The second trimester is in full swing as you enter pregnancy week 15. The baby has now fully developed proportions, as their legs, arms, and torso have caught up with their heads. Your baby is increased his or her length by 2.5 cm and has quickly grown from the rough size of a chicken's egg to an orange - in less than two weeks! That bump on your tummy is starting to expand and you may notice some other areas beginning to grow quickly, too.

As you matriculate into the 15th week of pregnancy, you might be in awe over the metamorphosis your body has undergone. However, as we've discovered in the previous weeks – the journey is not quite over. During the second trimester, you and your baby are starting to become more connected. In week 15 it's not uncommon for mothers to start feeling their babies becoming more active, as well as noticing rapid changes in their own bodies. This is often due to their little helper’s rapid growth – as the baby is now approximately 11.5 cm long and developing quicker than most can fathom.

Baby’s Development

The development of your baby is kicking into high speed in week 15. It's during this time during any normal pregnancy where your baby will begin to develop a fine-layer of hair called lanugo. Lanugo keeps them warm while their bodies develop sub-cutaneous fat that we all refer to as 'baby fat', which will develop mainly in the third trimester. It's also during week 15 of your pregnancy where the baby's eyelids begin to become light sensitive. In fact, even though their eyelids are still shut, if you had the ability to shine a flashlight into your belly it's quite possible that the baby would actually shy away from the light.

Babies also start to develop their taste buds, and are fine-tuning their grasping, swallowing, and sucking skills they will need upon emerging into the outside world. Their ears are also developed and surprising to many, babies by week 15 can hear your voice. Week 15 is the perfect time to start talking to the baby – if you haven't already been doing this since the day you found out!

Mother’s Development

During week 15 of the pregnancy, many mothers notice some physical changes on the outside of their bodies. One of the most commonly noticed changes is the appearance of a dark-line that runs down the baby-bump. Medically – this line is referred to as 'linea-nigra'. The line itself is nothing to be alarmed about and is very common for many women to experience. It typically fades shortly after childbirth.

It's also during this week of development that the afore mentioned 'baby-bump' is beginning to become more prominent. This typically causes changes in sleep and sitting positions, as well as changing the position in which you'll drive a car. The important thing to remember is that from this point forward – negotiating the baby bump is going to be more difficult with each passing week of gestation.

Fun Facts

n the paragraph above we mentioned the issues that new mommies experience in regards to adapting to things like, well… steering wheels. Certain objects like these may get in your way more and more often from here on out. Here are a few tips that will help you circumvent this issue. While you are getting in the car, make sure that your seatbelt is fastened over the top of the belly and in-between the breasts. This is also the best time to adjust the steering wheel – once you're safely buckled into the car. A good idea for driving safety is to be as far away from the steering wheel as possible – without compromising your ability to safely steer or use other controls on the steering wheel.