Contractions without realizing?

[Genevevex]

Went to the doctor yesterday at exactly 37 weeks. I have been having some very painful BH low down for the past week or two off and on, and told the doctor so. He checked me and said that I'm ABOUT 1cm dilated, the baby has moved down, and he could feel her scalp with his finger! He said he expected me to go sooner than later now.

Later last night and today, I'm thinking... and thinking maybe I've been contracting more than I thought? Every so often I get this tight feeling and feel like it's hard to breath--I was attributing it to the little one putting her feet in my lungs, but now that I think about it, I never feel her move before I get the feeling. It just comes, and then goes away a bit after. She usually starts moving AFTER the feeling has gone away.

Even as I type this, my belly has been getting very "tight" sensations on and off. I was induced for my first baby, so don't really know what natural birthing contractions feel like. Am I having contractions? When do I know to go to the hospital for them? Do you think I'll go soon?

 

[Eleanor ace]

It sounds like you're experiencing BH's from what you describe. Most 2nd+ time mothers are a little dilated before labour (my MW said she had a lady who was just strolling around 5cm dilated for weeks, how crazy is that?!) but the fact the doctor can feel her head definitely sounds promising!
I'm in the UK so our advice is probably different from yours, but here we're told to go to hospital once we're having regular contractions coming 4 in 10 minutes before going to hospital, typically we're not admitted until we're in active labour. So I would say if labour starts and the contractions become frequent and you have to work through them then I'd go in.

 

[zorak]

It sounds like Braxton hicks. Part of what they do is prep your body for labour.

With my first I had v strong and often regular BH, I was walking around dilated to 4 cm with bulging waters for at least 2 weeks before I went into 'proper' labour. The only difference it made to me was my doc advised me not to hang about and go to the docs pretty much straight away once I knew I was in labour.

My waters finally broke at 40+3, I was at the hospital within an hour and was already 6cms.

 

[Genevevex]

Ah! So I could still make it to my due date?

I thought with subsequent babies, they didn't tend to drop until they were just about ready to come. I'm so ready for this girl to get here!

 

[petitpas]

I've got similar contractions to yours - tightening and a kind of breathless feeling. I've had them for more than ten days now. Yawn! Sometimes regular, sometimes not. At one point they were coming every 5-6 mins. I was advised to take a bath and they stopped! Then went back to every 10 mins. So they aren't real contractions.
If you don't have any risk factors and are aiming for a normal birth then I think you can wait until you are having frequent painful contractions or your waters break or you have bleeding.
I haven't experienced labour but everyone seems to say that if you aren't sure whether you are in established labour then you probably aren't.

 

[greats]

Popping in first first tri... They sound like Braxton hicks. But that's not a bad thing! BH got me to 4cm dilated from 37 to 38 weeks with my daughter and never had any painful contractions besides the BH during that time. Go for lots of long walks and bounce or do hip circles on a yoga/birthing ball! Good luck!

 

[lisaalove]

I know this might not mean much or anything at all but I didn't even know I was in labor. I felt no pains or anything different than any other day with my first. I went in to get induced and the doctor said I was already in labor and apparently I just didn't feel it... so it deffinately is possible that your just having such light ones that you don't feel anything really. If that makes sense.