Braxton Hicks or Jackson Kicks? (and Belly Pics)

Starting around Tuesday or Wednesday of this past week, I began to feel a weird tightening in my abdomen. At first I thought it was Jackson kicking or moving (hence the title of the post), but then I would notice it even when Jax wasn't moving... Jesse's back has been bothering him, and we went to the chiropractor. While we were there, his wife was petting Jackson, and was surprised at how hard the bump was. She asked if that was the baby, or if I was having Braxton Hicks contractions. I didn't think it was likely that I'd be having Braxton Hicks contractions so far from my due date (I'm in week 33, so I still have seven weeks to go). Turns out, the tightening IS probably Braxton Hicks contractions. Now, I was doing a Google image search for Braxton Hicks, and there are some really freaky pics associated with it. Or, I could have put up one that shows Dr. Braxton Hicks, for whom the contractions are named... but "Belly Pics" rhymes, so you get belly pics instead. More after the "Read More" jump.

Braxton Hicks contractions apparently can start as early as 6 weeks into the pregnancy. However, most women don't feel them until closer to their due date, if they feel them at all. I did not know that you could feel them so early, or that they started that early. The difference between Braxton Hicks and real labor is that Braxton Hicks only last for about 20-30 seconds, don't increase in intensity or frequency, don't happen at regular intervals, and are usually only felt in the belly as opposed to in the lower back as well. It's more like a general tightening of my stomach, kind of like a stomach cramp or like the cramps you get when you have diarrhea. Sweet, huh? Pregnancy - so glamorous! You can get Braxton Hicks due to dehydration, so I'm trying to drink as much water as possible. They've been coming anyway... I hope this means that Jackson will be like me with respect to respecting deadlines, and decide to arrive promptly on his due date of April 10, because that's when he's due, and that's just how we roll...

These days, I have good days and bad ones - mostly related to tenseness in my upper back, between my shoulder blades. As you can see in the belly pics, I'm carrying Jax high and in the front - from behind I don't look pregnant, and I still have some of my curves where my waist would be, if I didn't have this basketball in the front! That said, the weight pulls me forward, and I have been slouching. This creates the stress on my middle back. Usually women have lower back pain during their pregnancy, and this is the funny part - I have (had?) a slightly misaligned disk in my lower back, three or four vertebrae above my pelvis, caused by the fact that one of my hip flexor muscles is tighter than the other, causing one leg to be shorter than the other, causing a misalignment of my pelvis, and subsequently the misaligned disk. This caused no small amount of discomfort every so often in my lower back, and I'd go to the chiropractor to shove everything back into place. Because of the hormone Relaxin that is released during pregnancy, my ligaments are looser, and the misalignment has corrected itself... I may be among the only women who's lower back pain eased because of pregnancy! The upper back pain is annoying though, because it won't go away, and only eases itself if I lay on my side for a bit. Fortunately I have a supportive chair at work, but not so much at home. However, if I had to have an non-supportive chair, I'd rather it be at home where I can lay down when things get hinky.

I find myself crapping out earlier these days, similar to the first trimester. Around 8:00pm, I'm starting to flag, and I get a bit cranky. This is especially true if I've been exerting serious energy throughout the day, going from one place to another, or have a particularly challenging deadline or assignment at work.

What I don't have - bloating. None at all. Now I know this can and may change as we get closer to my due date, but for now, things are good. I had my most recent doctor's appointment, and the doctor said, "Huh. I'm surprised you still have ankles." I do! Ankles, wrists, and fingers instead of sausages. My wedding rings are still on... although we are monitoring, because I've heard horror stories of women who had to have their rings cut off due to the bloat. Along with this lack of bloat is a lack of having to run to the bathroom at all times. One of the benefits of Jackson hanging out up high is that he is not pressing on my bladder. Every now and then he'll squirm around and kick me there, but it's a rare occurrence, and doesn't result in the need to pee, because he's just glancing against it instead of pressing on it. What a thoughtful gentleman!

A down-side to Jax hanging out up high - I can't inhale deeply because Jackson is in the way of my diaphragm, and I find myself short of breath sometimes. I've found a way to work around it somewhat, in that I'll breathe in, as deeply as I can, but slowly, to try to push him down. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn't. Could be worse! Also, every once in a while, I'll get a foot in the ribs. This hurts A LOT. It's very infrequent though. Jax has been a squirmer and not a kicker, so even when I get a foot in the ribs, it's more likely to be him squiggling around, and he'll move within a few seconds (or I'll massage his foot away and he'll move it).

I have not had many other discomforts of the third trimester (yet). I have had no heartburn, no leg cramps, no insomnia (in fact, I'm still sleeping through the night), and no balance issues. I have had some serious round ligament pain, but in the past couple of weeks either I've gotten used to it, or it's eased up a bit.

My belly is starting to get so big that my shirts hang a little loosely over the bump. Most of my pregnancy pants have the "secret belly" panel that goes over the bump as opposed to a waist band that goes below, and that's good because in the next few weeks I have a feeling that my bare stomach would be hanging out underneath the shirt if I didn't have that panel.

All in all, I really am ready to be done with the pregnancy. I've enjoyed being pregnant, in part I think because Jax has been so good to me. But I'm ready to meet this little guy, and I hope he's getting ready to be here. Technically, he's full term after 37 weeks, so any time he wants to come after March 28th is fine by me (grin). And a front view, for the road...