't remember it and wasn't at all worried she looked at the screen, but couldn't really tell what was what. But also remember how long an ultrasound appt is and you will want to take something for him to do. He's only 3 he's not going to care that much for that long, that's why maybe having someone be able to walk away with him maybe helpful. Good luck!

We took our daughter who was almost two years old. She loved it. She was very excited and talked about it for months after. She had no problem with the wait for the baby to arrive and she benefited from all the time preparing her for the baby's arrival.

L H,
Well, first of all - congrats on baby #2! Secondly, to answer your question, based on my own experience, I would say go ahead and take him... we took our two boys 4 years and 2 1/2 years (I'm expecting baby #3 at the end of September) to our 20 week ultrasound and they were fine with it! To be perfectly honest, after the initial excitement, they were kind of bored and getting antsy :) But, you know your son, do what feels right for you and your family. Hope this helps!

K. :)

I would take him. I am 21 weeks pregnant and I have a 6yo and a 3yo. I took my daughter with me to my son's ultrasound when she was 3 and I took both of my kids to my ultrasound last week. My 3 year old was a little confused with the image on tv but he was able to make the baby out in the pictures. It seemed to help make things alittle more real for him especially when I tell him he can't jump on my stomach or I can't hold him at that moment because of the baby. He is excited about the baby and I told him the baby will be here around Christmas so that helps him realize that we still have a long time to wait. I also hung the ultrasound pictures on the frig so both of my kids can look at them any time they want.

Good luck!

Hi. My daughter was only about a year old when I had my ultrasound for my son. My doctor suggested bring her. It was the best thing for her. She could then see that there was a baby in mommy's tummy and it became "real" fo her. After that, I started talking to her about how much help mommy was going to need taking care of the baby. When baby 2 arrived, we came home with a baby for her too, so she could take care of her baby while I was taking care of my son. It worked like a charm. The more you involve them, the better they handle it. My daughter was 10 mouths old when we brought my son home and she loved to help. That approach may help your little guy see where he is going to fit in when baby #2 arrives. Good luck!!

When I had my 20 wk ultrasound I had the same debate. I took my daughter and son (my daughter was thrilled about the baby my son was NOT) and the immediate outcome was not good. We found out we were having a girl. My son said not a word until we got to the car. Once we were on our way home he told us that he already has a sister and didn't need another one. However, it did seem to make it real to him that another person was coming. I really feel like he got his resentment and anger out while I was pregnant and once she was born it was an enjoyable experience. He never pushed her out of the way or showed any sign of feeling replaced or unimportant. So I guess my advice would be go ahead and make it real. Handle his emotions while he's still your only baby.
Best of luck to you!!
J.

My son, who was about 28 months when I had my daughter's ultrasound, really enjoyed being there. I think he felt like we were including him, and he very much liked checking out the equipment as well (typical boy :)). I'd say go for it!

when I was pregnant with #3 I took my then 3 1/2 yr old and almost 2 yr old to the 20wk ultrasound. They loved it and we found out we were having a boy, my first 2 kids are girls. So that made it fun for them to know they were having a brother and also prepared them more for it and then they could talk to him in my belly. It was fun for all of us. I then had my mom take the kids home since I had to have my regular appt after the ultrasound.
If you choose to take your son or not it will be fine. I am sure if you don't take him he will not even know the difference down the road. Good luck with everything.

My son was 3 when I went to my ultrasound last year and we let him come along. We actually had the regular ultrasound as well as the 3-D ultrasound. He did not really get much out of the regular ultrasound because he couldn't determine where the baby was on the screen since it doesn't look much like a real baby. The ulrasound techniician did her best to try and point things out to him along the way (when he seemed interested) but mostly he just played with the toys we brought. However, once she did the 3-D ultrasound, he became much more interested - he could tell it was "his" baby brother - and even started telling other people about seeing his brother afterwards.
FYI - The technician at the hospital put a blanket down on the floor for him to play on during the regular ultrasound -not all technicians would think of that so you might want to bring one along!

Of course you should take him! The more involved he is with your pregnancy, the easier it will be for him to accept this new one when it gets here. It is a huge step to go from being an only child to being an oldest child.

I took my daughter how was only about 16 months old at the time to our ultrasound. I had my mom come with us so she could stay with her in the lobby for the first part of the ultrasound, but my daughter got to see her baby brother on the manitor. She really liked being able to see that there was a baby in mommys belly.

as long as he will sit while you have it done. I know alot of ultrasound techs only want kids who are behaved and sit still. Other than that i would take him. Or another thing you could do is show him a picture of the baby when you get home. Don't disclude him from the whole preganacy thing that won't help him adjust I think it will make it worse. also for when the babies born have him help alot witht he baby that way he feels big brother ish. also make him feel important just as much as the baby is too. Congradulations and have a great time.