Welcome sparkly feel free to add yourself to our stats list (in second post of this thread), see if you have any due date buddies. Same goes for littledragon and jen and anyone else knew to the thread I have missed! 
joy I've been having terrible sharp pains in my lower back, and also painful cramping at the front behind my hips for the past couple of days now. Not to mention sciatica down my left side which is making sitting and laying in any position uncomfortable. Been taking paracetamol and doesn't even take the edge off. Two things I have found help though. Heat - As you've already mentioned, hot water bottle to the areas is my current life-saver... But at night, the only thing I have found to take the edge off, though it certainly does not "cure" it, is to lay on my side in a semi-curled fetal position, and put a pillow (just a normal one) in between my legs. I personally found the thicker the pillow the better, as the first one I was using was quite thin and didn't work very well, plus I found if I put it in diagonally so that it starts just below the knees, and then comes up quite close to my body and stops just under the stomach (any higher and it hurts my stomach as bump isn't big enough to go OVER a pillow yet, so it kinda just collides which is uncomfortable). I've found this to be the best remedy, but as I said, it doesn't completely take the pain away, some nights are better than others.
I did however have a Dr tell me the other day that I could use an ibuprofen based gel on my back and legs to help relieve some of the pain. I haven't done it yet, but did buy some just in case. Dr said that as only a minimal amount is actually absorbed, and its only generally absorbed into the local area, he said it would be fine... Food for thought.
bustherb I have been using sickness bands for about 3 weeks now. Part of me thinks it's a bit of a psychological thing, but in most cases they have worked for me. I was wearing them all day everyday for about a week as I was constantly nauseous before, and after a day I started feeling better, then as soon as I took them off in the evening, or for a break (they hurt my wrists after a while) I would start to feel nauseous again... Again, could be a mind trick, but they've mostly worked for me, I've got the boots own brand ones which were about £9.