This is a kind of stupid question..

But for all the BTDT moms what exactly do contractions feel like? Are they more like sharp, stabbing pain or like menstrual cramps (worse obviously than normal)? Or a mixture of both? I have no idea what to expect. Do Braxton hicks feel like labor contractions??

Re: This is a kind of stupid question..

Not a BTDT - but I don't think this is a stupid question at all!! But I do think you are going to get a big variety of responses - nothing in pregnancy seems to be uniform for everyone (why can't there be just one thing where EVERYONE can say oh yeah this is such and such )

Re: This is a kind of stupid question..

jmo but contractions felt like an elephant doing jumping jacks on my uterus. It was terribly painful BUT i wasnt a screamer, a crier, or a curser I just kept telling my husband THIS HURTS LIKE HE**

no matter what you get through it and the result is something that is a true miracle and worth the pain in the end

Re: This is a kind of stupid question..

Hi there...
BTDT mom of my 6 mo old DD....
I was same as you....was so curious just what contractions felt like.
I was apparently having Braxton Hicks for a while and had no idea I was even having them....I was making a face and grabbing my big old prego belly one day in front of my mom...she asked me what was going on - I explained the feeling to her and she said "those are contractions". For me, the Braxton Hicks I had for a while...maybe from like mo 7 and on (I can't believe I forget already). Anyway they just felt tight is the best way I can describe them. It usually happened after I ate (I think) and my belly would just get all tight. I guess you could describe it more as menstrual cramps - they definitely weren't sharp shooting pains to me. So just a very tight feeling....it would stay tight for a bit and then go away.
As for the real thing during labor...I got my epidural when I was only 3cm so my contractions weren't that strong yet...that's the beauty of the epidural you do not need to feel the pain of contractions if you don't want to. I recommend you get it as early as they let you have it. Mine did wear off b/c I was in labor for 15 hours so I eventually did feel them.....again it was just very intense tightening feelings....menstrual cramps times 1,000....they definitely hurt let's put it that way.
Good luck to you!

ETA: I agree...not a stupid question at all!

Message edited 12/30/2010 10:23:09 AM.

Re: This is a kind of stupid question..

For me Braxton Hicks were not painfull. They just felt like me belly was getting really tight and hard. They started when I was about 7 months pregnant.

My labor pains started out feeling like Braxton hicks combined with mentrual cramps. As the contractions got stronger the pain just INTENSIFIED. I felt it in going around my lower back then to the lower part of my belly and all the down my legs.

The pain was bad, but now I am ready to do it all over again.

Re: This is a kind of stupid question..

hey i dont think its tupid at all! I am due any time now (hopfully soon) and i keep saying am I going to know when i am in labor. I have not experinced any Braxton Hicks at all this pregnancy. So I really have no idea. I also havent really felt this baby move a lot either during the pregnancy due to my anterior placenta so it makes me more worried that I wont know i am in labor!

From other BTDT moms i have asked everyone keeps telling me i will know!

Re: This is a kind of stupid question..

For me, I had a tightening feeling in my stomach/uterus on and off for about 2 weeks before I gave birth. I am pretty sure they were Braxton-Hicks.

When I went into labor, contractions felt like menstrual cramps. They started out mild and got a lot stronger as labor progressed!

ETA: I absolutely had no idea what to expect either and everyone kept telling me that I would know I was in labor. Sure enough - I knew!!

Message edited 12/30/2010 10:32:28 AM.

Re: This is a kind of stupid question..

Re: This is a kind of stupid question..

Not a stupid question because I was wondering the same thing. If it is a stabbing pain or really bad menstrual cramps.

Re: This is a kind of stupid question..

Not a stupid question. I bet all of us first timers are wondering the same thing! I know I am!

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Re: This is a kind of stupid question..

I never had Braxton Hicks, or at least I didn't know if I did. DS came early (5 weeks) and I didn't start getting contractions until after my water broke and after they gave me pitocin. But it was the most uncomfortable cramp like pain I ever experienced.]

Re: This is a kind of stupid question..

Mine felt like bad PMS cramps at first, and they were low - almost under my belly. I didn't know what they were initially; thought it was just another fun late-pregnancy bonus. It wasn't until I noticed that they occurring regularly that I realized what they were.

Re: This is a kind of stupid question..

Sorry for TMI
but for me contractions felt like I had to poop REALLY bad

Actually, when I was in the hospital, after my water broke. I kept going to the little bathroom in teh room, and finally the nurse had to yell at me that I didnt have to go to the bathroom, I was having contractions and she didnt want to have to keep cleaning up after me! (She was joking, since every time I got up, I was getting fluid everywhere) LOL It was then, hours after I started labor, hours after my water broke that I thought Oooooooohhhhhhh I am having contractions!

Re: This is a kind of stupid question..

Re: This is a kind of stupid question..

I was actually going to post a similar question. Last night at work i was standing and suddenly felt this intense pressure flow quickly through my abdomen. It didn't "hurt" but was like a quick sting (I guess like a 'tightening' feeling). I sat down and felt scared for a second, and then I remembered that in 4 days I'll be 8 months pregnant. It was probably the Braxton Hicks. I wasn't sure though as i have never experienced such things before. So I was going to ask about it.