Does this sound like early labour?

[TheseAreMyGoodPants]

Hi all. I'm currently 37+4 with my second baby. I've been getting mild cramps very occasionally for about 3 days, but this morning had diarrhoea and started getting more regular, painful cramps at 10am. I was due up at hospital for monitoring anyway and whilst there they examined me and I was 2cm.

Since then the contractions have been coming between every 3-7 minutes and are painful, although bearable.

With my first it was only 12 hours from first twinge to baby, so this is new to me!

I don't want to get my hopes up if these are only Braxton Hicks 😂

Have you lost your plug or had spotting!l? When my labours started I always knew it wasn’t just braxton hicks because I either lost my plug and was spotting or was spotting. Spotting happens when there are changes to the cervix, and braxton hicks don’t change the cervix but early labour contractions do! So if your spotting then I say early labour