Braxton hicks or early labour?!?

[Swollen88]

I'm 37 +4 week pregnant and the last 3 days my stomach has gone really hard for about an hour each afternoon which I put this down to braxton hicks.

This morning we didn't have intercourse but did other stuff and my stomach has been hard ever since and is really uncomfortable.

I've tried doing different things i.e. Laying down, having a shower, going for a walk, eating a meal but it's not going back to normal.

Do you think this is just braxton hicks again or whether I should be preparing myself for the real thing?

Early labour is generally more like period pains and is only really considered to be happening when there is a noticeable pattern to them.

It's most likely Braxton Hicks, but that can always change. Take a bath, give it time. If it's labour it will ramp steadily up.

It’s not labour. Labour starts out like period cramps and lower back ache and it will get stronger and become regular and severely more painful. If your worried about your pains call your MAU, is your baby still moving ok?

That sounds like BH to me. I was like that all day yesterday actually and I'm only 31 weeks. For me, real labour started as sporadic period cramps. A few days before it was an afternoon of them just constantly for a couple hours, but at the start of actual labour, they came regularly every 5-6 minutes for about a minute and eventually built into contractions. I didn't actually notice my belly feeling all that hard at the time, just a bit uncomfortable.

Thanks ladies, I did think BH but doubts were creeping in because of how long it was lasting.

I was wondering whether I could enjoy my carvery lunch or whether I needed to rush home and pack my hospital bag!

Think that's just been bumped up to the top of the to do list 🙈

Sounds like what I'm experiencing every now and then. My bump feels hard/tight but doesn't last long and isn't painful.

I didn't get BH with my first. For me it was actually how my labour started, the whole bump feeling hard/tight thing, but it was every 5 minutes and more painful, not just uncomfortable. It didn't feel like period pains to me.