Are these contractions/BH??

CWest8073

I'm at 35 weeks and last night I kept getting these strange pains down there....almost like menstrual cramps. They've been coming in like waves and only lasting a few seconds...but they would occur many times in a row. I had them for about an hour before I went to bed, and noticed a few this morning already. I thought that maybe they're BH, but I've heard contractions/BH are more in the belly area. Maybe baby is just heading down? Or are these just a different kind of contraction? I'm not too concerned...just curious and anxious to meet baby! Any advice would be appreciated!

camedowncrushing

Mine were super low with DD, and they are low once again with this baby. 

mplesset23

CWest8073 said:

I'm at 35 weeks and last night I kept getting these strange pains down there....almost like menstrual cramps. They've been coming in like waves and only lasting a few seconds...but they would occur many times in a row. I had them for about an hour before I went to bed, and noticed a few this morning already. I thought that maybe they're BH, but I've heard contractions/BH are more in the belly area. Maybe baby is just heading down? Or are these just a different kind of contraction? I'm not too concerned...just curious and anxious to meet baby! Any advice would be appreciated!

I get Braxton Hicks all the time and they do not feel like menstrual cramps.  Real contractions feel like intense menstrual cramps.  I'd track them to see if they are coming frequently and maybe call the Dr. just to be on the safe side.

azmama20

mplesset23 said:

CWest8073 said:

I'm at 35 weeks and last night I kept getting these strange pains down there....almost like menstrual cramps. They've been coming in like waves and only lasting a few seconds...but they would occur many times in a row. I had them for about an hour before I went to bed, and noticed a few this morning already. I thought that maybe they're BH, but I've heard contractions/BH are more in the belly area. Maybe baby is just heading down? Or are these just a different kind of contraction? I'm not too concerned...just curious and anxious to meet baby! Any advice would be appreciated!

I get Braxton Hicks all the time and they do not feel like menstrual cramps.  Real contractions feel like intense menstrual cramps.  I'd track them to see if they are coming frequently and maybe call the Dr. just to be on the safe side.

This is exactly what I was going to suggest. I'm a FTM, so I don't have experience with real contractions. However if they are menstrual like and timeable, I would call.

eshanks122

I was having this and told me Dr. about it. She mentioned that contractions are like menstrual cramps, but that your whole stomach will get very tight and stiff (which mine was not) so we assumed it was just cramping. She also mentioned that it is very common in the third trimester, and you can feel crampy if your bladder is full, because of all the pressure the baby is putting on it. 

As a FTM I am nervous about identifying the early signs of labor. I hope I don't end up being one of those mom's who heads to the hospital in false labor, lol. But, remember better safe then sorry. 

roo1oo

What you are describing is exactly what braxton hicks feel like to me. Very mild cramping low, but my whole belly will get hard/contract. It never hurts, but it can be uncomfortable. Normally they last longer than a few seconds for me though. Something else that feels similar but only lasts for seconds is LO moving around down there, sometimes I think he punches me in the bladder/low in my uterus, and that will cause the same mild cramping feeling that lasts only seconds. 

If any of it is timeable though, you should time for an hour or so and call your doctor if you're really worried.

hawtness21

I had Braxton hicks so bad last night that I called the dr's office for L&D. I just took Tylenol, drank more water and had a heating pad on my back. They subsided a little but after I woke up I felt better.

CWest8073

Just an update...I had my appointment a few days ago and I was 2 cm and 75% effaced already! So maybe they were real? Hoping that might mean an earlier delivery...but I know that there's no way of telling.

tazerae

I had the same thing, and told my dr Tuesday. At first he said it sounded like I was feeling my cervix dilating, but thought maybe not since the week before I was "long and closed" then he checked and I was 2cm and 80% effaced so he's sure that's what the pains are. I have them every so often so now I'm excited for my next appointment to see if I dilated more. Maybe that's what you are feeling!

PrimRoseMama

Remember you said "any advice is appreciated" ... You said this so here goes!

Down there? That is not descriptive. Near your uterus? Back? Cervix? Vagina? There is a shit-ton of anatomy down there.

You're 35 weeks. Simmer down on the "anxious to meet baby" business. You aren't even late-preterm (37 weeks). You want baby to cook as long as possible so these pains are nothing to get excited about.

Without more specifics on where your pain is located we can't tell you. When the contractions are the real deal you will know.

mkhim

I felt something fairly similar last night while I was at work. It felt like menstrual cramps in my lower abdomen but nowhere near as intense as my menstrual cramps have gotten before. I'm just assuming it was Braxton hicks. I'm not completely sure how long it lasted, but it was probably somewhere between 30 mins-1 hour. I'm 30wks btw.