15 Weeks Pregnant: What To Expect

At 15 weeks, you have not only successfully completed the first trimester of your pregnancy but are well into your second one. Morning sickness should subside by now and your aversion to smells and food must be under control.

By the 15th week of your pregnancy, you will feel more energetic and you may also notice that your libido will be restored, and you may start craving for some action. And the best part is that your little one will not be affected by it.

Video: 15 Weeks Pregnant: What to Expect

Your Baby’s Growth During Pregnancy – Week 15

Your baby is now about the size of an orange or an apple. At the onset of the 15th week, your baby will have started developing eyebrows, hair, and skin. More importantly, your baby’s skeleton is beginning to form properly, though it still, more or less feels like soft cartilage.

In a nutshell, your baby is definitely looking more like a fully formed human being. The ears will have positioned at the side of the head as it normally should and the eyes will have taken their position on the face. It’s possible that you may start feeling your baby moving and flexing in your tummy while working on sucking, swallowing, and breathing.

What is the Size of the Baby at 15 Weeks?

Since your baby is barely as big as an apple when you are 15 weeks pregnant, your baby’s size is only around 3-4 inches long, and like an orange, your baby weighs only around 50 to 60 grams. However, you can rest assured that your baby still has his/her organs in place, maturing each day.

In a nutshell, your baby is growing rapidly at the onset of the 15th week and should already be making it hard for you to catch your breath as your body has started working hard to accommodate the growing baby.

Common Bodily Changes

As your baby’s body is steadily changing in the 15th week, it is normal to expect body changes during pregnancy in yourself as well. Besides all the changes that your body has already undergone, you can look forward to the following changes:

• Your baby bump should be more pronounced and the good news is that it is only going to grow more rotund.
• Since your body is beginning to work hard to accommodate your baby’s body, you may start feeling congested from time to time.
• Ideally, this is the time when you should be looking forward to gaining some weight.
• If you have not invested in maternity wear yet, your normal clothes might start to feel constrictive.

Symptoms of Pregnancy at Week 15

By now you should be used to experiencing a new symptom every once in a while ever since you got pregnant! It’s needless to say that the 15th week will be no different. Some of these symptoms may include:

• Sex drive: This is officially the new symptom of the 15th week of your pregnancy. While for the last few months, you may have been feeling sick, moody and in general avoided sex. However, with the onset of the 15th week, you should feel energetic enough to indulge in some pleasure.
• Sensitivity to smells: Your nasal passages will tend to be more sensitive. With an increase in the volume of blood, you may experience nosebleeds.
• Shortness of breath: You will also see that you will be short of breath as your body is trying to accommodate another human being.
• Indigestion/ Heartburn: This is another symptom that you will definitely experience, as your hormones do their trick and relax the muscles in the digestive system.
• Bleeding gums: You may notice red swollen and extremely sensitive gums at this point in your pregnancy. This mostly happens because of the pregnancy hormones that induce gingivitis (inflammation of the gums). You may also notice a small bump like a pregnancy benign tumour, however, it is completely painless and harmless. In case you develop this, it will normally fade away after delivery.

Belly at 15 Weeks of Pregnancy

For most of you, your baby bump should be showing, especially if this is not your first pregnancy. For first time mothers, there is also a chance that you might still not be showing much or can at least cover up the tell-tale signs well.

In any event, the 15th week of pregnancy marks quite the transition in your second trimester and pregnancy. You should really gear up for your uterus to no longer fit well inside the pelvis. At the onset of the 15th week, it should already be stretching to accommodate your baby.

Ultrasound Scan at 15 Weeks of Pregnancy

This week’s ultrasound will reveal that your baby is doing a whole lot of stretching without you even realizing it. Now that all the limbs and joints of your baby are more formed, your baby will definitely squirm a lot inside your body. The maximum that you will ever feel from these activities would be probably a butterfly or bubble-like sensation inside your belly. It is also noteworthy that your baby is also likely to have a bout of hiccups in there.

What to Eat

Among all the things that will worry you, the 15th-week pregnancy food menu will definitely feature on the top of the list. What may also stress you out about eating correctly is that you are no longer eating only for yourself, but for another human being that’s steadily growing. Before you fret, check out the list of what to eat as a suggestion.

• Include a good portion of whole fruits and leafy green vegetables in your diet.
• Don’t forget to include a little starch from bread and iron-fortified cereals.
• Do include milk and dairy products in your diet as you need calcium for bone growth of the baby.
• Round off your food worries with a good helping of proteins, especially lean meats, oily fish, eggs etc. A small portion of well-cooked of red meat will also help you get essential proteins.
• Eat well-cooked eggs to get some omega 3 fatty acids.

Care Tips

It should come as no surprise that now is the time you keep yourself as well as your baby safe and sound. It is never too much to make wise lifestyle choices in order to give birth to a healthy baby.

Dos

• Stay hydrated
• Get plenty of rest and regular hours of sleep
• Eat proper portion of food at the right time
• Take medication as prescribed by your doctor
• Exercise in moderation to deal with aches

Don’ts

• Expose yourself to places that are contaminated or dirty
• Overdo workouts
• Take medication without consulting your doctor
• Think negative
• Starve yourself or your bab

What You Need to Shop For

When it comes to having a baby, your shopping list will obviously be endless. However, let’s examine a practical list that will come in handy.

• Comfortable shoes, preferably flats.
• Body pillows to help you sleep when you experience pain or aches.
• Healthy snacks to keep you fit and satiate your hunger.
• Books on pregnancy and parenthood.
• Comfortable maternity clothes. Brands, such as Bella Mama has a variety of maternity wear, such as printed kurtas, maternity ethnic wear, nursing bras and nighties (which can also come in handy after your child is born), maternity tops, night suits, maternity leggings, palazzos, track pants, etc.
• Lotions and moisturizers because your skin may tend to get dry.

Staying informed and positive during pregnancy can make your pregnancy journey easier and you will be able to enjoy every minute of your journey to motherhood.

Previous Week: 14 Weeks Pregnant

Next Week: 16 Weeks Pregnant