when did you first get Braxton Hicks contractions and what did they feel like?

[Anonymous]

Hi - This is my first pregnancy so EVERYTHING is unfamiliar. I'm about 22 weeks and feeling baby moving quite often, so far all is well. But just this past week I've been getting abdominal cramps several times a day. They're not regular, not particularly painful (though I definitely feel them), no bleeding, nothing out of sorts except the cramps. They're a little like menstrual cramps, but not as bad. I don't think it's round ligament pain (I feel that big time, every time I shift position in bed at night, sneeze, etc - ouch!). I told the doc about it ("Doc, I have cramping") but he didn't seem very concerned since nothing else is going on. So - does this sound familiar to any of you? Is it Braxton Hicks, which I've read you do start to have from about this time? I'm not a particularly paranoid person, and don't want to get antsy over something that's actually fairly normal...would love to hear about your experiences.

[Anonymous]

With #1 my Braxton Hicks started early-- around 20 weeks. It felt like a cramping/clenching and my uterus would get hard. Yes, they were very uncomfortable, I would even say bordering on painful. But like you said, since you have no other symptoms, i wouldn't worry. I never had any pre-term labor and carried my son to full term. Now I'm pg with #2 and they started even earlier (17-18 weeks), but I've found that if I am super diligent about drinking tons of water (i mean tons-- at least 64 oz per day) they occur far less and are not as severe.

HTH-- Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy!

[Anonymous]

Probably got my first BH around 24 weeks or so. Feels like a tightening band right under your breasts/top of rib cage. Not painful but uncomfortable pulling feeling.