s/o contractions

Jitterbug2668

I know this is going to be different for everyone but what da heck do contractions even feel like.  I get the BH all the time.  I have lots of pressure down there, been crampy, and have had an occassional sharp pain but I keep telling DH and my parents that it'll have to be a sign from god for me to know.  Only thing I have goin on today besides the above is my back is really achy and my stomach is so upset for some reason.

AgrippaRidesAgain

I was induced, so all of my contractions were caused by pitocin, but they felt just like period cramps to me.  I actually got to 6 cm before asking for an epidural, and they still weren't much stronger than my strongest AF cramps. (I have pretty bad cramping during AF though)  I'm kind of worried that this time I won't even notice them until it's too late, esp. since I won't be on pitocin...

Sofka

BH contrax will go away if you change positions, move, lay on your left side, etc.

regular contrax do not go away but get stronger and stronger.

mine felt like really really bad period cramps

I did not have back labor, though, I hear that's horrendous pain!

(ETA: I got to the hospital 4.5hrs after they started and was already 8cm)

Artslvr

I had neither front pain nor back pain - I'm one of the "special" few that felt them mostly in my crotchal/bum area. It's very hard to describe, but needless to say I was surprised I felt almost nothing at all in my lower stomach area where I had expected.  It was a totally new feeling to me, so I knew they were the real thing.  Same thing with #2. 

kirnat848

I never had the back labor. With all 3 of my girls I got cramps all over my belly. They started down low and then progressed up. With my youngest it felt like I was getting sick to my stomach.

MingoMoll

I got such bad back pain that it nauseated me, just for the duration of the contraction.

fatjavacat

I was induced as well.  I didn't feel much more than cramping, though I got my epi early so they could break my water (after a few hours of NOTHING happening).  

Later in the evening I went from 2cm to 10 in about and hour...I did feel those contractions....a lot....epi not enough....very very sad

From what people told me (I asked the same questions) you will just know. 

LindseyJW

for me, BH feels more like tightening. labor contractions were far more intense. in the beginning, they felt like period cramps, that got more and more intense. towards the middle/end, they felt like someone had a jackhammer going on my insides. but that's actually the ONLY thing i remember about being uncomfortable in labor. and they dont' last that long, so you just have to think about getting through that ONE contraction. then you rest until the next one starts.

mlvmd

I had back labor and regular contractions.  The back labor was basically an intense pain that never stopped.  It started one day rather mildly and by the time the regular contractions started it was ten times worse than the regular contractions.  I kind of discounted the back pain at first because it grew gradually and made it so it was difficult to time the regular contractions.  By the time I made it to the hospital I was over 5 cm dilated and an hour later I was 10 cm.  I will never discount back pain again while pregnant. (DS was a 36-weeker so I really didn't think it was possible that I was having contractions)

victoria1212

I was having contractions often and supposedly very intense but I never felt any pain- only could feel them by touching my stomach and it feeling very hard. Not complaining for missing out on the pain- it was funny to be in the hospital and having all the nurses keep coming in and saying, 'did you feel that one??'

However, upset stomach and lower back pain can be the first signs of labor. Keep us posted on baby jitterbug watch :-)

tracy042206

I never actually felt my BH - I could just tell that my belly was a lot tighter.  I was also induced but my contractions started the night before after they put in the foley catheter to get things going.  Do not let your MIL tell you that all contractions start at the top of your belly are like a wave going down, even if she was an RN at one time :-)  My contractions were all down low and around to my back (don;t know if this was back labor or not - nurse told me I would KNOW I had back labor but since I had never been in labor before I have nothing to compare my pain to).  Basically in the beginning they were like bad period or diarrhea cramps (like when you have to wait a minute before getting up to go tot he bathroom). 

tomandcourt

I went natural so I felt them all! For me, they started out feeling kind of like that pelvic pressure you mentioned before. It just started getting more and more intense, and then radiated out to my stomach. I remember trying to explain it to my DH as feeling like someone was standing on my uterus (like extreme pressure). I never had back labor, luckily.

The first few, I wasn't sure, but after a while - it's cliche, but you will just know.

mek10976

My water broke at 32 weeks and my contractions felt like menstrual cramps. 

MrsTiara

You just know, really.  B-H will go away/aren't as painful.  How I really knew was that the contractions HURT!  And they also started about five minutes apart.  Yeah, I got to the Birth Center with BabyCrown's head already visible and only had a total of four hours of labor.  Since you want to stay at home to labor as long as possible anyway, you will certainly figure it out before you need to get to the hospital!

JKM416

I started getting BHs around 36 weeks with both kids.  I was induced with DD and went into labor on my own with DS.  The labors themselves felt the same (I had no drugs with either).  I *think* I had back labor, based on how it's described.  I didn't feel anything in my abdomen until transition - before that, it was all just awful back cramps that intensified with each contraction.  I couldn't get comfortable - the birthing ball that I thought would be my savior made them worse.  Whatever position I happened to be in when a contraction hit, I had to stay just like that to ride it out.  If I tried to move (or DH tried to move me...evil!), it was BAD...almost like my body just couldn't physically move; I was frozen.

 

The cramps and sharp pains you describe are things that I got with both pregnancies in the last few weeks...easy to think "is this it?" with each one.  I really hate the phrase, "when it happens, you'll know," but that was true with DS (of course, I had the benefit of having been through labor once before).  It was a Saturday, so I was sleeping in, but around 8am, I started getting woken up by back cramps that felt like my classic menstrual symptoms.  I drifted in and out until about 10am, when I got up and walked out to DH to say I thought it was starting.  I knew that when the sensation came on, lasted about a minute, and then went away and I was perfectly fine, that it must be a contraction.  There were very clear beginning and end points, not the generalized, continuous icky feeling you can get while pregnant.  I tried timing them because I knew what was happening, but I gave up pretty quickly.  I didn't feel like waiting around at home, and we had to get DD to our friends' house, so we called the hospital and headed in.  I was about 5 centimeters when I got there.  Sidenote: I had had zero warning that I'd be in labor that day - I felt fine when I went to bed the night before and I'd woken up several times for bathroom breaks.  That helped me realize it was real labor - it sort of came out of nowhere; it wasn't a slow, continuous build-up of aches and pains.