No elective ultrasounds

So my OB will not let us do any elective ultrasounds, there is also nowhere nearby that will do it aside from one place that has to have a written Drs request to even schedule an appointment! I certainly would never go to the ER and misuse their time just to see my baby, so there's not a whole lot of options. We haven't seen our baby since 8 weeks and don't get another ultrasound until 24 weeks! We just wanted to know gender and see how they've grown!

Any advice??