36weeks pregnant..i have all these weird new feelings how will i ever know if im in

[16&prego]

labor? This is my first baby and now that im getting closer to my due date I am starting to get all these new symptoms and its very confusing to determine wether or not im in labor!. A lot of people try to tell me I will "just know" if i am going into labor..but this is my first baby how will I "know" if ive never felt it before.

Im almost sure my baby had already dropped because he used to kick me all the time in my rib cage and now it seems like its far from his reach. so im glad that pain went away. but now i get the strongest pains in my lower stomach. they are random and they come and go pretty quickly but it feels like the baby's head just bounced causing a sharp intense pain right up through the birth canal..
other feelings im getting is when my stomach suddenly gets really hard and it feels like my baby just rolled up into an extremly tight little ball..i usually do not feel any pain but it is very uncomfertable and does come with a little bit of pain occasionally. I also get very sharp pains on the top of my stomach like a little bit above my belly button. like all the other pains they come and go very randomly..
but lastnight..
i had a feeling that my water had broken because i was leaking clear fluids so i went in to L&D to get checked out and according to the midwife iwas no were near being in labor because wasn't dilated, my cervix was thick, my baby was still 'floating around' and it wasn't my water just Liquid discharge.
it was the most painful exam i have ever had and now i really dont want to go back until i know for sure.
does anyone have advice for me on how i can definetly tell if im going into labor?
i know theres really obvious things like your water breaking or having contractions 3 to 5 min apart.
but even those things are confusing ..is there anything else ???
are the all the pains im having normal?

please help=[ im really confused..

 

[tnk3181979]

I'm in a similar boat. I'm 37 weeks with my first baby and I was very worried I won't know I'm really in labor until it's too late. I've experienced everything you've described also. I've been asking my doctor about it a lot and between that and the childbirth prep class I felt a lot better that I will be able to identify true labor well before I need to get to the hospital.

My doctor told me the discharge will increase over the last few weeks of pregnancy and a good way to know if your water really broke is to lay down for a half hour to an hour, if when you get up there is a gush of liquid, it's probably the real thing and not just discharge. But she also told me a lot of women don't have their water break until they are well into active labor, if at all.

The random tightening might be contractions but they sound like Braxton-Hix contractions, which means they are just practice contractions. If they go away when you sit or lay down, if they come in a random pattern not at regular intervals, and they aren't terribly strong you aren't in labor.

Here's the best thing you can do, if you have any doubt call your doctor's office. This is there job, don't feel like you are bothering them. Your doctor should know when speaking with you on the phone if you are in labor and ready for the hospital. Don't be afraid to call. That is what they are there for, you deserve the benefit of their expertise when you need it.