Contractions

[Kim1989]

How exactly do you time contractions?

Ive been having contractions since last night. i Left my bfs house and had two really really painful contractions but they stopped. Today we went to target, which practically killed me, and i had a couple of contractions there. that was earlier today and they stopped. then i woke up from my nap and had 1 long painful contraction. i dont kno wheter its real or not. im 38 weeks. i heard your whole uterus balls up...and it has. before when i was dealin with bh contractions it felt like it was just really really down low. and this isnt. but when it balls up i try and relax it and cant.  are these fake or not.

[connorethansmom]

I was told 5 minutes appart for 1 hour.  You time them from the start of the contraction to the start of the next one.  They say if you get something to drink and lay down and they don't go away then start timing.  I had several weeks of is this it, is this it with my son only to deliver 40 weeks 6 days.  But when it happened I knew.  Best of luck!

[Kim1989]

i kno they are supposed to get stronger and closer together. im just wondering if they are developing in the real thing. because i kno you have to wait a certian amont of time until they are x mins apart.  i go to the doctors on weds. i havent had one since i posted this tho so i dont really know

[irrelevance]

You should wait until they get stronger, and closer together.. when you have more within a time frame.. really they say you're only truly in labor when you have your contractions, i think it's 5? minutes apart.. so really i'd wait until they are about 10 minutes or less apart to really worry about it too much.. and if they persist just time them from the start of the first, to the start of the next and maybe just write it down/keep note and just keep an eye on it.

[Shadek]

If I was you I would go to see your Dr or maybe hospital they will be able to tell you either way.
I know at 38 weeks I had all of my 3 children & im thinking this pregnancy will be the same.

[Kim1989]

oo ok. see i was laying down with this last one...and it didndt go away. i felt like i felt it worse. im just confused as to why they like stop. their getting more powerful but not like a few within the hour. so i dont know if they can be like a few here and there...then getting closer and more powerful or what.  what do i do. just go thru my normal activities and see if they get closer and more powerful?

[jastinker]

Hi there, BH are not fake so to speak, think of it as practice sprints fo rthe marathon (birth). True labor does not go away with lying down, drinking fluids and get harder and closer together. To time a contraction start from the beginning you feel it to the beggining of the next one. I hope this helps and best of luck!! If it is labor make sure to eat something light but rich in protein before you go in, as long as you are not a c-section. :-)