Week 15 of Your Pregnancy
Baby’s Development
One of the lesser-known facts of pregnancy is that a woman’s amniotic fluid is strongly affected by what she eats. Studies have shown that women who love highly spiced foods such as curry, garlic, onion and chili have strongly scented fluids. This means that your little one will be exposed to all the culinary experiences you give yourself throughout your nine months. In fact, at week fifteen, your baby’s taste buds are functioning on the same level as an adult. Babies whose mothers regularly ate intensely flavored foods will generally not object to the same tastes when they begin eating solids, due to the fact that they were exposed to them in the womb.
Your baby’s legs are finally longer than his arms and he is starting to enjoy full mobility in all of his joints and limbs. It’s only logical then, that this week should also mark a rapid increase in calcium retention for his developing bones.
Many babies begin to hiccup at this point in development as well. This is largely due to the fact that they starting to practice breathing by swallowing amniotic fluids. This is their first step to learning how to use their still underdeveloped lungs and although you can’t feel the hiccups yet, in a matter of weeks you may begin to feel them all the time!
Your Body and Emotions
With the amount of growth your baby is doing, you may have gained between 5 – 10 pounds at this point. Remember that this is normal and healthy! Most of the weight you gain will be from the baby while approximately 5 pounds will be maternal fat stores. This fat is necessary to allow you to breast feed your little one once she is born. Many women experience rapid weight loss after the baby arrives due to the challenges of nursing and the stress of the first few weeks of life with a newborn. Amazingly enough, you actually need more calories per day to breastfeed an infant than you do to create one!
In the second trimester, rhinitis of pregnancy effects many women. As serious as this sounds, it’s actually just a stuffy nose brought on by the increase in hormones. Of course, you must avoid medications for treatment as they can interfere with the important work going on inside of you. Instead, make yourself comfortable by using some natural methods. Taking a steamy shower or bath will clear up congestion and some women enjoy using a vaporizer at night to prevent drying of the nasal membranes and to keep the mucus loose. DO NOT USE ESSENTIAL OILS!! It’s a common misconception that because they come from plants, they are safe. This is far from the truth. Many oils are toxic for pregnant or breast feeding women and should be avoided as strictly as medications at this stage.
Dad’s Tips
The two of you may be trying to decide on names for your little one at this point. Choosing the right name can be difficult and stressful for the both of you but don’t let it be. You may want to include some family names to show respect but she may want to something entirely different. You may want to name your baby after a character from Star Wars and she may be appalled by the idea…be prepared to go through at least one or two squabbles. The best way to avoid this is to keep the process fun. By working together and compiling lists (laughing about the bad ones along the way) the two of you should be able to meet in the middle and finally land upon one that just ‘sounds right’ for both of you. |
