Baths – I did a lot of research about this because of the pain I had and I LOVE baths. If they are warm you are fine except I love my hot baths. It was a little adjustment, but I learned to only like baths at 100 degrees. I had a thermometer and made sure. They helped my muscle pain, sciatic pain and helped me sleep. All you need is some philosophy bubble bath and a thermometer and you are good. I tried not to stay in too long because of all the debate on how hot they can be but from what I researched the amniotic fluid stays at a certain temp whether it is cold or hot outside, so as long as your temp doesn’t rise the babies should stay the same.
Caffeine – I drank coffee everyday in the am. There is much controversy, but I could not find anything that was awful about it. I just made sure it was in moderation and not in any other beverages.
Heartburn – Tums did not really help. I used Mylanta when it was bad and ate smaller meals. Try to figure out what triggers the acid the most. Everyone is affected differently by different food.
Muscle Cramps- My muscle cramping started pretty early. Within the 4th month. I would be woken from sleep due to horrible cramping in my thigh and calf muscles. It wasn’t often and I worked them out. Then in my 6th month I woke at 4:30 am and the pain was so bad I cried and had to get up and walk around and physically try to work the muscle out by massaging the knot. I did work it out, however it then felt like a bruise for several days. I also started getting the muscle cramps in my neck, back, butt and even my ankle. I felt like someone punched me and it hurt to move! I researched it like crazy and nothing worked. Bananas, stretching, baths, more calcium pills and didn’t even try tonic water (they say it is bad for you while pregnant). I was told magnesium may help, but it is controversial on whether you should take to much while pregnant. You should have about 350mg a day. My sister’s friend told me what she did while pregnant and it worked! Her midwife recommended A – B Calm. It has very little magnesium and a lot of calcium. Only 35mg of magnesium per serving. Magnesium is a natural muscle relaxer. I don’t know how the calcium part works, but we need our calcium. It has saved me from the $80 weekly massages that were my last resort. Yeah for Midwives and my sister’s friend! I purchased “A-B Calm” at Whole Foods for around $30.
Sciatica from pregnancy – Not a lot you can do to make it go away, however you can make it bearable. There are many exercises to relieve the pain temporarily. Make sure you keep stretching and walking. When you have bad days take a rest and enjoy a day of relaxing. I took baths no hotter than 100 degrees and that helped. Even though it hurt almost everyday I still walked or did prenatal Pilates. I figured it was going to hurt if I did something or nothing, so I might as well strengthen my body for the big day. I even tried many other things to help, for example; tylenol, bella band, pregnancy belt. The main thing is to just take life a little slower. Take slower walks and don’t push yourself to much. There is not a lot that can be done, but you should still try to enjoy your pregnancy. It is an amazing experience. Remember some days are worse than others. Hang in there!