will i know a contraction when i have one?

[Mum2Romone]

Hi,

You will know it when you have one. If you have had braxton Hicks contractions then you'll know the real ones are more intense.
if you havent its like a vibration , all your stomach muscles tense and release at weird times , you can actually see it lol

Best of Luck Sweety, You'll know

[2CheekyMonkeys]

i agree with the wave of pain also. however, with DD1 i had pain in between contractions also. it was like the beginnng of the wave of pain was continuous but the peaks were there also. that was an induction labour with no signs of readiness. (and a reaction to prostoglandin) so not sure if that is normal or not.

second labour, no pain in between contractions only for a short time though as they got closer together really quickly (4 1/2 hour labour) and then it seems they come upon each other and also, you zone out and forget to even think about looking at the clock or thinking about them.

[allycat06]

mine were like a tightening sensation in my lower back (i had a posterior bub) and like Nelle said came in waves. For the last few weeks of my pregnancy i'd been get all having sorts of odd niggly pains so when I first felt that back pain my inital reaction was "oh that's a new one, let's see if it happens again then i'll know it's a contraction." Sure enough I had another 15mins later and they were in full swing from then on in!

[CinderToriella]

I guess i can be glag iv had and am having so many BH ,they ahve been stronger over the last few weeks and its a lie that they arent painful as they are lol, obviously not as hurty as a real contraction but i feel its a good thing to have them..

It prepares your body and u get an idea of what u will feel in labour ,and like most of you said unles they get in a pattern and more painful i will prob be in labour and not even know it

[ColeStar8]

I was quite nieve as well - I was in labor for several hours before relising it. My contractions never became "established" they were like period pain but more intense and lasting for about 20 seconds and then fading away - they were mostly down in my lower abdomen and in my back...I managed to only go to the hosptial when I felt something wasnt right and an hour later Jayde was born...Though I do say If I had to stop what I was doing and breathe my way through the pain that was probably a good indication

I was stupid enough to relise that pushing sensation (like I needed to go to the toilet) was actually my little one saying "I am here and I am ready" though my waters never actually broke - as she was so far down they "trickled" out as that was my indication that I needed to go to hospital.

[Lewis's Mummy]

For those who had the period pain-type cx, did you find that it changed into your labour? Did the cx start moving up to the top of your uterus? Or did it stay down low?

I don't remember feeling very much up the top of the uterus at all...it just got more and more intense down where the period type pain was to the point where I was naturally breathing out through them and had to be standing bent over what/who ever was nearby. There was something more up the top not long before the pushing stage, but that was more like the muscles doing their thing like when you hold a stomach crunch or something, rather than pain as such for me. The big pain was still low down. Back pain didn't start for me at all until push time with that feeling of having to do the biggest poo of your life lol

[Janie]

Thanks for that Lewis' Mummy!

[beckoes]

I spent hours in denile about the fact i was in labour. I imagined contractions to be all over my whole tummy or low down right underneath my bump, but they were right at the top, almost in my chest (as i was so big). I remember think if this hurts whats labour going to be like....in reality...that was labour! I guess you spend so long waiting and wondering and then when its actually happening you cant belive its real! I accepted it was real when my legs felt like they werent able to keep me standing up during them and i have to kneel down! And i was on the phone to the midwife and was explaining that i didnt think it was real and i had one on the phone and couldnt talk through it....she said 'yes...thats real'!!

Everyone tells you 'it hurts' and i just said 'yeah, im pretty good with pain' i was actually shocked at the kind of pain....when you hurt your self its kind of surface pain, this is right inside you....i know thats obvious, but when id imagined labour i guess id imagined the muscles on the out side, that you can touch when you put your hand on your tummy hurting, but its so internal....does that make any sence or do i just sound like a wierdo! sorry!!!

[CinderToriella]

oh beck lol yeah i know what your trying to say but as iv never had a bubba its hard for me to know what it would feel like ..

i imagined it to be like bad surface pain as well, even though of course it cant be when its all your insides moving your bub down , but its so hard to know how it feels like untill your having one i guess.

Iv just got really bad period pain that iv had bad for the last 2 days ,wouldnt it be lovely if thats all the pain i get lol

[beckoes]

It is impossible to know till its actually happening to you! would be nice if it was just period pain the whole time though...you know, i read somewhere that 5% of woman dont have very much pain atall.....oh to be that 5%!!! (not sure how true that is btw)
Something that got me threw the first few hours was just saying 'good pain, good pain' over and over!! have you read that book by juju sundin (someone will know the name, ive forgotten...birth something) . was pretty good for me.

ETA: its called 'birth skills'...i googled it

[smamfa]

With ds #1 I completely didn't know. I had been getting sporadic "gas" pains all day, including as we went out for a Mexican dinner It was only at 10pm that night when the *regularity* of them made my brain perk up and take notice (and by then they had started coming every 3-5 minutes.) I didn't have any BH prior to this, and spent some time wondering if that was what was happening - but nope it was labour alright! (I still laugh at myself that after all of the reading and prep I thought I'd done I was on google at 10.30pm asking "what does labour feel like"?) And to think I'd thought I was in tune with my body !

[~breeze~]

hey Shell, just wondering how you're going

[CinderToriella]

hey Shell, just wondering how you're going

Hey breeze, I am hanging in there , lots of different pains still but i still dont know what that big contraction will feel like

come on big contraction hit me with it i am ready !!

[StephV]

I had cramps like period pain to start and was worried something was wrong with the bub. Went got it checked out, was told not dialating and baby fine.

Ended up with a constant ache - no real start or stop. Nothing like what I expected to be labour - nothing to really time. Tell you what though about 20 mins before she was born - it was really easy to tell - very much start and stop. I do recommend being at the hospital well before that though!

[CinderToriella]

i can finally answer my own question


My contractions to me felt like the worst kind of period pain u can get, really bad pain, i never felt tightenings as such nothing at the top of my belly like i thought i would,really bad period pain that i would feel building up then peak then settle down..I also felt my contractions the worst in my back it was the most awful back pain.

[beckoes]

congrats on your little ones arrival....

[Peg]

Hi Guys

Just wondering what contractions felt like for u? if u have had previous bubs of course

i have had a lot of BH but im just thinking will i actually know what a real contraction is when i have one?

i know its hard to explain and describe but what do they feel like? does it start at the top and move down? or sometimes just at the bottom? bit confused lol

hehe oh im sorry but your question just made me laugh

BH are absolutely wonderful contractions...if only real contractions were like that! Labor would be a breeze

[CinderToriella]

hehe oh im sorry but your question just made me laugh

BH are absolutely wonderful contractions...if only real contractions were like that! Labor would be a breeze

hahah thats ok I love my BH i think they are what made most of my labour go so quick and easy- except for later on , omg bring back the BH lol