how do contractions feel? im 36 weeks pregnant with my first daughter....

Sorry that I won't give you an calming reply, but my contractions had gone on for several hours and I didn't understand it was the baby who prepared himself for coming out... After a while my water broke and we went to the hospital 30 minutes later. 4 hours after arriving he was born... :-) Only the last 3 centrimetres hurted, but only like a very strong menstrual pain, so it was totally okay to cope with for some minutes... It's bull that people say "Well when it starts You'll know", cuz every woman reacts differently. I didnt feel almost anything until i was at the hospital... Good luck and congrats to your baby!

Yes that is a BH contraction. The real contractions feel like that but they have a painful sensation that is everywhere in your body. They DO NOT feel like bad period cramps!! They are like 10000x worse!!

A contraction is like a tightening and its strength can vary. At first it is like a light squeeze and as the contractions continue they can get painful. The contractions might start at ten minutes apart and be quite gentle, lasting about 30 seconds a time. As labor progresses they will get closer together. The longest they last is about 50 seconds there will be a pause before the next like about two minutes. Contractions are like an elastic band I feel. When I was in labor with my first baby I had a day of mild stomach and back pain. Then in the evening light contractions came every ten minutes. When my second child I woke up in the night with light contractions that were coming ever two minutes. For the birth of my first baby I had a water pool plus gas and air to help with the pain. However I only had twenty minutes of strong pain having my second baby. With that labor I didn't need any pain relief. Good luck with the day your baby daughter is born.

In my case, i had the braxton hicks contractions all the time but i did not know that were contractions as i had no pain at all. I believe every one has diffrerent levels of pain tolerance, so that every one has different experiences. On my due date, i was already dilated 3cm and had no pain. Then i had induced labour after 3 days. At that time i still had no pain when i walked into the hospital and i was 1cm more dilated. When i was 6cm dilated, the gynae broke my water, it's really warm ;-). Then the doctor saw i still have no pain, then he asked the nurse to increase the level of oxytocin. Then i just had the "feeling" during the last 3 centrimetres. I think i was a lucky woman who does not have terrible and painful experience. Until now i still could not imagine how i can give birth the little one. It's really amazing ;-)

i got contractions all through both my pregnancy's. braxton hicks of course though. so when real labor set in i really had no clue for quite a while, since i had been experiencing contractions all along anyway! my hard contractions always took my breath away, always felt like i couldn't breath right. your belly will go very tight and hard. you will feel pressure. if your going into labor the contractions will not stop, they will keep coming getting worse n worse. everyone is different..a lot of women say they feel cramps like menstrual cramps and pain, while others like me say they just have a lot of pressure. but you can definately put your hand on your belly and FEEL how hard it is, if your contracting. good luck!