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cramp/contraction ? for second and third-time moms

TXSweetheartTXSweetheart
in 2nd Trimester

This is my third pregnancy and I've been having CRAZY cramps/contractions since I was about 19 weeks.  I hesitate to say they are contractions since I actually ended up at the hospital because I was convinced I was in labor only to be hooked up to a monitor and told I wasn't having contractions, but they aren't really cramps either...it definitely feels like a tightening, just like contractions.

So, my question is, what in the heck is going on?  It they aren't contractions, what are these tightening spells??  I mean, braxton hicks don't normally start this early do they???  And wouldn't braxton hicks have shown up as actual contractions when they hooked me up to the monitor at the hospital?  Could it be from carrying my son around? 

My OB keeps telling me it's because I need to drink more water and rest more, but that's BS...I'm drinking close to 12 bottles of water a day and resting is not an option with a 1 year old.

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Re: cramp/contraction ? for second and third-time moms

  • reemarie81reemarie81 member

    I would have them check you out just to be safe.  I don't think bh would be starting this early.  Cramps we get but not horrible. 

    Nap when LO does, read books and lay down.

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  • coffeeaddiction21coffeeaddiction21
    I never once felt BH with my first pregnancy, but with this one i've been getting them for awhile now. It feels really weird. Like a wave starting from my crotch area up to below my bust I feel pressure all over the front of my belly and my stomach is hard. It almost feels like pain but it's more uncomfortable than painful. I never lay down but if I drink water it keeps them from happening too often and less noticeable. I asked my doctor and he said the usual drink more water lay on your left side. I've realized that I can feel one coming on so I drink a glass or two of water right away. I use it as a signal from my body telling me to drink more water right then instead of when I get around to it. That has cut down on how many I feel each day.
    <a href="http://s267.photobucket.com/albums/ii311/spazzingbunny/?action=view
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  • lite-brightlite-bright member

    I've already noticed tightening/BH when I'm giving DD piggyback rides. 

    Babycenter says that BH start as early as 6 weeks but usually can't be felt until sometime mid-pregnancy. I bet you're a lot more sensitive/aware of them with it being your third pregnancy.  

    https://www.babycenter.com/0_braxton-hicks-contractions_156.bc 

    I have no idea what else they could be, and I don't know if BH show up as actual contractions or not. 

    image

    DD1, 1/5/2008 ~~~ DD2, 3/17/2010
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  • 2plus42plus4
    My third pregnancy was the only one (so far) that I felt braxton hicks.  I was about 5 or 6 months along. It was around Christmas time, when I was all excited and doing Christmas shopping, going from store to store and walking a ton.  I had to call my doc because they wouldn't go away (it wasn't just one or two...) so it scared me. I went to the hospital to get checked out. Felt dumb cause nothing happened while I was there. I think they gave me some pills to take though...can't remember, kind of fuzzy.  I think its more common in subsequent pregnancies IMO.
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  • JessicaG56JessicaG56
    yes I get them alot! It doesn't matter what I am doing. It is a wierd tightening and actually my belly sometimes hurts to touch during them. It kinda sends a tightening up my belly into my chest and I get a pressure in my chest..not fun. dr said my uterus might be a little wierd shaped (which I had never been told) so that may be causing them. she said it is just normal for me...but she never checked me or hooked me up so I don't really know what they are
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  • Natesmom05Natesmom05
    I've been getting that tightening for a few weeks now too. I notice it most when I've been doing a lot, like I've pushed myself too far. Usually once I lie down, it goes away. 
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  • chris27chris27
    According to my OB each pregnacy tends to be a little harder on the body even though your uterus is used to it. That meaning you experience stronger cramps, contractions, RLP etc....very similar to havign harder afterbirth pains as well. Which I don't know about you but with my 2nd was noticibly worse. I am having much more cramping ans RLP this time around than with first two.
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  • datandatan member
    I've been having these a bit.  They started on Saturday (10/3 after a long strenuous day at work - I work on my feet) and continued until Sunday.  On Monday, I went to the OB, but they'd stopped at that point.  She did a fetal non-stress test and I didn't have any contractions then and everything was fine.  She said not to worry unless they're happening regularly (every 10 minutes or 6 times in an hour).  I didn't really have any until this morning when I woke up having them.  My uterus has seemed tight through most of the day and I'm not sure if it's worse because I'm a bit constipated or what.  As a first-time mom, this is scary.  I'm not having them every 10 minutes, or more than 6 times in an hour, and they're definitely not regular.  I've been drinking a lot of water and lying down most of the day.
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