Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Round ligament pain or Braxton Hicks

I'll be able to feel the difference between round ligament pain and Braxton Hicks contractions, right?

I walked around a lot on Monday and felt the usual tightening pull of the ligaments on my right side. But a couple of times, it seemed that my belly got tight and hard as well. A couple of times I would stop and rub/shake my belly as if to say "loosen up in there!" It was only later that I thought hmmm..... wonder if that was a Braxton Hicks.

I'm pretty sure I'll be able to feel the difference but wanted to put it out to you all to get your thoughts on it.

I haven't noticed any hiccups from the baby (something to look forward to!) And I seem to be getting used to turning from side to side in bed at night. I'm not grunting or rocking the bed as much and I'm able to fall back asleep more quickly. Of course, as soon as I write this I'll have another growth surge and this will change.

I do notice that I'm breathing deeper (and more noisily!) throughout the day and particularly at night. Have you seen the movie "Ghostbusters"? There's a scene where Sigorney Weaver, who is possessed with some dog demon, is sleeping on her bed and is sort of panting and gasping. Karen says that this is what I sound like when I'm asleep at night. And then I'll take a couple of long breaths in a row and then go back to panting. And many times I'll gasp myself awake. Not a pretty picture nor sound!! I told Karen that if it keeps up, I'll get her some earplugs.

-Wendy
[27w,2d]

7 comments:

Dee said...

The grunting sounds so attractive. We actually bought a blow up mattress so one of us had refuge.

Casey said...

My BH's for both pregnancies started around 25 weeks. My belly would get hard as a rock for a few minutes and then would soften up. While I didn't have pain with them, it could be kind of uncomfortable. It would also be all over my belly where RL pain was more localized.

Hope that helps! :)

Stacey said...

Braxton Hicks can actually occur through out your entire pregnancy. You normally don't notice them until later on but I did notice the "tightening" early on without any feelings of pressure/pain. When I get BH, I normally feel a bit of cramping or pressure and then I touch my belly and it's pretty hard. With round ligament pain, it feels more like I pulled something or I'm sore in one spot.

I think it's entirely possible you're experiencing both.

The sleeping noises are fun. I've been doing that for a while and I even catch myself drifting off into a sleep and making a grunt or groan. Quite funny.

With BH, you can try changing your position or drinking water. Sometimes that will help them go away.

Anonymous said...

I can't answer your questions, but I just wanted to say that yesterday in the supermarket I rubbed my belly and smiled and thought of your post about the satisfying feeling of rubbing your belly!

Mystic said...

Hi Wendy! :)

I haven´t been readin your blog for long, so I just realized you are pregnant. Congrats, that is so amazing!

Haa haa the ghostbusters sleeping noises sounds scary! ;)

Take care!

Holly said...

ha - I should add the ghostbuster noises to my list of "pregnancy side effects!"
Our pregnancy buddy has had BH since about 27 weeks. She said it feels like your entire belly is stretched and is hard all over the the touch - pretty much exactly what casey said!

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