Disclosure: I’ve been ultra-blessed with 4 very healthy pregnancies, and very few complaints. (Our biggest problem has been getting pregnant in the first place!) My experience with many of these common discomforts is nil, so once again, dear readers… help a girl out! Chime in with your complaints and your remedies.
1. Heartburn ~ (Ducking as I say this…) Never had it. Well, maybe I had it last week for a couple of days, for the first time ever. My chest felt “hot” and I felt like I could burp up a fireball. (lovely) Is that it? I believe some of my friends have “lived off of Tums and Rolaids” but that’s all I know. Remedies, anyone? (I’ve heard great things about ice cream!)
2. Sciatic Nerve Pain ~ This one’s mine! My babies constantly ride on my nerves, quite literally. (But I love them anyway!) There are days when every step is uncomfortable, and sometimes downright painful. The pain is in my hips and rear end, sometimes shooting down my leg, and is always at its worst when I’ve been sitting too long. Remedies…
- Get up and move! I feel much better when I’m mobile and exercising regularly, even when the first few steps hurt.
- Sit on my birth ball and roll around. Loosens the hips and feels good.
- Water. I love swimming during pregnancy! There is no pain in the water because it lifts that baby right up off the hips. Bliss!
- Massage. I lean over a gliding ottoman with my belly hanging down, and my husband massages my backside. (Hmmm, don’t you wish I had a vlog of that one?!) Tennis balls come in handy here, too. They can be rolled over the pressure points. Great for labor pains!
3. Gas ~ Can’t believe I’m admitting to this one. You’ll still read my blog, right? It’s not just obnoxious, it’s painful! Remedies…
- Walking. Lots and lots of walking seems to move things along.
- Water. Drinking lots and lots of water (obviously) keeps things moving, too. That’s all I got (except for lots of gas)!
4. Insomnia ~ I’m a sleeping champion; learned it from my dad. 
But… during pregnancy, sleep doesn’t always come easily. Crazy dreams, super tired, wide awake. It’s not a comfortable thing at 2am! Remedies…
- Get off the stinkin’ computer! Any tv/movie/computer stimulation isn’t helpful for sleep.
- Take a warm (very warm for me, thank you very much) bath before bed.
- Nap during the day when you can, because you know you won’t sleep much at night. (I’m so helpful, huh?!)
5. Constipation and/or Hemorrhoids ~ You’ll have to help me out with this one. I’m the gassy girl, remember? I suppose the obvious remedies are…
- Drink lots and lots of water.
- Talk to your doctor/midwife about your prenatal vitamin. The iron might be an issue.
6. Congestion (stuffy nose)~ Babies create more blood-flow, which sometimes creates congestion. I do have a hard time with this one, especially early in pregnancy. Since most medications are not an option, here are my solutions…
- Prop up. I use at least two pillows for my head during pregnancy.
- My beloved NasaFlo Neti Pot
gets lots of use before bed time.
- My new favorite congestion relief is Breathe Right Nasal Strips
. The menthol variety is the best! They are pricey, but so worth the money for sleep!
- The very warm bath or shower before bed loosens congestion, too.
7. Restless Leg Syndrome ~ Sometimes my legs get all twitchy once I hit the bed. I’m sure my case is mild, but it’s enough to keep me awake at times, and enough to wake my hubby, who will then massage the twitchy legs so that he can get some sleep! (I should totally milk this one for all it’s worth!) Remedies…
- Massage
- Warm bath before bed
- Exercise during the day to tire those legs out
- Amy from Raising Arrows has better tips on this than mine
8. Morning Sickness or worse, Hyperemesis ~ I’ve thrown up once in 4 pregnancies. Please don’t hate me! Yes, I lose my appetite. Yes, I have a watery mouth and have to force-feed myself at times early on. Yes, certain smells gross me out. But that’s about the extent of it. I say do your best to eat some protein and drink lots of water, but what do I know?! You tell me your solutions!
9. Headaches ~ Again, I’m feeling quite fortunate. Don’t believe I’ve even taken Tylenol this time around. I do get tension headaches with the tight shoulders and such, but that’s what my husband is for. Massage and sleep. That’s all I’ve got for ya. What do the rest of you do?
10. Growing Pains/Ligament Pain ~ Around weeks 13-20ish I get crampy. It’s scary more than anything, especially after having miscarried at 11 weeks. My doctor tells me it’s the baby growing and my muscles and ligaments accommodating, which is a good thing, but it certainly doesn’t feel like a good thing! My solution is to take it easy at that time, and when I get crampy… to sit. (Crampy, not crabby!) Anyone else?
Told you I have easy, healthy pregnancies. I know some of you struggle, though, with very real ills. Please do share what is or has bothered you and what you’ve done to relieve the discomfort. I’m sure there’s a very uncomfortable pregnant friend out there somewhere who wants to know!
Linked to Top Ten Tuesday.
I was able to avoid heartburn by eating smaller meals and staying upright for a while afterwards (i.e., don’t stuff your face with acidic food and then go to bed). It really stank, but I was able to avoid it if I was conscientious. I had 30 weeks of nausea with my last pregnancy — and never discovered any remedy. My mom told me the less she moved, the better it was for her (in terms of nausea). Hard to accomplish with other kiddos!
Those are great! Thanks for posting. I’ve had heartburn with all three, mostly at night. Tums (if you’re comfortable taking those while preggo) always worked for me. Water and not eating food with a lot of citrus helps too.
Burping and gas is a HUGE one for me too. Water helps and once again eating few starchy foods or acidic foods seemed to lighten the blow.
Regarding #4 – - Yes! (It’s 12:54 local time, and I’m wide awake)
Regarding your first solution for #4 – You so busted me! I guess I should finish my graham crackers and milk and get to bed, or read a book or something!
I think you hit the big ones!
charlie horse’s
vericous viens
headache
back pain
I’ve had 5 pretty easy pg’s, but i musy say the pg’s in my 20′s were so much easier than the ones in my 30′s. I also have 5 angels waiting for me!
Charlie Horse! How could I forget those… had them bad with my first. Obviously not bad enough this time to remember for the post, though!
I was 28 with my first pregnancy, and can REALLY tell a difference from then till now (I’m 35.)
Charlie horses–point your toes up as hard as you can, as soon as it starts, to stretch the muscles. That prevented all but about 3 leg cramps on my last pregnancy. Also, don’t sleep on your back. With my first, I kept rolling onto my back during the night, but when I forced myself to stop, the leg cramps stopped.
For headaches, the best thing for me is to drink lots of water. It’s rare that I get a headache that several cups of water and a nap won’t cure, although I know some people get horrible headaches.
Exercise and water were my best friends on this last pregnancy. Unlike my first two, I exercised regularly and drank tons more water, and it was amazing how many problems those two solved.
Ugh. This morning I woke up on my back, and … sure enough… major leg cramp when I tried to roll out of bed!
Well, considering it is 2:30 am here, I am obviously NOT heeding your advice to stay off the computer to help with insomnia! lol
And I am so trying not to hate you for throwing up ONCE! Morning sickness scares me much more than the end of pregnancy, but I always manage. In fact, each pregnancy has gotten better in this area, so I am thankful for that.
And since we are being candid here, I’m not a constipation gal, but I have had hemms something terrible in a couple of my pregnancies. The best remedy for me was to take as hot a bath as I could stand. I think they even call them something…sitz bath, maybe? Worked wonders!
Thanks for linking to me and HOORAY, we’re almost there!
Blessings,
Amy
Heartburn…I don’t know of any “natural” remedy except I got very mild relief from drinking milk slowly and deliberately. I concentrated on it going down and imagined it coating everything it touched, but that only helped for a little while. I took tums in vast amounts. One day I asked my doc what is too much? I followed the package rules, but I doubt they expected I’d take it every single day for months on end. He said if you get a kidney stone it’s too much. When I told him I’d had them before my OB said absolutely do not take tums or rolaids. Take the liquid mylanta that is not calcium carbonate (GROSS). So I suffered through the next few weeks with nothing until I was admitted at 27 weeks for preeclampsia. They gave me some hard core prescription for long term lying prone after I couldn’t make it through an ultrasound without sitting up breaks.
So…if you are at risk for kidney stones do the liquid mylanta.
How miserable for you!
That was a great job. Thanks for sharing this post. It really happens that many of pregnant moms suffer different kind of discomforts. Thanks for giving the information on what to do about them. This is really a helpful one especially for those who are pregnant.
My heartburn is SO bad I take Prevacid or Prilosec. They are “allowed” and otherwise I am so, so miserable and don’t ever want to eat.
During my pregnancy with Libbie, my tailbone twisted and I get really bad pain there ever since. This time has been better because I am not at a desk all day! (And another good reason to not sit in front of the computer…)
I’ve had hyperemesis with two of three pregnancies and, when it got to that point, the only solution was to be admitted and receive IV fluids. (They had to pump 5L into me before I could even THINK about going to the bathroom!) My official diagnosis was “hyperemesis gravidarum” and it was lousy… I was 22 weeks pregnant with my son and eight pounds lighter than my (low end of healthy) pre-preg weight. Ick. BUT… before it gets to that point, I’ve found that, yes, protein and also high levels of vitamin B helped me immensely in combating the nausea. One more “thing that ailed me” was fainting. It only happened with my girls and the OB told me it was due to my iron being down. Drinking orange juice (or another vitamin C source) alongside my iron-rich foods helped my body better absorb the mineral and put an end to my passing out. Good thing because an unconscious mommy is a scary thing for other little ones!
This is reasonably minor, but I had a lot of trouble with dry nasal passages. I imagine the Neti pot might help, but I just carried a little bottle of saline spray that you can get at pharmacies or big box stores. It wasn’t my favorite thing to do, but it sure made things feel better.
Strangely, my teeth seemed to hurt a lot more while I was pregnant. I ended up having some dental work done (with my midwife’s OK of course) and that helped.
Finally, I always felt hot, especially at night. I didn’t wake up and have to go to the bathroom, I woke up and needed to cool off! Would love to hear some remedies for this as I still struggle with it somewhat even after my daughter was born.
Oh, golly. I could hardly BRUSH my teeth when pregnant with my first. Made me gag.
I get hot at night, too! We don’t change the house temp, so I don’t know what’s going on there…
I didn’t have too much trouble with brushing my teeth but some cousins told me they discovered that if they stayed upright instead of bending over to the sink to spit, it really helped…
I’m becoming more and more convinced that there’s some sort of hormonal or possibly thyroid thing going on with the hot at night thing. Kinda like hot flashes and night sweats and menopause hormones or lack thereof or whatever, kwim?
With my first son I had to change toothpaste about 5 or 6 times to find one that didn’t make me sick. It was pretty funny/annoying. My other pregnancies didn’t have that issue.
You know what’s weird? I’m totally *obsessed* with my current toothpaste. Like I want to brush my teeth 5 times a day or something… it tastes so good! WEIRD
It’s got to be hormonal. And if you’ve had thyroid issues anyway… probably related.
I got Breathe Right Strips for $1.68 a box last spring. For some reason, my stuff nose at night continued after baby #2. ???? I watched for them to go on sale, had my coupons ready and Rite Aid had a major allergy rebate and these were included. It pays to watch for a sale!
My biggest problem has been heartburn! I eat a lot of Tums. I had a friend suggest eating almonds and that has helped. They are better to eat than Tums
Heartburn- avoiding trigger foods and either a tall glass of milk or a small scoop of ice cream (nothing with chocolate) worked well during my first pregnancy. Towards the end, I’d have to get up halfway through the night for more milk or some tums. With #2 and #3, NOTHING works except a perscription. If I don’t take it (and spend at least 2 hours upright before heading to bed) I cannot sleep- it’s the craziest burning/have to throw up feeling.
Insomnia- my favorite solution for this is a nice warm shower in the dark. I turn on the halway light, crack the bathroom door just enough to see, and get into a warm shower. It also helps with the backpain and restless leg thing. A bath sounds nice, but turning on the light and then trying to pull myself out of the tub would probably wreck the dreaminess that is my warm shower in the dark
I might fall asleep in that warm, dark shower!
We’re expecting #4 in 37 days (but who’s counting!). I’ve had the “usual” complaints: morning sickness in the first trimester, heartburn, fatigue, mild swelling in my ankles for a week or so (mostly due to the heat), stuffy nose, headaches…etc.
None of those compare to the ligament pain that just started a few days ago. It seriously hurts to walk and stairs are torture. I don’t remember it being this bad with any of my others, although that could be selective memory. Right now I’m taking Tylenol (OK-ed by my O.B.) and heating up a rice sock to apply to the worst spots or even to sit on. Those measures have helped some but I sure hope the next few weeks go quickly.
Our due dates are very close! Race you to the finish.
Great post. Will definitely recommend this post, to a few ladies I know, who are expecting!
I actually have a relatively easy pregnancy – aside from being two weeks late, in August. It was the birth (including an emergency c-section), that was the kicker.
This is my first pregnancy, and I’m 16 wks along, so I’m learning by trial and error.
Heartburn: had it once already. It came because I got hungry and ate in the middle of the night (note to self, don’t eat in the middle of the night even if you’re hungry). I propped my head up with an extra pillow or two and that seemed to help.
Nausea/ vomiting: lemonade, club soda, and ginger ale helped. I don’t have anyone else to help me cook, so I tried to snack while I cooked, and I tried to cook food that wouldn’t unnecessarily smell up the house. And my comfort food has been red grapes! Love those!
I’m having the ligament pain/stabbies currently. Wish I knew what to do about them. All I can do is just remind myself that baby is growing. I rub my tummy in circles and that seems to help, and I try not to shift positions too quickly.
Insomnia: I have this too. Wish I knew what to do about it. If I wake up in the night for any reason, I’m up for quite awhile. Blah.
Ha! I was eating a bowl of red grapes when I read your comment.
I’ve had a lot of trouble sleeping with this, my third, pregnancy. My doctor ok-ed it for me to take unisom on those nights that I really couldn’t sleep. That stuff is amazing. I usually take it with a Vitamin B-6 shortly before bed.
I didn’t have very uncomfortable pregnancies either. My main problem was headaches due to dehydration. Not that I was abnormally dehydrated, just that the baby took ALL my water! So, I had to carry around a water bottle and drink nonstop.
Now whenever I get a headache my husband says, “Are you pregnant?!”
I had terrible morning sickness at about 10 weeks. Nothing helped. I just ate what I could and drank lots of green tea. It was always 11am when I got sick, somehow.
I’m a hairdresser by trade, and worked until 39weeks, so my legs and feet we in a constant state of ache or swelling. Luckily I have the greatest fiance around so massages were a nightly gift!
I think being on your feet all day as a hairdresser would be difficult even WITHOUT pregnancy!
I had horrible hip pain during my pregnancy. I asked my doctor for a referral to a physical therapist specializing in women’s health. Turns out my hips were rotated forward–basically were off their rocker–from the loosened ligaments of pregnancy. Apparently it’s a very common problem, and the solution is very simple, but most doctors are not familiar with it. It made a world of difference for me! It took care of the hip pain, and I was able to sleep at night. It’s highly worth asking for a referral for anyone experiencing hip pain during pregnancy!!
Oh, ouch! Mine never gets *that* bad…
I’ve learned and experienced that legumes (i.e. beans) are helpful for a number of pregnancy (and non-pregnancy) discomforts, especially morning sickness. They help with heartburn too as the keep the stomach acidity down, and inflammation (possibly reducing nose stuffiness). Here’s a link to good information about eating beans for morning sickness: http://karenhurd.com/concern_morning_sickness.html
This is one remedy that can only benefit you, no risks involved, so you may as well give it a shot!
Very interesting! And a great source of frugal protein at that.
For not having experienced most of these things, you’re right on the money with your tricks and tips!
My biggest discomforts during pregnancy were all-day nausea and pain in my legs, hips, and back. There were a couple of things that helped me that you didn’t mention. For the hip/leg/back pain, I did pelvic tilts several times a day and wore a support belt as needed (e.g., when out running errands all day). For the nausea, I consumed a lot of ginger tea and yogurt, ate small but frequent meals and snacks (I never went anywhere without a granola bar or some ginger snaps in my purse), and rested at the table for 10-15 minutes after eating.
A quick word about heartburn: a sudden, severe attack of it can be an early warning sign of preeclampsia, particularly if you’ve never had it before and are in your third trimester. I found this out the hard way. So don’t feel silly about calling your doctor or midwife if it happens to you.
Yes! Pelvic tilts — forgot about those. Borrowed a bella band from my sister this time around. I think that helped with my early ligament pain.
I haven’t seen anyone address it yet, but for constipation and hemorrhoids I make sure I drink lots of water. Beans and fruit are my best friends but when I can’t have those (grocery money’s gone or I’m at work and they’re not available) I put a scoop of Benefiber (dissolves great and the cheap Target brand is just as good) into a glass of fruit juice, hot chocolate or water.
My doctor said that exercise helps with the constipation but getting off my feet and laying down will alleviate the hemorrhoids – I guess it’s all about balance with these two.
Excellent advice. I think exercise helps a LOT of pregnancy-related ills, but we can only do what we can do…
I went into my pregnancy with constipation issues… and despite my informing my doctor of my MAJOR issues, he never really believed me. Miralax is fabulous though and totally helped me survived the post c-section recovery. (When the doc still didn’t believe me, despite almost having to go back to the hospital due to clogged GI system.) My mother in law is a nurse practitioner and assured me that Miralax is inert (molecules too big to pass through the intestinal wall)… I only wish I knew about it during my pregnancy and not just after. For those of us with significant issues in this area, walking and diet simply are not enough to combat the extra hormones and organ shifts that a pregnancy causes… It’s still my best friend for those times when my body gets cranky!
Thanks for the Miralax tip, greendragonfly – I’m certainly going to remember that. You’re totally right about diet and exercise not always being enough. I’ve had constipation issues most of my life and it’s been a miracle that I have not had a more difficult time with it during pregnancy.
You are so cute! I’m enjoying this series a lot. I just found out I’m pregnant with our second and feel a lot more confident this time around. I get really nauseous in the beginning and the only thing that helps me is eating carbs. Crackers and pasta! Luckily it only last for a couple of weeks so I don’t pile on a bunch of pounds! LOL
Nicole
Oh, I think I had all these and then some! LOL Like you, I was blessed with 5 pregnancies (one miscarriage, 4 kids) after waiting YEARS to get pregnant. But, unlike you…my pregnancies pretty much bit.
Sick for at least 20 weeks (34 with the last one, Zofran was my friend), insomnia so bad I had to take Ambien, what I thought was horrible heartburn was actually my gallbladder…surgery 8 weeks after the baby was born, diastasis of the pubic symphysis making it almost impossible to roll over in bed much less walk…I was a TRAIN WRECK!!! 
I discovered Crabtree & Evelyn’s La Source Mineral Muscle soak while pregnant with my first – it soothed a world of aches through my first two pregnancies. May totally have been a psychosomatic thing, but I loved it!!!
Ugh! You poor thing… I say at that point, psychosomatic is irrelevant. Do what feels good!
I was so sick with morning- or should I say all day- sickness, that I wasn’t permitted to travel to Disneyworld (a scheduled trip) while pregnant with my son…because I was losing weight. I invested in Sea-Bands… little bands that actually look like sweat bands from the 80′s for your wrists, that have little plastic knobs/buttons that push on your pressure points for nausea. They were miraculous. I was good for three days straight from then on, so hopped a plane I did! All was well for the remaining 5 months!
Good to know! That’s one of those things that I raise my eyebrow at… does it really work, or do they just want my money?!
Chiropractor!! She saved my life last pregnancy, especially with avoiding that sciatic/lower-back pain. Also, a good chiropractor can help with proper baby position during pregnancy AND labor!
Now my question: what about varicose veins?!? Have my first ones.
Oh, how I wish we had a good chiropractor around here! I’ve had lower back aches for the last several days and that is making me NERVOUS… had back labor with my second baby and do NOT want to repeat that one!
The veins… I’ve never had them. I hear that support hose and keeping your feet up are the best “solutions” but they are a pain (literally)! My sister-in-law might have to have hers *stripped* when she’s finished having children.
So many great ideas and hints and tips to avoid the suffering that many women seem to go through during their pregnancy….I had bad morning sickness with all of my 3 children, so bad I couldn’t even put the toothbrush inside my mouth before the vomiting started, and was recommended anything with ginger…so I started to drink ginger tea whenever I felt queasy, just a few sips and this seemed to work ok….ginger flavoured lollies also worked quite well….couldn’t quite come to grips with eating raw ginger though!
This time around (third pregnancy) I had terrible nausea for a couple of months. A friend suggested taking some vitamins. I took, along with my prenatals of course, B-6 and ginger. I wish I had known about them much earlier. They certainly didn’t eliminate the nausea, but made it so much more manageable.
I know this is a much older post, and hopefully someone who stumbles upon your website via google or pinterest will find your posts as helpful as I do. I am pregnant with my first, and I swear it was almost 6 weeks straight of running to the bathroom. I was good about keeping food down during the day, but first thing in the morning, or at night after dinner I was in trouble. The key to morning sickness for me anyways was to catch myself before I got too hungry. If I ever got too hungry, then I got into trouble. (In the morning, try to get something in your stomach before you’re “awake”, and not just crackers. Try for something like cheese.) Also, the last few weeks of the nausea, sucking on ice really helped me get my liquids in (just don’t crunch on the ice because it can ruin your teeth, and your doctor will worry that it’s a sign for anemia) Yes I went through tons of Ginger ale and sprite, but I felt I wasn’t getting enough water for me, so I tried to drink one glass of water per one glass of carbonated drink. If you’re worried about the water hitting your empty stomach, drink it with a light snack of some kind. I hope this helps anyone reading who has killer morning sickness like I did.
Yes. Before you get to hungry. I hear that a lot. Great advice!