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Braxton Hicks already

1K views 20 replies 15 participants last post by  ericaz 
#1 ·
Anyone else? I have been feeling them regularly for about a week now. I don't remember feeling them this early/regularly with my other pregnancies but I could just be forgetting....
 
#2 ·
I started getting them the day of my appendectomy (14 wks) and have been getting them daily since. IMO it's really early but I have been handling them fine. This is my third so I don't know if that counts for anything?
 
#3 ·
Gosh, mine started before 6 weeks. They were pretty frequent really early on (and that's definitely what they were...apparently some women get them really early, didn't realize I'd be one of them this time around!). I've only felt a couple since about 7-8 weeks or so, but I imagine I'll start feeling them more frequently now.
 
#8 ·
i get them from the very beginning, with this pregnancy and with DD. i'm not worried because they have no history of changing my cervix, but i do keep an eye out if they start to get regular (happened a few times at 28+ weeks with DD, but was not a problem).

i don't mind them. when my belly gets hard, it often does so unevenly, so it's got a big hump on one side. i call it franken-belly. hehe.
 
#10 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by majormajor View Post
when my belly gets hard, it often does so unevenly, so it's got a big hump on one side. i call it franken-belly. hehe.
ME TOO! What the heck is that all about? I'm consistently bigger on the left side. Is this common, to be asymmetrical from side to side?
 
#11 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by RoseDuperre View Post
I'm consistently bigger on the left side. Is this common, to be asymmetrical from side to side?
My little one stays on my left side too. I remember with my last pregnancy he stayed on my left side too....It must be common, especially in the beginning when there is more room in there.
 
#14 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by thismama View Post
What do BH feel like? Not sure if I'm having them. I didn't feel them at all last time although the midwife said I had them. I've had some menstrual cramp type feelings the last few days, just very very mild for a minute or so... could that be it?
To *me* BH just feel like a really tight pressure, hard to the touch. Sometimes I'd describe it like a "tension headache in my uterus".
 
#15 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by thismama View Post
What do BH feel like?
To me they feel like my stomach--or uterus--is getting really hard, kinda like a softball at this stage. They kinda come in a wave-like labor contractions-where I can feel it starting to slowly get hard, then it is hard for a minute or two and then it slowly goes back to "normal". I sometimes get butterfly like feelings in my stomach when I get the BH's, but I don't know what that's about...I haven't heard other women saying they feel that too!
 
#17 ·
At about 16 weeks I was really stressed out at work and I started cramping and had a really tight belly. It lasted about two hours. I went home because I didn't know what was wrong. My ob told me they were BH. Now I just get the tight bellt every now and then. I don't remember this happening last time.

With dd I occasionally got the asymmetrical belly. She just liked to hang out on one side. I knew her personality before she was born!
 
#18 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by thismama View Post
Huh. I get that when I orgasm. Which is... a lot.

Since I've had dd, I get mild uterine cramping whenever I have an orgasm. It has gone down in intensity, and is almost gone now. Thank goodness, because I didn't like it; and I didn't like the painful milk letdowns I had either. One time after dtd, I groused that I hated the letdown, and dh got all concerned and started stroking my hair and asked if there was anything he could do, and I looked at him like he was crazy and then started cracking up because I realized he thought I was having an emotional letdown
. I was just like, um, no -- my MILK you idiot!

Quote:

Originally Posted by thismama View Post
What do BH feel like? Not sure if I'm having them.
With dd I either didn't have them or didn't notice them until the very end (last few weeks I think). I just kept having this uncomfortable sensation that I couldn't put my finger on, and finally had the sense to touch my belly and realized it was rock hard. It was definitely NOT a normal contraction. I just remember it feeling uncomfortable, although I don't remember the sensation itself now, so I can't describe it.

For this pg, I noticed my first one yesterday, and again, it was brought to my attention by an uncomfortable sensation. The best way I can describe it is almost like a tugging in my uterus, and when I palpate, it seems like it's hard (as best I can tell through all the layers of skin and chocolate). So I'm pretty sure it's a BH. I've had one almost constantly since lunch today (so for over 2 hours
:, and I've been drinking lots of water). It's not painful. It's just kind of annoying. I really notice it when I'm carrying dd. I think because I tend to lean back to counterbalance her weight, and that stretches out my stomach/uterus area, which probably makes the tightness more obvious.
 
#19 ·
Mine started with a vengeance (sp?) yesterday (19w) and have been going pretty strong since. I don't recall having them until I was much further along with Isadora (like the end of the 3rd trimester) so it's kinda weird. Last night they came in waves and were uncomfortable. Lots of tightening. Not pain - just tightness.
I've asked some friends with 2 and many of them have said they had them from the get go with their second. I have a love/hate relationship with my BH contractions. On one hand it's SO early so it freaks me out that I'm already having them even if they aren't the real thing BUT I'm also glad to know that my body is gearing up to do something that it instinctively knows how to do. Does that make sense?
 
#20 ·
Ericaz, if you are having them often within a couple days time maybe you should call your OB/MW about it? I'm scared of pre-term labor.....although I've never had Braxton Hicks till my 7th-8th month with my previous pregnancies.

I had one last night though. We were on our way to a birthday party and I felt this extreme tightening in my belly around to my back for a few seconds before it went away. It took me a little bit to realize that WAS a contraction cause I had to think back to my other kids pregnancies and then it hit me like a lightbulb!
 
#21 ·
Quote:

Originally Posted by lylas View Post
Ericaz, if you are having them often within a couple days time maybe you should call your OB/MW about it? I'm scared of pre-term labor.....although I've never had Braxton Hicks till my 7th-8th month with my previous pregnancies.

I had a check up today with my OB and mentioned the BH. He said it's totally normal and nothing to worry about - very common for moms who've already had kids to have earlier and more frequent BH.
And, mine have definitely subsided the last day or two. They were crazy this weekend but recently, not so much.
 
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