What do BH Contractions feel like..

This is my first pregnancy so I have noo idea what to look for when it comes to contractions or how to monitor them. What do the Braxton Contractions feel like? The Dr told me too look out for them and I dont know what im looking for lol
I do get a lower back pain every so often that feels like id get when I have my period and someone told me thats was it?

 

i get crampy feeling and my stomach gets hard as a rock. mine dont hurt..just sorta annoying. its my first pregnancy too though, so i dunno if thats what im having.

 

I didn't know what they felt like at first!

The first ones I got were just a tightening all over my belly. Didn't hurt.

Now, I have them and they feel like a "balling up." I think I had them for awhile and did not know. At first I thought it was the babies pushing out on my tummy, but then I thought it was weird they would both be doing the exact same thing at the same time. And my belly was hard. Then, I felt them kick once when this happened so I knew it was Braxton Hicks. I often get them when I don't empty my bladder right away now!

Some people feel crampy I think, but I haven't really experienced that.

 

Uncomfortable, but not painful.....balling and tightening.....You will know the difference once you have had REAL contractions.....It very common - but if this is your first pregnancy you probably won't notice them too much. With my first I had no clue - then with my second I could recognize them, now with this being my third pregnancy I KNOW!

 

With the twins, my BH were just stomach tightenings with no pain. With this pregnancy, I get cramping with the BH contrax, but nothing that my OB is concerned about.

 

With mine, I first noticed a tightness in my chest. Then I would feel my belly, and sure enough, it was hard as a rock. Has anyone else had this happen?

 

Fletchie--YES. I can feel them coming on because my chest and sometimes throat and head feel tight, then seconds later my belly hardens.

In general, a BH contraction is a tightening. Mine started at 25 weeks with just a partial-belly tightening, then they progressed to whole belly tightening that I couldn't feel (unless I was touching it), and they are more uncomfortable but no lower back pain. The nurse said if they change to lower back pain with the tightening or lower menstrual cramping with the tightening (and of course increase in frequency) that's more likely real labor. But, even if you have non painful contractions frequently you need to call your OB. Some women enter labor without knowing it because their contractions aren't painful.

 

Also, the definition of BH are contractions that don't change the cervix. If you have a lot of them (more than 4 an hour) they can possibly change the cervix or turn into real labor, so it is good to get it checked out. At my hospital, they gave me terb even though I wasn't effacing or anything, because my contractions were pretty regular.

 

I watched a video about twin pregnancies and this was what they said:

If your tummy feels like the tip of your nose, then you are not contracting. If your tummy feels like your forehead as you are pressing it, then it is a contraction. That was always the litmus test for me....once I realized that I was having contractions.

I was having contractions for a few weeks (like sometimes every couple minutes) and did not know it. I thought that the babies were just moving up. The PP that mentioned that it felt like they were "balling up," that is exactly what it felt like. I thought they were rolling or turning. But nope, those were contractions. And they were changing my cervix. I wish I had paid a little more attention to my body, and stayed super super hydrated.

 

I get the menstrual type cramps; my OB said a BH will go away if u change positions or drink water but a real contrx will continue no matter what u dol