How do you know

PinkinProvence

the difference between cramping, gas pains, constiptaion, round ligament pain, early contractions, etc.?   Ughhh, it's enough to drive you batty or just feel paranoid.  I always feel that I don't call the doctor enough to ask questions, but I don't feel like having to go down there for every pinch and jab!

MadeOfAwesome

I had always wondered whether I would be able to tell or not.  I was scared that I'd start having contractions and not be able to recognize them.  Boy, was I wrong.  The second that first contraction hit, I KNEW what it was.  There was no mistaking it.

PinkinProvence

MadeOfAwesome said:

I had always wondered whether I would be able to tell or not.  I was scared that I'd start having contractions and not be able to recognize them.  Boy, was I wrong.  The second that first contraction hit, I KNEW what it was.  There was no mistaking it.

That's what I figured. Thanks!  Just like EWCM, you know it and there's no mistaken it.  I just have myself in a neurotic headspace right now!!

botanicalbliss

MadeOfAwesome said:

I had always wondered whether I would be able to tell or not.  I was scared that I'd start having contractions and not be able to recognize them.  Boy, was I wrong.  The second that first contraction hit, I KNEW what it was.  There was no mistaking it.

Yup.

Lynn0514

MadeOfAwesome said:

I had always wondered whether I would be able to tell or not.  I was scared that I'd start having contractions and not be able to recognize them.  Boy, was I wrong.  The second that first contraction hit, I KNEW what it was.  There was no mistaking it.

This is reassuring to hear. I've been wondering the same thing.

Kaiene

MadeOfAwesome said:

I had always wondered whether I would be able to tell or not.  I was scared that I'd start having contractions and not be able to recognize them.  Boy, was I wrong.  The second that first contraction hit, I KNEW what it was.  There was no mistaking it.

This makes me giggle. Looking back, I should have known what I thought were BH were legit contractions, but I had like 5 and then my water broke. I'm actually afraid I won't know I'm in labor this time unless my water breaks again, lol. Me needing to breathe through them should have been a clue. DH was all, "are you ok?" And I was like, "oh yeah I'm totally fine."

They came to a peak in terms of pain. It reminds me of the old school lap seat belts; the pain started on both sides and met in the middle, then tapered off.

tdmd09

If you have a pain consistently that you can't figure out and are concerned about, there's no harm in calling and asking. I had a few PTL scares and I had a constant cramping in the front with intermittent low back pain. It was really uncomfortable, but didn't feel like what I thought a contraction would feel like. I called my OB after a few hours because rest and water and repositioning didn't make it stop, so I drove myself in (yeah, don't do that) and sure enough I was having timeable contractions. I had a lot of BH which were painless, but I also had a TON of constant cramps and back pain because apparently I had a very irritable uterus. I never would have known any of this had I not called to check.

vitan

cramping, gas and constipation have all been similar for me but I now can distinguish among the three. RL pain was usually sharp and sudden. BH was just tightening with no real pain. I didn't have contractions until after the Pitocin but I've always heard that you'll know when you get them.

sgautschi

Mine were lower back/ abdominal pains that I could time every few minutes. Once I hit 4cm they turned into a radiating pain that started at the top and moved down and also was in my back. Of course mine were induced with pitocin, so I knew what they were, but they were definitely different than period cramping or BH.

nic77du

If it feels like period cramps, then I would be more concerned that it was a true contraction.   Any consistent pain in that general area would be a concern too.  twinges here and there are pretty normal tho.