What does labor feel like?

Please try to explain the feeling of labor to a woman who has never even really had a Braxton-Hicks contraction (I can't tell if I have or haven't, to be completely honest). The only feeling I know is the feeling of menstrual cramping.

How does labor feel when it is coming on? How do contractions feel? Do they have clear starting and stopping points? Can you look at your belly and see when they start & stop? What about them hurts?
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Personally, the contractions I've felt have only been tightness. It starts and my sides and meets in the middle, I lose my breath but nothing painful. I've been getting menstrual like-cramps though, so the contractions I've felt may have been BH. I don't know anymore, my belly hurts all the god damn time. :/

Quoting 41 weeks.:" Personally, the contractions I've felt have only been tightness. It starts and my sides and meets in ... [snip!] ... though, so the contractions I've felt may have been BH. I don't know anymore, my belly hurts all the god damn time. :/"

Yeah mine does too. I get cramps all of the time and my entire abdominal area feels bruised to hell and back. I can't imagine how you feel at 41 weeks!  

Quoting The Inconspicuous Raccoon:" Yeah mine does too. I get cramps all of the time and my entire abdominal area feels bruised to hell and back. I can't imagine how you feel at 41 weeks!  "

Hahaha, I feel done. I'm getting induced tomorrow night, praise sweet baby jesus.

BH are like a tightness. Like if you were flexing your muscles in your stomach, but you can't control it. Real contractions felt like really intense menstrual cramps to me. Same spot and everything. There was a starting and stopping point but I couldn't see it in my belly.

With DD I had period like cramps that got increasingly worse as the day wore on. My stomach would get tight and then relax with the cramps, no amount of water or relaxation helped.
My BH with this baby have been painless, just tightening of my stomach.

I felt period like cramps at first and then they got stronger (tighter) and more uncomfortable. I also had my bloody show. My labor went really fast for a first baby (so my doctor said) it was 15 hours from the beginning of the first period cramp to him being born.

<blockquote><b>Quoting Peyton'sMommy♥:</b>" I felt period like cramps at first and then they got stronger (tighter) and more uncomfortable. I also ... [snip!] ... fast for a first baby (so my doctor said) it was 15 hours from the beginning of the first period cramp to him being born."</blockquote>




15 hours? O.o I would've died.
From loss of plug, bloody show, first contractions to DD being born, my total labor was 7 hours.

For me it felt like I was on my period.
I woke up with cramps and feeling like I had to take a smurf but couldn't. So it wasn't that bad for me
I would not had gone to the hospital if it wasn't for my doula.

Quoting Monique's mom + 1:" <blockquote><b>Quoting Peyton'sMommy♥:</b>" I felt period like cramps at first ... [snip!] ... hours? O.o I would've died. From loss of plug, bloody show, first contractions to DD being born, my total labor was 7 hours."

My cousin labored 48 hours in the hospital before my nephew's hb dropped and she got a c/s... lol

Quoting Monique's mom + 1:" <blockquote><b>Quoting Peyton'sMommy♥:</b>" I felt period like cramps at first ... [snip!] ... hours? O.o I would've died. From loss of plug, bloody show, first contractions to DD being born, my total labor was 7 hours."

Lol, I had an epi. But for the first like 6ish hours I was in hell because they didn't believe I was in labor and wouldn't check me. (I was already in the hospital due to other health issues) But I had all back labor. I wanted to die for the first few then the epi saved my life.

BH cramps for me felt like a coming and going tightness. Before I was actually in labor, I also had contractions that felt like period cramps and some that were mildly painful; however, they were sporadic and not timeable. In early and active labor, I felt most of my contractions in my back and cervix. They felt like a mix of period and diarrhea cramps. I can't really explain what the contractions felt like once I hit transition. Just nonstop waves of pain.

<blockquote><b>Quoting Peyton'sMommy♥:</b>" Lol, I had an epi. But for the first like 6ish hours I was in hell because they didn't believe I was ... [snip!] ... hospital due to other health issues) But I had all back labor. I wanted to die for the first few then the epi saved my life."</blockquote>

I couldn't get the Epidural, I was too far gone when I got to the hospital.
It's like the gates of hell opened in my vag. It was horrible. Lol

I had all low stomach cramps, where you'd feel period cramps.

Quoting The Inconspicuous Raccoon:" Please try to explain the feeling of labor to a woman who has never even really had a Braxton-Hicks contraction ... [snip!] ... clear starting and stopping points? Can you look at your belly and see when they start & stop? What about them hurts? ."

With my daughter I had back labor and hadn't felt any contractions my entire pregnancy, when I did go into labor it was like a tightening uncomfortable feeling. Not knowing I was having contractions till they kept coming back. Basically it just felt my my whole lower body was tightening. When i got into active labor, all I can remember is my stomach hurt so bad and I was having constant bowel movements. Eventually it felt like my spine was splitting in half and I opted not to take the epidural right away, but had to cause LO was in fetal distress. I was 7cm dilated by then and had my bloody show.

This time I feel the contractions and can often see them, my stomach tightens and gets all hard, but when I was in pre term labor it just felt like a really bad tummy ache. Plus my stomach rose up a lil bit, felt like I was pushing my tummy out.

I had a med-free birth.

I lost my mucous plug and was kinda crampy first, like BH. But as they progressed, tehy started having a little pain to them that made me go "ow" so I waited a few hours, they were very dull pains and only lasted a little, but they didn't go away. They started getting longer and more painful. When I was in active labour past 6cm, it felt like I took a bunch of laxatives and had that cramping like your insides are going to explode if you don't poop.