Bowled over by a rolling pin

OMG, I had a serious contraction this morning!! I want to ask someone “was THIS a contraction?” but there isn’t any other explanation so it had to be! I definitely never had anything like this last pregnancy! I’ve had the all over belly tightenings but this was so different! Tightenings are annoying and slightly painful at times. I mostly get them when walking around stores and stuff.
This contraction I got when I was just waking up this morning and I was lying on my side. It felt like a round rolling pin (except I never felt the back portion) around the top 3rd of my uterus rolling up and down- but staying in the top 3rd portion- for about 30 seconds (?? sense of time escaped me, honestly) and then suddenly slamming downward while tightening in one big swoop into the middle 3rd portion. Then it was over. What took me by surprise was the constant rolling up some then down some, up some then down some. While I wouldn’t say it was any more painful than an overall tightening contraction, it definitely took all my concentration to get through.
So are tightenings Braxton-Hicks contractions and these more like what I can come to expect? If so, I am grateful I got one early so I can practice relaxing to what this felt like. I can imagine this getting a lot more powerful!!
Also, I had the “upper 3rd rolling sensation” once last night and “mini rolling tremors” of it both before and after the contraction this morning. I was kind of unsure whether or not it was the baby moving weirdly until I had the one that lasted so long and slammed down at the end.
I’d like to know when in the spectrum of labor stages do you feel contractions like these? It really took my concentration and all I could think of while it was going on was that chart they always show you in labor classes of how the mother’s expression changes from smiley to a straight line to a frown. This was definitely a straight line moment but I can learn to relax during it now that I know what to expect. But I don’t think the duration was more than 30 or 45 seconds so that makes me think earliest labor. Is it okay to have contractions like this now? Is this what you can have 4 an hour of and not be in labor? OMG, bless you poor people that have these for weeks before birth! If it got much tighter, it would have felt like an abdominal charley horse!!
And God am I hungry now!!! LOL.

3 thoughts on “Bowled over by a rolling pin

  1. LOL second and third pgs you feel those practice contractions a lot more honey…they hurt and ye that is what you had. real contractions feel almost like af cramping but tight abdomin and they last longer and yes what you described is what you can expect if you get pain in your back…well back labour is no fun trust me you will be asking for drugs..exciting and your right on target for having practice contractions..

  2. I had, maybe one or two “real” contractions a night for a couple days before labor started in earnest, with each of my 3 babies. I just look for a regular pattern. If they are coming every 20 minutes, that’s labor, although I wouldn’t call out the troops just yet. What’s almost as important as how hard they are or how frequent, is how long they last.
    BTW, I don’t know what a Braxton-Hicks feels like, never had one, or perhaps they are indistinguishable from the baby moving around.

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