So how do you know if it's real??

[rkold]

I'm pregnant with my first and just passed 37 weeks. I confess now, I can feel movements from our baby and sometimes tell kicks from something else, but being able to identify hiccups, twists, etc has always been beyond me, it just feels like movements.

Yesterday, when I went for my mid-day walk about part way through I'm pretty sure I felt contractions. I rested on the couch for 20 or so minutes and they went away. During my evening walk, I'm pretty sure the contractions came back, but once again went away after resting for 20 minutes.

Is this just normal Braxton Hicks type contractions? Is this false labor, pre-labor? I don't want to be the pregnant woman who cried wolf but I'm also curious if this means the baby might be coming soon. My lower back has been super achy for days, but it might just be normal back pain from being pregnant as well.

Any advice is definitely very appreciated.

[brittone2]

It is hard at the end because you can go on like that for weeks and weeks. I contracted for weeks with DS1 and was even 2-3 cm dilated and 80% effaced for several weeks. Whenever I'd walk around a big store (Costco, Home Depot) I would start contracting. But it was tied to activity and when I'd relax they'd go away.

With DS1, my first real clue was feeling super hot and naseous 2 nights before I went into labor. I must have had a big hormonal shift. My contractions had actually calmed down the week before he was born in comparison to the previous weeks. Woke up one morning and my water broke, contractions were immediately 5 mins apart and it was very obvious.

With my DD, I was only in labor 3 hours and I wasn't sure I was even in active labor for all of that. I honestly don't remember having a ton of contractions building up to my labor with her. I did not want cervical checks that time in advance as I think they are fairly pointless, but on my actual EDD my midwives pressed me and I let them check. I was like one cm barely, but went into labor the next day.

WIth my DS2, I contracted for weeks. Anytime I was in a big store, etc. but again it went away with rest. In the week leading up to my labor with him I would sometimes have contractions 7-10 mins apart for an hour or two but then they'd die off. I just went about my life. The day before I went into labor we were walking outside a lot at an outdoor museum and I was really contracting every 5-8 mins or so but again nothing *super* regular and they calmed down when I'd rest. I woke up to one huge contraction with him at 3 am and contractions were immediately about 3 mins apart. He was born 5 hours later. Never had any checks for dilation that pregnancy until my midwife showed up and I was in active labor. I had one check the whole time.

THe contractions won't go away, they'll be very regular in spacing, won't go away if you drink water and rest on your side, and they generally start getting closer together over time. Most women definitely know when it is time.

FWIW I never had bloody show or obvious loss of mucous plug before going into labor so I never had that as a clue to rely on.

Best of luck. My best advice is to just go about your days because it could still a day or two or it could be three more weeks, kwim?
:hug:

[luckytwenty]

If they go away after you lie on your side, they are Braxton Hicks. When they don't, and when there is a pattern (like every 10 minutes, then coming more quickly to every 5 or fewer minutes), you're going into labor.

[bostonsmama]

From our childbirth class notes:

False Labor (Braxton Hicks--even if they're painful):
No definite peaks w/ contx
stay pretty much the same (intensity and spacing)
change of activity/position/fluid intake changes contractions (as in, stops them)
contractions usually all in front
Note: soak a hand towel in really warm water and place it on your abdomen for 15-20 min--if the contractions subside, it's not true labor. You can also get in a warm bath.

True Labor:
Definite peaks that build in intensity
contx get stronger and closer together
nothing changes contx's
contx radiate from back to front

My mom said she had over a week of prodromal/pre-labor with me, and prior to that she had plenty of BH contx.

[rkold]

Hmmmmm, I guess they were probably B-H cause they went away, though they also definitely had peaks. I definitely felt like there was a wave/bell curve shape to the contraction. It's what made me really notice them.

I took a childbirth class, but hearing things in class and actually experiencing them are two very different things for me, since it's just not the same. And the stopping makes them seem very B-H but the actual bell curve makes it more confusing, that and the accompanying back pain.

2 weeks ago I suddenly had a huge spurt of energy that lasted until about Sat/Sun when I started falling asleep on the couch by 10:30 and taking naps through out the day. My nausea has also made a return. ~.~ Last night I could not sleep well at all.

I guess I just have to wait and see? :/

Thank you everyone for the advice so far! :grouphug:

[kam]

It could also be prodomal labor. In hindsight, I had this for about a week before my water broke at 37 weeks 0 days.

I had major "back pain" that would require me to kneel on a chair and breathe through it on and off for about 5-7 days. I couldn't walk/talk through them. I didn't think anything of it (other than "this sucks"), assuming it was just late pregnancy.

(Note -- it was definitely in my back. My DD turned out to be persistent posterior, so in hind sight the back pain makes sense).

ETA response to your post: It sounds like prodomal labor to me. According to my ob/friends -- it can go on for weeks, on and off! Good luck!!!!!

[rkold]

It could also be prodomal labor. In hindsight, I had this for about a week before my water broke at 37 weeks 0 days.

I had major "back pain" that would require me to kneel on a chair and breathe through it on and off for about 5-7 days. I couldn't walk/talk through them. I didn't think anything of it (other than "this sucks"), assuming it was just late pregnancy.

(Note -- it was definitely in my back. My DD turned out to be persistent posterior, so in hind sight the back pain makes sense).

ETA response to your post: It sounds like prodomal labor to me. According to my ob/friends -- it can go on for weeks, on and off! Good luck!!!!!

Meh, weeks of this does not sound like fun. The contractions still come and go. I've started getting them sooner into my walks and yesterday they got pretty painful.

Hopefully, this means I won't have to worry about going too far past by due date or being induced at least. :/

Thank you!

[SnuggleBuggles]

I had weeks of consistent braxton hicks every night starting around 38 weeks. Got my hopes up for quite a while till I decided that I was going to ignore them. If they were the real thing they'd wake me up was my reasoning. :) Dehydration can be a trigger and likely I wasn't drinking at night in a vain attempt to not have to go to the bathroom as much in the middle of the night.

One thing that really helped me the first time (and 2nd, for that matter) was to just ignore them. Sure, if you really, really want to you can time them for the first hour or less but then stop. Get on with life. If there is a change in strength, frequency or some other change then start looking at the clock again. Take a bath, drink some water, go for a walk, take a nap, go to the movies, go shopping...just distract yourself and know that you aren't going to miss the real thing. Ok, some people have crazy fast labors but even they tend to figure it out at some point and get where they need to be. :)

Sorry to say though that I went to 42w with ds1. It was frustrating to have such promising contractions but no labor. Then I accepted that braxton hicks are just prelabor. They are good and are helping things along. At 41w I stopped paying any attention to them at all b/c I was frustrated- they seemed so real since there was a pattern and everything. Once I stopped timing every twinge things got so much more relaxed, pleasant and happy. :) Remember, labor is a partnership and you can be super ready but the show really isn't going to happen till baby decides they are all set too.

GL!!! Remember, plan something fun on our EDD just in case. And mentally prepare for 42w but be physically prepared now-ish (packed...); plan for the longest and hope for the shortest. ;)

Beth

[rkold]

I had weeks of consistent braxton hicks every night starting around 38 weeks. Got my hopes up for quite a while till I decided that I was going to ignore them. If they were the real thing they'd wake me up was my reasoning. :) Dehydration can be a trigger and likely I wasn't drinking at night in a vain attempt to not have to go to the bathroom as much in the middle of the night.

One thing that really helped me the first time (and 2nd, for that matter) was to just ignore them. Sure, if you really, really want to you can time them for the first hour or less but then stop. Get on with life. If there is a change in strength, frequency or some other change then start looking at the clock again. Take a bath, drink some water, go for a walk, take a nap, go to the movies, go shopping...just distract yourself and know that you aren't going to miss the real thing. Ok, some people have crazy fast labors but even they tend to figure it out at some point and get where they need to be. :)

Sorry to say though that I went to 42w with ds1. It was frustrating to have such promising contractions but no labor. Then I accepted that braxton hicks are just prelabor. They are good and are helping things along. At 41w I stopped paying any attention to them at all b/c I was frustrated- they seemed so real since there was a pattern and everything. Once I stopped timing every twinge things got so much more relaxed, pleasant and happy. :) Remember, labor is a partnership and you can be super ready but the show really isn't going to happen till baby decides they are all set too.

GL!!! Remember, plan something fun on our EDD just in case. And mentally prepare for 42w but be physically prepared now-ish (packed...); plan for the longest and hope for the shortest. ;)

Beth

I'm pretty sure I'm not dehydrated, on average I try to drink 120 oz of water a day. (I go through 6-7 20+ oz water bottles a day.)

I mostly try to ignore them, except the last 2 days I've gotten them even when I'm not active and when I am active they've gotten more painful. ~.~ I'm not about to bother my midwives over them, though I do plan to talk to them about it during my week 38 appointment.

Right now, we're thinking of them more as a wake up call that the assumption we've been working under that she won't come until week 40 or later might not be completely accurate and I'm just hoping this is a sign that I won't have to worry about induction. >>; It got us to finally pack a bag and to look at our list of what we're supposed to have for her.

Thank you for the advice though! :D