Elementary, My Dear Braxton

For the past few weeks, I've been feeling my stomach suddenly contract, hold for a few seconds, and then release. Sometimes, it happens several times in a row. Sometimes, not even once a day.

I've done my best to ignore it. At first, I thought it was some kind of reaction to Bunny kicking me, since there seemed to be a correlation in timing. Then, I thought that my tummy was reacting to overeating. I never even considered that it might be Braxton Hicks contractions, quite honestly.

I'd always "heard" that Braxton Hicks contractions only occurred later in pregnancy - nearer towards the end. And unlike every other pregnancy topic I researched, I never looked into Braxton Hicks contractions, because I figured I wasn't yet at the point where it would be a concern.

Haha, silly Future Mommy. That's exactly what it is. But I'm not worried, for once!

See, my other misconception was that Braxton Hicks contractions are a bad thing and mean that you could go into labor early. Wrong, again! Apparently, they start occurring very near to the beginning of every single pregnancy and although some women never, ever feel them, many do. And unless early contractions are accompanied by signs like lower back pain, pelvic pressure and vaginal bleeding, there's no real concern for pre-term labor.

Ok, another pregnancy mystery solved. By the time I figure out this whole process, Bunny will be 5 years old!

For more information on Braxton Hicks contractions, here are the web sites I checked out:

BabyCenter
Pregnancy @ About.com
WebMD

Have a great day, ya'll!

Hugs,

~FM~