15 weeks pregnant

What is happening this week?

• Baby’s crown to rump length is 10-11 cm or 4-4.3 inches. Baby weighs about 100 grams or 3.5 ounces.
• Baby may be sucking its thumb.
• Baby’s facial muscles have developed enough for it to make faces, such as frowning, although it has no control over its expressions.
• You may be starting to feel baby move now. First time moms may not feel baby move till closer to 20 weeks.
• Baby’s sex is distinguishable. If you have an ultrasound it is possible to detect the baby’s gender this early.
• In the brain, nerve cells are forming and moving from the central to the outer areas. As yet, any neural activity is still very immature.
• You’ll probably be asked if you want screening for tube defects or Down’s Syndrome.
• Moms may feel frustrated that they are too big for regular clothes but don’t quite fit into maternity clothes.
• Mom may be taken aback by a sudden increase of libido.

This week I’ve been reading and working out! As for the workouts I’m doing walking, prenatal body sculpting, prenatal yoga and belly dancing for labor, which I will review in the following weeks, as for reading, here are some snippets of two books I already posted about in the previous weeks:

What I’ve learnt today from Pregnancy Day By Day:

• ABOUT SLEEPING WHEN PREGNANT: “You should avoid sleeping on your back in the second half of your pregnancy.” “This is because the weight of your uterus will press on the major veins that return blood to your heart, which may result in dizziness, low blood pressure, and possibly a reduction in blood flow to the uterus. Ideally, lie on your left side (although it will do you or your baby no harm to lie on your right side) since this is actually good for you and the baby. It improves blood flow to the placenta and helps your kidneys eliminate fluids and waste products.” “It’s fine to lie on your front if you prefer (your baby is safely cushioned in the amniotic fluid), but the bigger you get, the more difficult this will become.”

• ABOUT ASPIRIN WHEN PREGNANT: Funny story: one person told me to take aspirin before my long-term flight “just in case” but I decided I will not take. Now I read “don’t use aspirin unless directed by your doctor, since it can cause serious side effects.” You really need to make decisions for yourself!

What I’ve learnt from Pre-Parenting: Nurturing Your Child from Conception:

• ABOUT NANNIES: mommy professionals won’t like this, even I wouldn’t have liked it, had I read it over a year ago: “Studies showed that emotional, social, and behavioral measurements were significantly higher for children in maternal care. Indeed, analysis revealed, the type of nonmaternal care was virtually meaningless – whether babies were cared for by day care centers, baby-sitters, or older siblings, those in nonmaternal day care (even high quality day care) scored lower on behavioral and emotional scales than those being cared for by their mother.” Wow! So the best gift you can give your baby is to be a full time mommy!

• ABOUT TV AND INFANTS: “Excessive time in front of the TV damages children by displacing other activities, exposing them to violent and dysfunctional content, suppressing creative imagination, and raising the level of stimulus required for everyday living while shortening the attention span.”

HOW’S YOUR 16TH WEEK GOING? PLEASE SHARE IN THE COMMENTS SECTION

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