Hard belly

I feel like the babies have just gone through a growth spurt. I've gained some weight in the past couple weeks, and my belly is really poking out at this point, LOL.

Over the past few days, I've put my hand on my belly and it feels really hard. Sometimes when I'm laying down or sitting down, but it almost always feels hard when I'm standing up. When I'm standing up or walking, it doesn't feel like it's getting hard then soft, like I would expect in a contraction or a Braxton-Hicks, it just feels hard all the time. Sometimes when I'm sitting down or laying down, I will feel it soften after a bit, so that makes me feel more like it would be a BH.

I'm not detecting any regular kind of pattern, like a series of hards/softs within a certain time period. But it does feel different than it has before. Could it be that the babies have just stretched my belly super tight? Or is something I should be paying more attention to, or call the OB about?

 

Great question! I get the hard / soft belly but my belly is more often soft than hard. It does seem more likely to be hard when I'm up moving around though.

I didn't really think it was anything at all until the instructor at my prenatal classes explained that these are BH contractions. I had no idea! So everytime my OB had been asking me if I had been having any contractions, I lied! It would have been nice for her to have actually explained this to me.

I'll be anxious to see what other people have to say on this one.

Cary

 

Hi,

When I was around 22 weeks, I remember feeling the same thing and asking a co-worker who was also pregnant if she every felt that (she said no so at first I thought it was nothing). That day I still felt them and decided to call my doctor. I was still working and I would stand up from my desk and feel very painful tightening and my belly would get hard. What you are feeling could be BH, but just so you know, pay close attention to the timing and frequency and I may even go in to get them monitored to see if they are real contractions. I ended up on bedrest for 2 months and was contracting the whole time. I went in even though my OBGYN said it was probably nothing and it was a good thing I did because they found it was shortening my cervix. Anyways I advise to air on the safe side and pay very close attention to these feelings and maybe even go in to get them monitored. Better to look stupid and possibly stop early labor than to play it cool and have problems down the road.

 

I get the hard then soft, hard then soft. These usually come for me if I've 'overdone it' or in the evenings sometimes when I'm lying down. My Dr. said these are BH contractions and that If I have more then 4 in an hour I should call the office. Now, what you're describing is that your belly is constantly hard so I'm not sure if this is BH or not so I would definetly call your Dr.

 

I am so glad I found this forum! I kept asking what contractions would feel like, and the only answer I would get was -- you'll know! Well, obviously not! I thought it was just "normal" for my belly to feel tight like that. I've gotten them during the middle of the night - they don't last long, nor do they put me in excrutiating pain (which is kind of what I was expecting as far as contractions). And they are definitely not coming at any type of regular intervals..

Take Care,
Elizabeth

 

Sounds like contractions to me! Water, water, water! And lots of rest! And then more water!

 

Wow, thanks for all the advice! I think I'll really take it easy this weekend and drink lots of water (and more water!), and call my OB first thing Monday morning. I really haven't had any other symptoms, so hopefully it'll be okay. I'll try to monitor them a little more closely, too, and see if any kind of pattern shows up.

 

I have this all the time. I am 29 weeks 4 days and this started around 22 weeks for me. It feels as though your uterus is pulling down, gets really tight. Sometimes my belly stays hard all day, i was told it's an "irritated uterus". Usually downing a quart of water and lying on your side for 45 minutes will help. If not, you better call L & D to see if they want you to come in to be monitored. I've been told (after 2 trips to L&D) to only go in if I have more than 8 Braxtons in an hour. I know it's hard to count when your belly just stays hard, but it's always better to be safe than sorry. But don't let it scare you too much, your uterus is under alot of stress, it's not unusual to be Irritated! Ha Ha. Good luck.

 

QUOTE(M&MMom @ Sep 7 2007, 05:28 PM) [snapback]397748[/snapback]
I have this all the time. I am 29 weeks 4 days and this started around 22 weeks for me. It feels as though your uterus is pulling down, gets really tight. Sometimes my belly stays hard all day, i was told it's an "irritated uterus". Usually downing a quart of water and lying on your side for 45 minutes will help. If not, you better call L & D to see if they want you to come in to be monitored. I've been told (after 2 trips to L&D) to only go in if I have more than 8 Braxtons in an hour. I know it's hard to count when your belly just stays hard, but it's always better to be safe than sorry. But don't let it scare you too much, your uterus is under alot of stress, it's not unusual to be Irritated! Ha Ha. Good luck.



This is the most helpful info. I have gotten in my entire pregnancy. My belly has been hard like this for a couple days and I have been having Braxton Hicks more often and I haven't been able to work more than a couple hours a day. So is my uterus tired. Cause I sure am. One night my Braxton Hicks just kept coming all night. Finally they stopped. I'm only 27 weeks and so I figured it wasn't labor. Plus I have been so paranoid lately, I figured I was just overreacting. I'll do the water and relaxing thing. My stomach is still hard right now.

 

Coveytwins-how far are you. You should try and relax as much as possible, or even make a call. Yes, it's probably an irritable uterus, but also can mean your getting too many contractions. I've gone in to L &D and been sent home embarrassed but so what, your always better off being safe. But if you want to wait it out, the best think I've found that works to relax the belly is to sit in water. A nice warm bath or even better, if you have a jacuzzi and you can turn down the hear and just submerge and float, that takes allllll the pain and tension away. It get's frustrating I know, you can't tell what the heck is going on some days???????? Hang in there.

 

QUOTE(M&MMom @ Sep 8 2007, 01:21 PM) [snapback]398746[/snapback]
Coveytwins-how far are you. You should try and relax as much as possible, or even make a call. Yes, it's probably an irritable uterus, but also can mean your getting too many contractions. I've gone in to L &D and been sent home embarrassed but so what, your always better off being safe. But if you want to wait it out, the best think I've found that works to relax the belly is to sit in water. A nice warm bath or even better, if you have a jacuzzi and you can turn down the hear and just submerge and float, that takes allllll the pain and tension away. It get's frustrating I know, you can't tell what the heck is going on some days???????? Hang in there.



I'm 27 weeks. I wish I could relax. Sometimes it happens when i need to be at work. I love to soak in a bathtub, I guess maybe i need to take it easy. I'll ask my doctor next visit. He still only sees me once a month. I'm just really confused, I had to be induced my last pregnancy so I don't know what progressive labor feels like. I want to keep these babies inside me as long as I can.