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If you’re wondering what do contractions feel like, this post is going over my entire experience with contractions and how the feeling was not at all what I expected!
I went into spontaneous labor starting with my water breaking followed quickly by contractions, however at the time I had no idea they were actually contractions because of everything I had previously read online! It’s obviously going to be different for everyone, but sharing my experience in case you end up feeling similar sensations to me so you aren’t thrown off quite as much as I was.
If you’re wondering what do contractions feel like, that’s what this post is all about.
I woke up around 2:30 am on May 17th to go pee, like normal. I was 37 weeks and 5 days. When I stood up to pee I felt a small gush. Laid down and got up a few more times and kept feeling the gush, and figured it was likely my water breaking! Although I definitely wasn’t sure and was worried I would get to the hospital and they’d turn me away.
Read here for more about how to tell if your water broke or if you peed!
Around this time I also started to feel mild period cramps – these turned out to be contractions!
Everything I had read prior while constantly searching for “what do contractions feel like” during my pregnancy made them sound like their own unique sensation. Unlike anything you’ve experienced before, and you’d just “know”. I didn’t feel like that – perhaps I was just in shock or in denial!
My contractions felt like a totally familiar sensation. They were exactly like period cramps to me. They were concentrated down where I typically felt period cramps and stayed there the whole time I felt them. As they ramped up, they remained feeling like that, just more intense.
I think though that’s why I wasn’t sure exactly what was going on! Because it felt familiar to me I figured it wasn’t a contraction. I don’t know what I thought it was, especially paired with fluid gushing out of me, but I was definitely not thinking I was in labor plus it was 2:30 am.
As we packed up our bags, since those weren’t ready to go yet (don’t be like me – pack early!!), and I went up and down the stairs and was all over the house, they kept ramping up.
Once we got to the hospital it was confirmed – water broken, contractions happening. I was in labor!
All about my positive birth story here!
I answered what do contractions feel like, or at least for me, on my TikTok page, as shown above. The comment section is filled with lots of women’s experiences with their contractions, if you’d like to read through and see what you might expect come labor.
Wishing you an easy labor and a healthy baby!
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