I'm asking this just because I'm curious how many other moms have/are experiencing this and for how long. The past three days I have started getting contractions that I would still consider uncomfortable rather than painful, but they don't seem like Braxton Hicks contractions anymore. They will come in waves, with a definitely peak and a decline. Usually at the peak it feels like I am having a menstrual cramp and I will sometimes experience shortness of breath. They do go from my back to my front or vice versa. They still haven't had much of a pattern, though I've had spans where they have occurred several times in one hour. I went to the hospital Sunday for a possible leak in my waters, and they checked my effacement and said I was 70%, which seemed to be improvement from my Friday checkup at the OB/GYN. These contractions don't ease up or go away with movement or water. I'm guessing these are "real" contractions?
Re: Not Braxton Hicks but no baby
Sounds like it, but you can have "real" contractions for weeks before you go into actual labor, sorry to say.
I had regular, painful contractions for five hours the other night. They never got closer together or more intense. I'm still, unfortunately, very much pregnant.
good luck.
I think any contractions that aren't part of labor are called Braxton-Hicks contractions. They do get much stronger toward the end of pregnancy, but they're still BH. My OB just calls them all "contractions" without differentiating, as in "Have you been having any contractions?"
I mean, I've been having contractions a ton, and they've effectively dilated me to 3 cm, but that's over several days/weeks, so they're braxton-hicks and not "real." But they're sure started feeling much more "real" lately than they were at first! For me they tend to get stronger with movement, but they'll go away after a nap or a good night's sleep.
Mama to Sebastian, born 9/2010
I had BH since I was 28 wks.At 34 wks they had to stop my contractions they were 4 min apart and very regular.Since they werent changing my cervix they called them BH.At 37.4 wks they became painful and frequent yet i remained 1 cm.Icontinued having them strong and close together for days until they became unbearable.I finally had my lil guy Thursday at 38 wks 4 days.Hang in there!I was in pain for weeks and contracting regularly.there are exceptions to every''rule''.