How do you distinguish Braxton contractions vs real ones?

other than time apart/regular for real contractions; does the beginning of labor feel like braxtons- just on a more constant basis?  I'm sitting here at work and my belly is tightening-  my whole belly-  not just the upper part where I ususally get my braxtons.  I'm due on sunday-  should I just time and track?  They kinda hurt a little.

For me, regular contractions hurt a LOT right from the get go.  The kind of hurt where you run a bath to try to alleviate the pain, not just a general tightening.  I had the tightening feeling for about 2 weeks before I finally went into labor.

I never felt contractions with my first (induced/epidural).

With my second, I had pre-term labor that didn't hurt, but the contractions were obviously regular and did not go away.  I went to the hospital and they confirmed them.  I was still not in pain, but had to stay for hours while the docs tried to get the labor to stop.

Then, when I went into labor at term, the contractions didn't hurt at first.  They were regular.  Drinking water/showering/walking/changing positions didn't stop them.  They didn't start to hurt until after my water broke.

EDIT:  I think most doc will tell you that the italicized information is the key to telling BH from real contractions.

EDIT 2:  I hope this is it for you.  I know you are ready.  :)

When I was pregnant with my first, I never really felt the Braxton Hicks contractions.  In fact, at my 37 week appointment, my doctor asked if I'd been having contractions and I said no.  He laughed and told me I had since I was dialated 1cm.  I really never felt them. 

The night before I went into labor, I had contractions for several hours.  They were painful, but nothing I couldn't handle.  And they didn't come in any kind of regular intervals.  The following morning, my water broke and real contractions started immediately.  I could definitely tell a difference between the real ones and the ones from the night before. 

But now I'm wondering if you've had the baby yet??? :)

No baby yet!  The contractions went away when I started to walk around.  Oh well!  I'm at home working :-/   I got home from work and then went food shopping.  I have so much energy I can't slow down!  I feel really good-  like I did in the middle of my second trimester when you really get that glow.  I guess today was a "good day"  I'll just keep tune to what's going on.

And I will try to post if I go into labor to let everyone know!

having that bustle and full of energy thing is a sign, in my book, that things are about to get moving (well, soon is relative....).

i do remember that the difference between the two for me was the whole moving/drinking/eating thing.  but early labor for me lasted about 2 days, 10 min apart, painful to take my breath for a second, less tightening and more like squeezing.  and then it got worse ;)

of course 8 years my memories could be fuzzy. good luck!  (one of the strangest things i found that helped me was imagery while i was in labor.  i stalled out and then regressed a bit and they threatened me with a section.  i begged for an hour.  i imagined myself as a flower, opening up with each contraction.  it helped keep me calm and who knows, maybe it helped actually get to where i needed to be... 1.5 hours after I was threatened with the section, I was pushing).

Real contractions HURT!!!  And I mean a pain that you can't even really imagine.  Didn't have much in the way of braxton hicks, but what I did have just felt like a tightening, almost like the baby was moving in all directions at once.  Trust me, you WILL know when you are in labor!  My labor started at 2 am (well at least thats when i woke up) and it was painful from the start and the contractions were about 5 mins apart but a bit irregular.  Maybe I slept through early labor, I don't know.  Labor lasted 20 hrs of full on contractions 3-5 mins apart for most of it, they started out painful and just got worse, but I still did the whole thing natural.  They had to finally break my water after 16 hrs to get me to dialate. 

No long now, I hope all goes well for you!

drea-  that doesn't sound strange at all.  I use imagery to get rid of migraines; since pain meds don't really work.  I picture my brain as a shore and as a wave breaks and ebbs back; it takes the pain away with it.  It's been so effective!!  I've been studying the bradley method of imagery and breathing-  we'll see how it goes!!

LOL-  now I think every pain I feel, cramp, backache-  whatever it may be is labor  :)

I guess it was strange for me considering I had taken no natural childbirth classes and I was quite young.  I had planned on not having an epidural-- my young self got talked out of that too (although I really really liked the narcotic in my iv... whoo... who cares if it hurts lol). 

I don't know what other women feel like before going into labor, but I know the day before or so, when early labor started, I was very not hungry and my body was sort of cleaning itself out (its the progesterone and oxytocin from what I hear).  I also sort of felt like I needed to keep moving, wanting to walk (even before the contractions really started), but having to sit down a lot.

Gosh Im excited for you to have the baby-- I keep checking to see if you have said anything about it and I have never even talked to you before lol.  And I have been checking for weeks ;)

I've had four children, and sadly none of them presented the same way.  I've had all the possible starts to labor I think exist.  So for me there isn't much of a way to tell if it's the real thing other than the consistent timing, and the increased intensity of the contractions.  My contractions with my first were worse than with my second and third, but far less intense than with my last one.  It also took about eight hours to go into active enough labor to be admittedwith my third, but I had my fourth in less than five hours.  Although I would agree that the burst of energy is a good sign that things are goin to happen.  Don't be surprised if you end up past your due date though.  Only a small percentage of people actually go on or before their due date

 

Vanessa, the same thing happened with me, and I forgot to mention that.  When I was having contractions during that Friday night, they totally stopped when I walked around the house.  However, that morning (Friday), I woke up with tons of energy.  I skipped work and went to a job interview.  Then I came home and cleaned the house from top to bottom.  I just knew I'd be having my son soon because my friend had told me that if I suddenly became SuperWoman, it meant the baby was on its way.  LOL! 

cecily- you went on a job interview??  good for you! 

I've had so much energy lately.  I went food shopping after work yesterday and didn't even go home first for a break.  I feel very on top of things!

drea- thank you so much for checking on me!!  The whole WORLD will know when I finally go into labor. 

epi's, pain management, natural; c-section-  I am open to what ever is best for a Healthy Baby and Healthy mom!!

Yep, I went on a job interview, and I was having tiny contractions during it.  LOL!  And believe it or not, I actually got the job!  You should've seen the recruiter's face when I walked in, though.  I just smiled and said "yes, I am pregnant, and I'm due at any time."  I told her I was due in two weeks, but my doctor had just informed me that with a few good contractions I could have the baby any minute now.  Then I explained my situation with my current job and all the reasons why I was perfect for that position.  This was on a Friday, and the recruiter called me back on Sunday to set up a second interview, but I was in the hospital with my son. :)  Lucky for me, they were willing to wait 2 weeks for the second interview.

If you're feeling energetic now, I'm sure Baby is on it's way very soon! 

when i felt my first real contraction,i knew i was ganna have that baby.its so diferent from the braxton.for me it was.and my baby came 2 weeks before her due date.my very first contraction was at 6 am and my my baby was born at 1:31 am the next day,i was so scared i went to the hospital way before i really had too.dont worry,you'll know when its time!!!best of luck to you...

I don't have any children yet, but I watch A LOT of baby shows and when you get that burst of energy and wanting to clean and cook and stuff I beleiev they call that "nesting" which like the others said mean it's almost time. COngrats on your pregnancy and soo to be new member of the family.

If the contractions get longer, harder, closer together, than it is labor contractions. They have to be all three conditions in order for them to be real labor. I had horrible braxton hicks that would stop me in my tracks, but they didn't get longer or closer together, so I wasn't  in labor yet. You are close to your date though, so I'd keep a close eye on them and start packing your bags for the hospital.

My husband made me walk the mall for a couple of hours the day before our son's due date, and I was having what I thought were braxton hicks the whole time. By the time I when to the hospital the next morning, I was about 5 centimeters!

Braxtons for me just felt like my menstrual pains really.  Real labor contractions do not go away when you change position, Braxton hicks ones do.  Believe me you will know the difference when the time comes. 

 

 

Clarice