Silly question, hopfully one of the last!

[mamaofonetrying42]

When my belly gets hard all over thats a contractions, right? Some time they hurt and other times they dont, is that normal?? Belly feels very heavy today?

[jesslee83]

i've never been in labor....but i've been told that your belly hardens, and you have some loss of breath....but give yourself 10 minutes, and someone more informed or experienced than me will be able to tell.....oh, are you timing these "hard-ons" lol, no pun intended, i couldnt think how else to put it!

[mamaofonetrying42]

LOL. today they are just coming and going where ever they want. Saturday night they were about 20mins apart and there some what painfull! Thanks

[Sai387]

If you are near due date, I guess Yes. B'coz even I had the same issue with my 2 kids. I did not feel any kind of pain though I'm 5 cm dilated and 75% effaced. My Nurse told me that I'm not in labour when I called her from home for couple of times. But the last call I made to her and told her that if she did not call me for the labour, I'm going to deliver at home since I felt some heavy object is coming down. Then she asked me to come down for the labour and checked and I'm in 5 cm and 75% effaced. So, some people might not feel pains at all. Any way all the best.

[babydreams9]

I'll be interested to see peoples' responses. Sometimes my belly gets SUPER hard for about a minute, once or twice a day. But nothing hurts and I don't feel anything anywhere else (no cramps or anything.) It's weird. It gets especially hard on the top half. I try to feel around to see if maybe it's just the baby's back or something... but it doesn't feel like it. I wonder if they are BH or what....?? You're way closer that me so maybe they are different things... hope someone experienced can give you a better reply!! :-P I have heard from pretty much everyone that during stage 1 of labor the belly tends to feel very heavy as the baby decends.

[BTS1022]

babydreams9- Yes those are BH contractions


In order to really tell if it is true labor, your belly will harden up like rock freakin solid. It will also be very hard to move, talk, and sometimes breath with these contractions. Also if they seem to interupt your daily activities, then the chances are they are true labor pains. By interupt I mean, making you stop whatever your doing, or it distracts you from what you were previously doing.

I wish you the best of luck!

pokes Hunter! Time to come out little man!

[mamaofonetrying42]

Thanks everyone, I feel like this is my 1st time around. LOL with my son I was induce at 38wweeks and Never had a kind of contraction/BH and once They started me on the pitocin(sp) I didnt feel anything intill they broke my water and then it all came at once! LOL.


Anyone else?

[Michele, Katy, TX]

Yes, your tummy will get really hard and might just feel tight.  It might not be really painful.  Maybe just a bit uncomfortable.  I have 5 and with my last, I went to work that morning as usual.  I was scheduled to be induced by my choice the following day.  Want to make sure it was my doc that delivered her.  Anyway, I started feeling these contraction on my way to work.  Well by number 5 and being that I was only 6 days from my due date, I was experiencing Braxton Hicks a lot so this wasn't uncommon.  I got to work and was trying to wrap everything up for the big day the following day.  I kept feeling the contractions.  I was able to work just fine.  The only thing that was messing up my concentration was knowing that I may be going into labor but not he pain itself.  I started timing them and writting it down.  By 10:00 I was still having regular contractions and I'd been at work for 3-12 hours by then.  So I told myself that if I was still contracting by 10, I would call my doc.  I did and they sent me to L&D.  Got there and they were 2 minutes apart so out she came that evening.

Okay, sorry for this long story that you really didn't need to hear.  LOL!!!  But what I am trying to say is that they won't necessarily be extremely painful in the beginning.  Infact, for me, they don't start out very painful at all.  I can just feel it but I can go on about my day just fine.  I also am not one to drop my babies out in a matter of minutes either.

Also, sometimes the baby can stretch and that will make your stomach pretty hard if you have a butt going one way and their little arms going another!!  LOL

Sorry so long......:)  Good Luck with your delivery!!