you should time the pain, if they are happing in intervals, like every two minutes or every twenty minutes then they are contractions, if they are not in intervals, like if you get pain, then after 5 minutes get another then after seven minutes you get another then these are Braxton hicks...
don't worry if your stomach is getting hard because with Braxton hicks and with contractions it gets hard....
tell me what happens
Are you timing the pains? Is your stomach tightening?