real contractions vs braxton hicks

[Sunkissed19]

okay, a couple questions...firstly does your whole stomach get all hard with BH contractions or only with real ones? how can you tell the difference between the two? as far as i know i havent had any bh my whole pregnancy thus far but as i was sitting at the dinner table tonight i all of a sudden felt this weird gurgle thing...like a cluster of baby kicks but deffinitly wasnt baby kicks and then i felt this squeezing cramping sort of pain that has been coming and going now for the past half hour...and my tummy is hard. i cant feel it softening back and fourth though like i imagined contractions would be like...where you could actually feel it contracting on the outside..i cant feel the tightening on the outside..only the inside. i also feel a lot of pressure down there but i have been experiencing that since my 26th week...im 28 weeks now. Its not excruciating pain so im not that worried its just bothersome...ive had worse period cramps then this. the tightening just makes my cheeks flush and i dont feel so good.
also, i was wondering...if the baby is breech would i be feeling some kicks really down low ..like below underwear line low? (idk if he is breech ive just been getting some low blows....or what i think are kicks)
the tightening seems to come from down low and when he kicks during the crampy squeezing feeling it makes me want to throw up.

[LaceJay]

experiecing pain under my left shoulder blade, tightening of my stomach that last 30 mins to an hr at a time-w/ really low blows in private area, pelvic pain where it hurts to even sit down at times, And the only way I can sleep is on my stomach,

[Sunkissed19]

So, im not having the squeezing contracting feelings anymore so im thinking they were indeed BH but his movements right now are really intense and are actually hurting me...he seems to be twisting or turning a lot and since his kicks are so low its getting pretty uncomfortable...any tips to make him settle down? anyone know why his movements would be so rough? Do u think the contractions disturbed him?

[BradyAm]

umm with my BH (starting having them at 18 weeks) ive had it a few different ways. (i think it depends on the way shes sitting) sometimes my whole belly will get hard, other times it will be just mostly my right side and a little harder on the left. lately ive noticed its been on the top of my belly the most. real labor contractions are actually painful where as BH are not so much(just uncomfortable) and real contractions dont occur spontaneously, they happen more regularly. i get both low blows and high kicks even though she has been head down now since my 28 week U/s (32 weeks now) she'll get her feet in my ribs and she will also cause some pretty bad pelvic pains because her head is down there. usually i cant feel her kicking during a contraction, or she usually stops because im sure its uncomfortable for her too. staying hydrated and emptying your bladder often can really help a lot, it has for me anyways. and if you start having them more than 4 times in an hour drink a lot of water and put your feet up/ lay down. babies sometimes dont turn to head down until 34-36 weeks. he still has some room to move and flip until then.

[Sunkissed19]

thanks again for the advice...i will deffinitly try your suggestions if they start back up and i will bring up both the contractions and the breech issue to my doc tomorrow morning....how exactly do they feel if the baby is breech? at my last u/s at 26 weeks he still looked like he was laying long ways across my tummy..maybe a little diagonal. but they didnt say anything to me...doesnt he still have enough room to not get stuck that way right now (28 weeks) sorry if that sounds stupid lol this is my first pregnancy and i have no idea whats going on in there besides the fact that he's kicking me in my girly parts lol

[smjmekg]

It's good that they slowed down...if they start up again, I just remembered this, try taking a bath, don't make the water too hot and don't stay in too long, but it may help relax your muscles. That was another suggestion the docs gave me. It definitely does feel like he's kicking you in the vagina, been there done that with DS...bring it up to you doctor tomorrow and he/she can feel if the baby is breech.

[smjmekg]

I'm sorry to disagree, but I'm living proof that BH contractions CAN become regular, and the more I was on my feet the more they happened. Ask any doctor I guarantee they will tell you to rest often, keep off your feet as much as possible (I had to cut back hours as a waitress and eventually quit at 26 weeks b/c of my BH). More than one doctor has told me, and I have felt BH contractions that intensified, they can feel like real labor contractions.

[Sunkissed19]

Thank you for the quick reply...they have slowed down and now all im feeling is pressure and i have a 28th week check up in the morning anyway so i will mention it then. I'm getting the feeling that he may be breech because reading your description sounds all too familiar...i ask DF today..."do u think its possible for him to kick me in my actual vagina?!" lol because it seems that low. the only thing thats bothering me now is the pressure...his extremely low blows and intense nausea which hasnt been around for a while :( and im not exactly ready to throw a welcome back party for it.

[30something13]

umm, it sounds like regular contractions to me. BH are not regular and don't intensify but real contractions do. That being said I have had 4 pre term babies and all my contractions did not regulate nor get worse but it was pre term labor. I do know that if you change position then it can be BH more likely. I am 19 weeks and my little one kicks my cervix all the time! You will know if they are breech if the blows are harder down lower then up top. I would change your position to see if they get worse or better. That is all I know to say. I would not let them go on longer then a couple hours if they fon't stop even if they aren't the same apart just in case it is real!! Drink alot of water and walk or do anything to change position. hope everything is OK with you!

[smjmekg]

I had BHs from 23 weeks on...it wasn't my whole tummy that tightened, it was only my uterus, I could tell because I was skinnier back then and was all baby when I was pregnant. The further I got they'd get crampy sometimes, and I was told before 30 weeks to come in if they were 10 min apart/more than 4 an hour. I ended up going in at 25 weeks and had to have the shot cause they were 5 min apart. I'd suggest to you to lay on your left side and drink a lot of water. If they don't start to go away or get worse/closer together go to the ER, it's better to get checked out over nothing than not at all. I don't remember if I felt pressure down there or not when I had them. DS was breech, and I definitely could feel feet down there, I'd be walking and all of a sudden it felt like I got kicked on the inside of my girly area, and I had...DS's little feet were down there. I couldn't tell until after I got told at 33 weeks that it was his feet, but I do remember it. After I got told he was breech I could feel that it was his head under my ribs, because it was hard and rounded, plus he'd always punch my right side and he was sitting with his back on my left side, I was a little lopsided, lol. Anyways, the doctor also told me that with BH they can feel like real contractions as far as pain goes. You may even dilate a little with the BH. I only went to 1 cm 50% effaced before my c-section and I'd been having the BH for 16 weeks. If I were you though, honestly, I'd go get checked out. I was constantly going to the ER when I got BH close together, or if they were painful, even though they kept telling me before I left when I should come in, but I always felt better seeing DS (they'd do an u/s) and hearing his heartbeat and knowing he was ok.