Contractions - a question

[nerdymom]

My contrax begin like this:

-My uterus gets very tight, like a bowling ball. I'm so used to this feeling that most of the time it barely registers with me.
-Then I feel like someone is pushing down on my bowling ball - this is what gets my attention (most of the time).
-Then I get cramping and pressure low down.

The whole process takes about 4-5 minutes if I time from when my uterus first tightens, but the cramping and pressure only lasts about a minute. Sometimes I don't even feel a let-up in the "bowling ball", just another wave of cramping and pressure.

Is this normal? It's been days of this and by now I am just :!

[OkiMom]

I don't know if its normal or not. With DD I had back labor so it didn't feel anything like that.. However, it sounds like it sucks.. Hopefully it is and you can met your baby soon.

[~Charlie's~Angel~]

That actually sounds like BH to me. Thats what my BH are like, and with DS#1, after my water broke, my actual contractions were MUCH more painful. they really did come in waves, and I barely noticed the tightening, just the cramp like pain in my entire uterus. Everyone is different and everyone labors different, but I hope some of this helps. Do you get internals? Maybe if you have one, it will show you are very effaced and dialted, and thats what all this work has been for?

[louloubean]

i get the same feeling.
it's braxton hicks for me.
i especially dislike the pressure on my bladder and cervix! :

once the "real" ones kick in, you'll forget about these.

hang in there, i'm rooting for you!

[nerdymom]

Talked to my MW this morning. She gave me a couple new ideas to help facilitate the baby moving. I'm already doing inversions, pelvic rocks, and I've been sitting on a stupid ball for months now. She gave me a couple more ideas so we'll see if her tips help LO get into the position s/he wants.

[Katielady]

That's exactly what my BH feel like. Although I didn't have them with this much intensity and frequency with my first pregnancy; it sounds like you're getting BH more like what mamas get with later pregnancies. How fun for you!

It's weird how long the tightness lasts. Very different from labor contractions, as a pp said.

[AugustineM]

Yes, it does sound like BH. How uncomfortable are they? Would you describe them as painful? Everyone is different as far as what labor contractions feel like. My labor contractions are not intensely painful... they are just very close together, like 1-2 minutes apart, and definitely uncomfortable but not extremely so. But my labor contractions I felt more up front and down low, not like the all-over tightening and pressure of BH.

However, I am sure that the sensations you are feeling are doing something, yk?

[coyotemist]

With each pregnancy the contractions have felt different for me. Maybe depending on the babie's position and the placenta's position.

It sounds like your MW is helping a lot. I hope things happen for you soon!