What did contractions feel like to you?

wearebirds

I'm pretty positive this has been asked before but I'm too tired to go searching for it.

What did contractions feel like to you??

I've had the menstrual like cramping for a while (off and on for weeks) and I've had BH tightening but no pain.

A few times last night I've had pains like I needed to poop...and I thought I recalled someone saying that's what their contractions felt like.

I'm totally not asking if I'm in labor, or if I'm going to go into labor, or oh em gee could this be the start of something!?...nah. Just wondering, what did contractions feel like to you?!

Kisses xoxo

bumpuser1282882

wearebirds said:

I'm pretty positive this has been asked before but I'm too tired to go searching for it. What did contractions feel like to you?? I've had the menstrual like cramping for a while (off and on for weeks) and I've had BH tightening but no pain. A few times last night I've had pains like I needed to poop...and I thought I recalled someone saying that's what their contractions felt like. I'm totally not asking if I'm in labor, or if I'm going to go into labor, or oh em gee could this be the start of something!?...nah. Just wondering, what did contractions feel like to you?! Kisses xoxo

Me too. I'd be interested to know the answer to your question as well. Tuesday night I had BH for a solid 30 mins, which is new for me.

CruiseGirl28

This is me too. Last night I either had mild contractions or it was just gas. DH said he was "tired of false hope." Ooo I'm sorry!

angelsnight

Last time mine started as menstrual like cramps, they were just a constant ache for about two or three days.  When I finally decided to head to the hospital they were coming every few minutes and were timeable.  Within six hours they turned into more sharp jabbing pains, more like what I expected contractions to feel like.

So far, I've had a couple weeks of random menstrual like cramps....I'll get a rather intense one for 5 minutes, and then it will go away, so nothing timeable.  I've also been getting random sharp pains here and there, but again nothing timeable and those always go away after I poop.  So I'm not sure if those are contractions brought on by a BM, or if they're just gas pains because stuff is running out of room and everything hurts.

I won't get excited about any of it until one of the pains becomes more consistent and timeable.

MandyCakes1224

I was like you until I actually experienced contractions. I had no idea what to expect but as soon as it started I knew it was labor. It started off with cramping in my lower abd and got progressively worse like the worst constipation cramps I had ever felt. Also it spread around to my lower back, and they were very timetable. Hope that helps.

SurpriseAt39

With kid #1 my contractions were an extremely intense abdominal tightening. Sudden, sharp and painful. With kid #2 it was like something trying to rip my cervix open. Ya, I could feel my belly tighten, but if it hurt, I didn't notice because the cervix pain was so unreal. I'm glad I only had 5 hours of labour!!! Lol

sebullows

Mine were like the MOST EXTREME trapped gas you could imagine. Sharp and crampy at the same time. But it wasn't like I needed to fart. I was told it would feel like menstrual cramps, but for me, they did not.

Eta- I also had terrible back labor. That was bad but nothing like those contractions.

ring_pop

Early contractions had a tightening of the belly and chest.

During active labour, they were in my lower back, at the end of my spine. They basically felt like intense gas pains / need to poop.

They were different this time from DS1. But I don't really remember how they felt that time.

ETA: also, when I was in transition I felt a warm sensation down there. I guess that must have been the cervix dilating quickly.

fish8412

Felt like menstrual cramps and the urge to poop.

peachy0709

I'm glad you asked this.  As a FTM, I'm getting really frustrated -- last night I basically had BH the entire night (really really tight, but not painful or timeable). It just makes me cranky.  I'm very interested to hear what others have to say!

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Npironi

I had a bit of back labor so it wAs the strongest period crMps ever with bad low back pain along with a blood pressure cuff on my entire belly (like Braxton hicks but stronger) allll at the same time. But I believe it feels different for everyone and mine came in 2s! 2 awful contractions in a row with a 2-5 min break

jwls84

My (real) contractions have just started kicking in the last 12hrs. They feel like menstrual cramps on steroids, like they take my breath away.
They feel they exact same this time as they did with my first. They just won't regulate this time.
As for the tightening feeling, ya my belly gets tight but I can't feel it through the pain at all.

Hdhtk4

I couldn't even feel my early contractions. The only reason I knew I was having them was because my water broke and L&D told me I was contracting. Soon they started to feel like menstrual cramps that got progressively worse and wrapped around through my lower back. My belly started noticeably hardening as I progressed. I didn't feel the "urge to poop" until I was fully dilated and ready to push, although I had an epidural so maybe that made a difference.

ETA: My contractions were never regular, even when I was dilated to a 10 and pushing. They jumped between 1 to 4 minutes apart. The nurse said I just had a weird uterus.

CHS2005

 The only word I can use to describe mine is the pain was very "internal." No BH tightening or even gas discomfort, but a very low and  sharp internal pain that was different than anything I had felt before. I remember thinking "huh! that was different. I wonder what that was?" Eventually, they got consistent and intense enough that I could not talk through them and I figured I was finally in labor. 

Laceybachman

I remember thinking my contractions started off feeling like someone was sucking my bump with a huge vacuum cleaner lol. Then after dr broke my water it was more like super bad diarrhea cramps and lots iof pressure on my hips n pelvis.

Nickiechan

For me, it was a build up of pressure that would be intense and I would need to focus and breathe through them, but would only last around a minute. To me they where very bearable, but I also conditions my mind into making them not painful (Thanks Hypnobabies)

saisongbird

Questions - for early contractions - could you feel LO moving during them?

jennybean80

It's pretty common to be able to feel baby move during early labour, sometimes during the contractions too!

aesmom

For me it is menstrual cramps that start to spread up my belly as time progresses. I also get this feeling like my breath is being taken away. It makes me focus on them just to control my breathing. I don't know why my body likes to hyperventilate during labor. 

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KariB509

My early contractions this time felt totally different than the ones I had with ds. With ds, they felt like menstrual cramps. This time, it felt like a tightening in my lower abdomen and pressure on my butt and vagina.

craftiemommie

DisneyAddict1 said:

saisongbird said:

Questions - for early contractions - could you feel LO moving during them?

Yup! This time LO gives a decent jab after each contraction I've had so far.


I have always wondered this!

lalaith50

Early contractions were like a balloon being blown up in my stomach. Active labor contractions were just awful. Like... All I wanted to do was be on my hands and knees and moan and throw up.

Hdhtk4

saisongbird said:

Questions - for early contractions - could you feel LO moving during them?

Yes movement was normal during early contractions. As they became more intense, my LO became much more active than normal. It was weird having a painful contraction while watching my belly jump all over the place!

ndpoole

I felt extreme pressure (like I had to pee REALLY BAD) which quickly went to pain. I used the app Full Term when I realized the pressure/pain was reoccurring, which told me I was in Active Labor. I then googled "what does active labor feel like," and this page came up which clearly described that I was in Transitional Labor. https://www.whattoexpect.com/pregnancy/labor-and-delivery/childbirth-stages/three-phases-of-labor.aspx

I had no other warnings prior to that. Went to hospital where I was told I was fully dilated and gave birth about 45 min later. Yeah, I'm probably a unicorn,

pepperedmoth

Bumping this.

Did anyone's contractions start at the TOP of the bump? I've had a few practice contractions since 20-something weeks that felt like menstrual cramps (low, dull, achy) and I just realized the other day that what I thought was LO pushing his feet into me was actually a BH contraction, so I've been having those too.

But for the last couple of days I've gotten a sharper pain across the top of my bump from time to time associated with some nausea and I can't figure out whether it's a new kind of contraction or just digestive upset....they're not timeable or anything, and I can ask my midwife on Wednesday --- just curious right now!

lazyreader

I would get waves of nausea out of the blue that didn't have the sharp pain but very dull BH. when the nausea let up the BH was more noticeable/stronger? Sometimes it was more like shortness of breath + nausea.

Contractions felt a lot like BH but mostly from the middle/bottom. They made me want to sit down or lay down.

amdecker1016

pepperedmoth said:

Bumping this.

Did anyone's contractions start at the TOP of the bump? I've had a few practice contractions since 20-something weeks that felt like menstrual cramps (low, dull, achy) and I just realized the other day that what I thought was LO pushing his feet into me was actually a BH contraction, so I've been having those too.

But for the last couple of days I've gotten a sharper pain across the top of my bump from time to time associated with some nausea and I can't figure out whether it's a new kind of contraction or just digestive upset....they're not timeable or anything, and I can ask my midwife on Wednesday --- just curious right now!

My for real contractions did.
The started at the top and made their way to my pelvis.

sebullows

lalaith50 said:

Early contractions were like a balloon being blown up in my stomach. Active labor contractions were just awful. Like... All I wanted to do was be on my hands and knees and moan and throw up.

"Like a balloon being blown up" best description ever

CruiseGirl28

pepperedmoth said:

Bumping this.

Did anyone's contractions start at the TOP of the bump? I've had a few practice contractions since 20-something weeks that felt like menstrual cramps (low, dull, achy) and I just realized the other day that what I thought was LO pushing his feet into me was actually a BH contraction, so I've been having those too.

But for the last couple of days I've gotten a sharper pain across the top of my bump from time to time associated with some nausea and I can't figure out whether it's a new kind of contraction or just digestive upset....they're not timeable or anything, and I can ask my midwife on Wednesday --- just curious right now!

This is EXACTLY what happened to me last night. But then I laid down, and they went away

pepperedmoth

Jt7dreamz said:

I'm so confused though. Aren't you supposed to rest through contractions or is that in active labor? On Sunday when I had them they (7 hours of 9-10mon) went away when I laid down to sleep.

I don't think there is any "supposed to" with contractions --- you just do what makes you feel better! When they're really intense in active labor that's usually relaxing into them, but in early labor it could be lots of things.

Not like I have any experience with this.......grrrrrrrrrrrr.