The Braxton Hicks contractions

Felt my first contraction at 4am this morning (week 23). I feel like I'm breezing through this pregnancy!!! It felt like just yesterday that I first felt the baby move and then found out it was a girl and now the contractions! I'm enjoying every minute of this pregnancy, except the days when the hormones really kick in to overdrive and all I want to do is cry for no reason… But this blog is not about my stupid hormones, it's about the contractions.

Now before you freak out (those of you who are not familiar with pregnancy), Braxton Hicks contractions are normal. What it is, is sporadic uterine contractions. In simple English, it feels like a tightening in the stomach and lower abdomen region. They are said to aid the body in its preparation for birth. These contractions actually begin around 6 weeks but are not noticeable till after midway through pregnancy. Some women may not even feel them. However, they are completely normal. It will continue to occur but will remain infrequent, irregular, and painless up until the last weeks of pregnancy. They get their name from an English doctor who first described them in 1872, John Braxton Hicks.

I'm so glad everything is right on track!