1st trip to L&D & question about contraxs

MagPie08

Never thought I'd visit L&D so soon, but after a day of sitting by the pool, staying relaxed & hydrated, my uterus decided to spaz out.

Finally started timing my BH contractions at 9pm, and they were every 5 minutes for 2 hours, tightening over my whole belly (usually they're just down low). The on-call doc said to come in. Hooked me up to the machine and monitored for a couple hours -- picked up a lot of BH/tightening, but the internal exam looked good, and FFN test came back negative. Sent me home and said to call/come back if it continued into today . . . so far, so good today. 

I was so worried that I'd get to the hospital and wouldn't show any activity, and all the staff would think I was the girl that called wolf, but the doc & nurses made me feel really good, saying it was a smart thing to come in. I still feel like the whole thing is somewhat nebulous, like I don't know when I'm supposed to get worried.

For those of you that have experienced them, were your "real" contractions obviously different than BH? (ie. did you know when your contrax were making progress vs. just being a nuisance?)

E&RMommy

So glad you listened to your body and went in!!  Don't discount your BH contractions.  Mine caused my cervix to shorten almost an entire cm in one week and I went out on bedrest at 23 weeks.  My doc (an MFM) has me on procardia every 6 hours to keep the contractions at a minimum.

You did the right thing.  My cervix is still technically closed, but the length is much shorter than it should be.  I have been on bed rest for a month and have certainly bought my babies the most critical weeks inside.

Hope your doctor is able to give you some guidance!  Take it easy today. 

janjag

E&RMommy:

So glad you listened to your body and went in!!  Don't discount your BH contractions.  Mine caused my cervix to shorten almost an entire cm in one week and I went out on bedrest at 23 weeks.  My doc (an MFM) has me on procardia every 6 hours to keep the contractions at a minimum.

You did the right thing.  My cervix is still technically closed, but the length is much shorter than it should be.  I have been on bed rest for a month and have certainly bought my babies the most critical weeks inside.

Hope your doctor is able to give you some guidance!  Take it easy today. 

E&RMommy, hope you are hanging in there on br!  you are almost 28wks!! 

OP, my bh also caused cervical shortening at my 23wk appt.  it's always good to pay attention to your pg body, and let your OB know.  growing multiple babies puts more strain on your body than a single... obviously  

kaiteedidit

I think it is best to listen to your body, even if you think the contractions aren't doing anything, they could be. I was having contractions the other night that didn't feel strong at all, I almost just went to bed and ignored them but I decided to call and get checked out. Well I went from 1cm to 4cm in about 4 hours! So you never know! 

iluvadam

This is my first twin pregnancy but I can share what my labor felt like with DS.  For about a week before I delivered, I was having consistent BH contractions.  I would start to time them for a couple of hours and then they would stop.  The day I officially went into labor I just didn't feel right.  My appetite was non-existent, I had a lot of pressure, and still lots of belly tightening contractions...timeable but not consistent for hours at a time.  Then at midnight when I was still up watching TV on the couch with DH my water broke.  That is when the contractions went from belly tightening to full-on worst period cramps ever.  It felt like a period cramp that is so tight in your uterus that it is hard to breathe.  They were very different from BH. 

I do, so much agree with how you handled this situation though.  I think it is so important to listen to your body and respond when it is trying to tell you something.  You did a great job!

MagPie08

Thanks for the responses ladies This makes me feel a lot better about going in. Seems like the 23/24 wk mark was a game changer for quite a few people on this board!

alturner

I'm glad you asked this because I'm also feeling bh all the time, although nothing timeable....but it's scary not to know when to go in! My lower back also aches, but I'm contributing that to my 30 lb weight gain in my belly and boobs..... but you never know! You did the right thing! I can't wait for my next peri appt on Friday! GL!