Friday, September 5, 2008

Tightening

ETA: My experience so far is just the baby doing impressive flips in my belly! No worrying please!

I have a question for all the women who have given birth, what does tightening feel like?

The doctor keeps asking if I feel tightening. I asked her what tightening feels like because, since I've never done this baby thing before, how in the world would I know what tightening feels like? My doctor is not terribly imaginative and just keeps answering, "It's feels like, you know, tightening." Very helpful.

So even if you have never replied to a blog before, please help a girl out and tell me what tightening felt like to you. I would hate to head up to the hospital with what I think is tightening only to find out that it was bad meatloaf.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

WTF?? Did she happen to indicate WHERE this tightening would be?
I have never heard this before but then i delivered when babies were made out of wood.

Anonymous said...

It feels like someone is sqeezing your belly. Your belly actually feels hard to the touch, like somebody grabbed some skin from your back and pulled it as hard as they could to make your belly tight. Does that make sense? That's what it always felt like to me.

Anonymous said...

Tightening, or lightening? Tightening would be the Braxton Hicks contractions. It feels like squeezing from the top of the uterus to the bottom, like a firming wave. Not necessarily painful, just...different. You can feel it with your hands too as the muscle hardens. You'll know it when you feel it, until then- don't stress.
Natasha

Anonymous said...

It's a squeeze dear ...or a Rush if you please . If this happens when your baby is actually due then don't "worry" and you can go (in) when you can not walk and talk at the same time ...:) untill then bake :)Oh and to answer the question of the other bloger it's right above the pubic bone or it could be a braxton hicks contraction .But follow the Drs orders what ever it may be ...
"A Midwives Legacy" By Laura E. O'Dell
ps lighting is when the baby drops into the pelvis...or a firm bolt of light that strikes a tree...

Anonymous said...

I absofraginlutely hate that i remember only small insignificant things about my pregnancy. Learn from me...write EVERYthing down in case you become brain dead and dim like um...someone...i forget who.
Now i wonder if i ever really WAS pregnant. hmmmmmm.
and the ducks above? And the jello? Superfantastic. You have the smartest, most caring wonderful friends!

Holding my Breath said...

Thank you everyone for all of your answers. I haven't felt any of what you mentioned, so I guess that's good!

Anyone else have any experience with Tightening?

Anonymous said...

You know how it feels to get a cramp in your calf? It tightens then eases then sometimes repeats? Thats what I think she's talking about..except across your belly. Usually under the belly, kind of. It's kind of like contractions but you usually have only a couple or few. If you have more, it could mean your going into labor. Or it could be bad meatloaf. But usually with bad meatloaf, you throw up. Maybe. love mom