Welcome to the Pregged pregnancy week-by-week series. Each week-by-week post is separated into three handy sections.
1. Mom – Section one covers the changes mom will experience and the things she may need to consider health-wise.
2. Baby – Section two looks at the development of the fetus and what’s going on with baby inside the womb.
3. Nutrition – Section three covers nutrition for each week of pregnancy so that you know what foods are important to include in your diet at each stage.
6 WEEKS PREGNANT – MOM
Ever wonder why baby’s suck their thumbs or fingers even in the womb? Well, at 15 weeks, they can and do. What could these little souls be worried about? It’s probably just a reflex or an accident and once it happens, baby thinks it’s kind of cool or maybe just bored. Baby is now just 5 inches in length, 2 ounces, so it’s hard to believe that you may have gained 5 or more pounds by now. Not to worry, just eat sensibly, increase your fiber, fruits, veggies, and lean meats. Many women get another ultrasound at 15 weeks or later. This is the perfect time to learn the gender if you want to. Make sure you ask your doctor if he or she sees a ‘turtle’ sign or the ‘hamburger’ sign—turtle it’s a boy, hamburger—it’s a girl.
Baby Development
Looking at the baby on ultrasound in the 15th week, and the baby’s face can be seen opening his or her mouth, touching the face or the low-set ears—even some hearing can be noticed especially if you take a pot and bang on it near the uterus.—and See your baby startle. Some also look like they are making a weird face like a grimace. The legs are now longer than the arms making a human silhouette versus a monkey-like version. The pancreas pumps out insulin, a hormone that regulates the blood sugar level. If your blood sugar is too high, that will make the baby pump out more insulin and cause it to be plumper than usual. However, this does not happen unless you have diabetes and elevated blood sugars. A condition known as gestational diabetes can occur, and you will be tested around 25 weeks to make sure all is well. Even though the eyelids are closed and fused, baby can sense light—just try a flashlight against the abdomen and see how the baby shifts and moves away from the light. He or she is not ready for the harsh realities of the world. Four and a half inches long, barely the size of your palm, now.
Pregnancy Nutrition Week 6
With all those cells, your baby’s relying on you to deliver all the vitamins, minerals, and calories he or she needs to grow and develop.
At 15 weeks pregnant, the good news is that most of the nutrients your baby needs, like vitamin A or protein, are probably already a part of your regular diet. Certain nutrients deserve the spotlight — not because they are more important than any of the other nutrients in your diet, but because these are more likely than others to be lacking in your diet:
Folic acid. Your baby’s nervous system and spinal cord are among the first things to develop, and folic acid (aka folate), found naturally in whole grains, green leafy vegetables, beans, bananas, broccoli, and milk, and added via fortification to breads and cereals, is essential to neural development. The recommended amount of folic acid is 600-800 mcg once you are pregnant. Make sure your prenatal vitamin contains that amount.
Iron. Ensure your intake of this vital mineral by eating such iron-rich foods as beef, duck, soy products, spinach, potatoes (with the skins on), and dried fruits.
Calcium. It does a growing baby body good, building strong bones and teeth. But calcium also does your body good, too — helping to maintain solid bone density and prevent osteoporosis later in life and lowering your risk of preeclampsia now. So, make sure you “got milk” and other calcium-loaded foods, like fortified juice, almonds, sesame seeds, soy products, green leafy, sardines, canned salmon with bones, and broccoli.