contractions vs poop pains

mrshurley10

so i am a ftm and all i have heard is how much contractions feel like menstural cramps. well, for me menstural cramps and poop pains were a very similar feeling and i have been having a whole lot of that lately. (since yesterday afternoon) does this sound like contractions? if not, can anyone better explain what a contraction feels like? thanks ladies! :-)

shouldbworkin

My contrax did start out as "gas pain."  After several unproductive trips to the bathroom I finally started timing my gas and it was coming every 10 mins or so.  But, I really only knew it was labor about 12 hours later when I went to go to bed and they got more intense and unbearable.  In between they got closer together and more intense, but tolerable. 

annabelle.27

I'm told my contractions were atypical so this probably won't help you, but my contractions felt nothing like "poop pains." They didn't feel like "contracting" either. I felt like something was bursting in my abdomen, and I thought it was my bladder, actually. The first few contractions had me gasping on the toilet, desperately trying to figure out how to relax enough to empty what I thought must be a ridiculously overfull bladder.

FormerlyKrista555

For me, I had been having stronger and stronger braxton hicks contractions for days, so when I finally got a painful contraction, I knew what it was. 

However, if I hadn't had the braxton hicks contractions (and hadn't been 40w2d at that point), then I might have mistaken it for a really strong gas pain. 

DarlinClementine

I have been having braxton hicks since 26 weeks... so, I am a bit familiar with that tightening feeling.  Now that I am having the real deal... it def is a different sensation. 

For me, it starts with almost like a body rush... I feel my heart rate increase some and then this wave like ~ warmish feeling comes over me and gradually gets stronger.  I have tightening in my abdomen and cramping low in my uterus... It is like menstrual cramps... but not a constant dull ache, in the way menstrual cramps are... there is def a start and stop to the feeling. 

 

JLG95

Yep, that's how it is for me.  My contractions when I had my son felt like really bad menstrual/diarrhea/food poisoning cramps.  And I actually had a ton of diarrhea and vomiting, and then my water broke.

There are 3 key differences for me:

1. When it's contractions, the waves of pain came in a way that was probably timeable.

2. The pain from the contractions didn't just stay in my abdomen, they radiated to my lower back as well.

3. With a contraction, you can feel the top of my uterus get firmer.  I couldn't tell myself since I was so upset during the process.  But other people touching my stomach could tell when a contraction was starting.

So you might be in labor.

jessandandy09

"I JUST HAVE REALLY BAD GAS"  this is the standing family joke in my family.  when I started labor with my first daughter, I thought I needed to pass gas or have a bm.  I sat on the toilet for 3 hours with NO production of anything.  when every one else woke up at 630 I said "I have been up all night with really bad gas pains" My mother covertly stated timing the gas pains and said I think you are in labor as your "pains" are 10 minutes apart and that gas doesnt come in regular intervals. (mind you I was 2 weeks over due)  I kept hollering  "NO, I just have really bad gas!" until I was in panicked tears. alas I was in labor and as things got closer together and further along I could realize the feeling was different.

ZoeyMarie

The key for me was that my whole stomach got hard. My ute felt like a ball. Whether the contraction was mild or strong, this stayed consistant.