During my first pregnancy, I really didn’t have a clue what was going on with me. I read every book I could find and managed to get myself very uptight and upset, and found myself worrying about every possible thing that could go wrong. Then I found The Girlfriends’ Guide to Pregnancy by Vicki Iovine.

The author doesn’t pretend to be an expert in anything other than being a mom and surrounding herself with good friends. She gives you the straight scoop on what’s going on with your body, your emotions, your mood swings and everything else that is non-medical. Best of all, she made me laugh, and I think she’ll make you laugh, too.

Just you wait until everyone around you starts to get competitive with their babies, starts talking about what’s inside those diapers and rehashes horror stories. Then remember to take a deep breath and laugh.

Having a headache while pregnant is no fun. With the dry air of the Santa Ana winds this week in San Diego, I found myself with a doozy of a headache, and all of the discussion on twitter about Motrin served to remind me that during pregnancy, I can’t take any over the counter medications. Of course, you will want to check with your doctor or health care professional if the pain is severe or if you have a long-lasting headache or other more serious symptoms.

So, what can we do with a pregnancy headache? There are a few things, it turns out. Here are some of the most popular ways to clear out a headache without medication:

• Use an ice pack on your forehead or the back of your neck
• Massage pressure points, such as the bridge of your nose, back of the neck, and scalp
• Take a warm bath
• Drink water to rehydrate yourself
• Take a nap
• Rinse out your nose with warm water in a neti pot, either plain or with xylitol (follow package directions)
• My personal favorite for a sinus headache: hot, spicy food, like Chile Relleno or anything with a lot of garlic or hot sauce to clear out the sinuses

Thanks to the following members of twitter for their contribution to this article:
@littlebytesnews
@JennFowler
@andrewjscott
@bitpakkit

Do you have a suggestion that worked for your headache while pregnant, or when you couldn’t or just didn’t want to take medicine? Add it to our comments section, below. We have the “comment love” plugin installed, so advise away!