15 Weeks Pregnant: Symptoms and What to Expect

By Brian Price

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Your Growing Fetus at 15 Weeks

At 4” long and weighing in at 2.47 oz. size your Fetus is right around the size of a cassette tape.

Remember those? Think cell phone-sized.

Baby’s eyes are still closed but if you shine a light into your belly there will probably be a startled response from your internal passenger there.
Baby’s legs are now longer than those tiny little arms and all those joints that were being formed are now working fine and this little human is probably starting to practice his or her moves.

Pregnancy Superfood for Week 15

French fries are this week’s superfood!!

Potatoes are an excellent source of vitamin C, vitamin B6, and more potassium than a banana. Both very important to growing baby and the C helps maintain good collagen. That’s something to consider when facing future stretch marks.

Potassium helps keep blood pressure in check and helps with vomiting so if you’re still having some morning sickness a little potato might help out. Potassium helps with fatigue and to ease muscle cramps, too.

There’s also a little iron and a lot of fiber which is very helpful if you’re experiencing any constipation. When you add a little olive oil and you are including a perfect source of fatty acids to make the carbs release their power.

Making a batch of French fries is one of the easiest ways to add a little fun to a meal and who doesn’t love French fries? We can dress them up with spice or try them with mustard dip.

Potatoes on pretty much everybody’s list of comfort foods and they won’t kill your calorie count at 110-134 calories per potato. Just remember most of that fiber is in the skin and it crisps up nicely when sprayed with olive oil.

Spicy Baked French Fries

Let’s look at this as one potato per serving and adjust the recipe as necessary.

1 russet potato
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
½ tsp. each of the following: garlic powder, chili powder, onion powder, paprika

Preheat the oven to 450 F

Cut potatoes as desired: long fries, wedges or waffled.

In a bowl, toss together olive oil and spices. Stir in potatoes to cover with oil.
Put potatoes on baking sheet and cook 45 minutes in preheated oven.

Serve with favorite dipping sauce.

Top Tip for Week Fifteen

Antacids have a lot of calcium and you need plenty of it.

Inspirational Message of the Week from Already Moms

“Hugs can do great amounts of good, especially for babies”.
Princess Diana

Big Efforts from your Co-Creator

Keep antacids on hand and offer them up after every meal. Also wise: ignore the passing of any and all gas from your partner. You didn’t hear ANYTHING.

This Art of Allowing

Mother Nature and her wicked sense of humor give you a surge of sexual desire and increased digestive problems in the same week. That might be less than ideal but the surge in energy will be appreciated and your partner will be relieved you’re perking up!

You just have to accept that this crazy situation is a roulette wheel of desires and payoffs. Growing a baby spins the wheel and sometimes it lands on wanting to have sex, sometimes it lands on flatulence.

Seriously, your body is having urges and purges, just enjoy whatever you can. Allow yourself to bow out of all activity if you really just don’t feel comfortable. Try to remember you aren’t “doing it wrong” you’re just pregnant and you are not completely in charge anymore.

Pregnancy Symptoms of Week Fifteen

Nosebleeds: This is due to the increased blood supply and you’re not finished increasing it. This is normal, keep tissues handy.

Gum disease and Swollen gums: Pregnancy makes you particularly vulnerable to certain types of gum infections. Try rinsing with salt water and make sure you floss!

Shortness of breath: There’s a little less room inside your body right now so your lungs might not be fully expanding but if this is accompanied by dizziness see your doctor right away.

Weight gain: You are probably up about 5 lbs by now. If you’re eating an extra 300 calories a day you should expect to gain another 1 – 2 lbs per week. If it’s a lot more or less than that you should talk to your doctor.

Increased sex drive: Maybe it’s hormones or the energy returning but it is likely that you will be feeling a LOT more interested in sex!.

Indigestion: Expect gas, upset stomach and heartburn. Increased progesterone relaxes muscles, this includes the muscles that move the intestines. You may be experiencing constipation as well and this too traps gas uncomfortably.

As baby grows putting pressure on the intestines this problem will continue. On top of hormonal changes, your reaction to some foods has changed. Try to keep track of when and what you ate and how you’re feeling an hour later.

Drink lots of water and ingest 25-30 grams of food high in fiber to keep things moving. There are stool softeners available also but avoid laxatives since some of these contain things you should avoid. If you’ve had success with teas for morning sickness you might find they work for this, too but the truth is it’s not so much what you do but what you don’t do that will help the most.

Some kinds of carbs will cause gas in some people even if they aren’t pregnant. Short chain sugars known as FODMAPS draw more fluids into the intestines than other sugars. That’s half the problem. Sugars need to be broken down by enzymes in order to be absorbed through the intestinal wall to produce energy in your body but some of us can’t produce the enzymes that break down FODMAPS.

Instead, they wind up in the large intestine where bacteria ferment them creating gas and other chemicals that can cause pain and constipation or diarrhea. If you’ve had problems with any of these FODMAP types before then try cutting them out now:

Oligosaccharides: Wheat, rye, legumes, some vegetables or fruits

Disaccharides: yogurt, milk, cheese (lactose intolerance fits right here)

Monosaccharides: agave, some fruits, honey

Polyols: sugar-free sweeteners like sorbitol or xylitol, etc., some fruits and vegetables

Your Body will Change and It’s Necessary

Your uterus is rising and taking up more room.
There’s an increased blood supply in this area and a little less square footage for the rest of the organs.
Lungs, intestines, and bladder have to move out of the way a bit in order for the baby to enlarge his or her room. It’s maybe a little inconvenient but absolutely necessary and remember, this is just a short-term rental.

Our Recommended Remedy for Week 15

A medium-sized baked potato has nearly 50 mg of magnesium, 4.7 g of fiber and 897 mg of potassium. It’s also a pretty tasty way to beat constipation. This would go very nicely with a side of Kale sauté.

Our Best Advice to Soothe The Uncomfortable

Tai Chi is an ancient exercise practice that is easy to do and promotes good health. There are postures for anxiety and energy, balance and constipation. The internet offers a number of ways to learn and practice this art every day and you can focus on your specific complaint each day as your body changes.

Tai-Chi-Pregnancy-

YouTube is full of video lessons with a variety of teachers and some practitioners offer online classes for a very small fee. It’s gentle, requires no equipment and can be done in the privacy of your own home or enjoyed with a group. Many gyms or martial arts dojos offer classes and, if you’re very lucky there might be a community center in your town where people gather every morning to practice together. If not, perhaps you can start your own group at the park where pregnant ladies enjoy nature and leg stretching walks.

This is the kind of exercise that can see you through your pregnancy and long after for a healthy workout that improves joints and stretches muscles without stress or damage. It has also been known to bring about a sense of well being similar to meditation practices. It might also be a nice way to start your day with your partner and, maybe in the future, your child will enjoy this family time with you before breakfast and school. A nice combination of ancient ritual and a new, modern family tradition.

Preparation for Motherhood

This is a good time to start thinking about whether you will have a night nurse, will your mom or sister be helping you out or will you and your partner be going it alone. Your mom and close female relatives can tell you about their postpartum experience which may or may not be predictive of your own.

Some women bounce right into all the chaos of motherhood and some need a couple of days to sleep first. You and your partner should talk about what seems practical, what you can afford, whether you are comfortable taking care of a newborn by yourselves or feel like you will really want some extra help in those first few days.