Talk to me about Braxton Hicks - what do they feel like?

DottyBlue

I have been having some uncomfortable abdomen pain, but I'm not sure if it's my little guy or if it might be Braxton Hicks.  I'll talk with my OB about it at my appointment next wee, but I was curious.

My stomach will get really tight feeling, and really hard on the lower half, but it kind of feels like the bean is stretching and pushing on the sides of my stomach.  If I rub my hand over the area lightly, it stops after a few minutes.  Is that Braxton Hicks contractions?  Or is this kid just beating me up a little?

AnotherPreggo

So glad you posted this, bc I am wondering what they feel like too!  I'm not help

Sillygirl85

I have been wondering the same thing. I hope we can get a STM to give us some insight on this.

ChrisG83

I have always heard it's the tight feeling below your belly button but there is no pain.

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Gilene2011

There shouldn't be any real pain associated with Braxton Hicks.  You uterus will get very tight, stay tight for a minute or so and then will relax.  My guess is baby is stretching their little legs out. 

daronsmommy

Britt1406:

I know they are not supposed to be painful, but my sister and my friend both said they had pain with their BH.

Pain or discomfort? It's never comfortable when your uterus contracts but BH shouldn't be extremely painful.

efs83

Gilene2011:

There shouldn't be any real pain associated with Braxton Hicks.  You uterus will get very tight, stay tight for a minute or so and then will relax.  My guess is baby is stretching their little legs out. 

This. I used to get them all the time with DS, and they were never painful, just a weird tightening sensation. I've only had a few this time around, I think they were more frequent after 30 weeks last time.

jessican08

DottyBlue:

My stomach will get really tight feeling, and really hard on the lower half, but it kind of feels like the bean is stretching and pushing on the sides of my stomach. 

That sounds like a BH contraction to me.Some women even describe them as it feeling like the baby is balling up (but babies don't "ball up").

My belly never really gets hard over the belly button, mainly just the lower part. I will say it has been harder to differentiate b/t fetal movement and BH contractions as the babies have gotten bigger but sometimes they go hand in hand - the baby(ies) moving can trigger a BH contraction. Mine are "painless" but some of them are pretty darn uncomfortable!

Calabaza78

Mine have never been painful, but it feels like my belly is tightening and getting smaller when it happens.  My midwives always describe it as "the baby balling up", like someone else said.  To me it feels like a lighter version of when you ride a roller coaster and your stomach drops a little, or you are feeling a little bit nervous and your stomach is slightly different.  I've been getting them for a few weeks this pregnancy.  I don't remember when they started last time, but I know I had a lot of them during the third trimester.  Sometimes if I wore pants that pressed harder on my belly or had a shirt that was a funny material, I would seem to have more of them.  

danienross

My BH contractions started at 21wks with DD and turned into real contractions at 34wks.  For me it was always a tightening feeling and as I got bigger they did get more uncomfortable/distracting.  I don't remember them being painful though (until they switched to real contractions at the end).  Sometimes they'd take my breath away though, like being squeezed from the inside.

I haven't really had them yet this pregnancy.

Starfish17

MIne are never painful.  I notice them the most after lunch it seems like (was this way with DS too).  It just feels like an uncomfortable tightening feeling which only lasts a minute or two.  Sometimes I can tell that my belly feels harder than usually too, especially now that I am getting bigger.  SOunds like what you are describing could be BH.