How would you describe a contraction

period pain / belly ache pain.. That came in a wave of really intense then it would stop...

I had a posterior labour, so it was like my lower back was being squeezed.
Pushing was great relief when the time came!

Very different at different times!

My first labour started as period type pain that just got bigger and more intense as we went along, then eventually feeling like a HUGE amount of pressure in my stomach. So 'pain' from the get go.

Second labour was totally different, it started with just a pulling contracting feeling that wasn't painful. It was a bit weird, just like you could feel the muscles working and tightening. I felt the same kind of muscle tightening/working sensation as if I'd clenched my fist and tried to show off the muscles in my arm (LOL), but I wasn't creating the pulling action, it was just happening in my belly by itself. Another way to describe it was like I had a whole belly band made of super super strong elastic wrapped just around my baby (so not outside my whole belly, under the skin and just around the baby) and some one was pulling on the band, gently to start with then pulling really really really hard so the pressure was enough turn coal to diamonds! At one stage I could just feel the elastic being pulled at the top of my bump, but it moved further and further down until it was all my bump. I only really felt 'pain' towards the end when the pressure was very intense.