Braxton Hicks?

I'm having my first baby, and the doctor has been asking me if I've had contractions at all, and I really don't know. I just tell her that I get cramps and stuff sometimes. It was so hard to try to figure it out until my mom, who has had 6 kids, told me the difference. Has anyone been confused about it? I get my really bad cramps, or Braxton Hicks, whichever one is dubed(sp?) better to call it, in the morning right after I pee, especially when I didn't go right before I went to bed. Talk about pain. I don't want to imagine child birth. :\

Amanda = 

i'm STILL confused at what they are supposed to feel like...

In my experiences with Braxton Hicks I would say that you would definitely know what they are. It is pretty painless (for the most part) but you can absolutely feel a very strong tightening of your uterus. It gets VERY hard. Once again, though, it has been painless for me so far.

I had them with both of mine. It is hard to tell sometimes, especially with your 1st. Really, they are generally painless and maybe a little uncomfortable. You feel a tightening in your belly and your stomach gets REALLY hard. It feels like a rock. They generally last about 30-45 seconds. They are not timeable, have no rhyme or reason to them. If they become timeable, increase in intensity (start to hurt) and their duration is longer, call your Dr. Braxton Hicks are just "practice" for your uterus for the big day. Good luck!!!

I wake up every morning with BH contractions. They usually don't hurt, but the other night I had some that were really uncomfortable. Like other girls said - the best way to know is that your stomach gets suuuper hard for a minute or so.

For the last month and a half I have had them after every time I pee at night (usually 4-6 times/night). Yesterday was the first day that I had a BUNCH of them ALL day long. It was weird. They almost feel like that feeling you get right before you have to crap, mixed with cramps, in my opinion.

Oh...and they get more intense as you get closer. I am overdue now and they are pretty intense contractions. I think they are still BH ones because they are impossible to keep timed, and they are just uncomfortable...I can still talk through them.

This is my second child and I'm almost 37 weeks and I still don't really know what BH are!! I've never apparently had any pain with BH's when I get them, I'm assuming I get them   My stomach seems like it's always hard. Seriously you could bounce a quarter off my stomach any time of any day!! So, I'm still a little confused too, lol. Some people say you feel them start from the top of your stomach down, but I've never felt that with either pregnancy. Goodluck figuring it out.

I think I experienced them for the first time the other day. I started to get lower back pain (not unbearable but it was uncomfortable) and my stomach would get hard as a rock. It happened on and off for a good 4 hours.. I was hoping they were real contractions but there was no way.. they weren't strong enough and it would have been too hard to time them.

Quoting Stephanie0630:“ This is my second child and I'm almost 37 weeks and I still don't really know what BH are!! I've never ... [snip!] ... feel them start from the top of your stomach down, but I've never felt that with either pregnancy. Goodluck figuring it out.”

I'm the same way. My stomach seems to always be hard as a rock, except for when I don't eat anything for a while. It's so weird to try to figure them out, but I do get pains that last for a minute or so, which seems like forever until you look at the clock. Maybe that's them? I hope I don't get back labor though, because my back already hurts sometimes when I lay down on it. Could you tell your contractions during your first delievery?

Amanda =: )

Quoting Stephanie0630:“ This is my second child and I'm almost 37 weeks and I still don't really know what BH are!! I've never ... [snip!] ... feel them start from the top of your stomach down, but I've never felt that with either pregnancy. Goodluck figuring it out.”

I'm the same way. My stomach seems to always be hard as a rock, except for when I don't eat anything for a while. It's so weird to try to figure them out, but I do get pains that last for a minute or so, which seems like forever until you look at the clock. Maybe that's them? I hope I don't get back labor though, because my back already hurts sometimes when I lay down on it. Could you tell your contractions during your first delievery?

Amanda =: )

i guess im still confused really as to what they feel like...
it just seems to get really tight at the top...? who knows.

i figured it out today has anyone felt like their baby curl into a ball and ur tummy gets really hard for like a minute thats a braxton hicks contraction.

i am still confused on if i am having BH or if it is just the baby. i don't really know. my stomach gets hard but i just can't tell which it is.