Due sooner than expected!!

lighting crotch happens third trimester and very close and often towards the last month! I have a high pain tolerance and only ever really felt the lightning crotches, I had a hard time understanding what I was feeling for a contraction but once I went into labor and had true labor contractions at 6 cm dilated, I learned they are very intense when you’re dilating and closer to expect. Literally within a few days towards your due date. They are supposed to be felt in your lower abdomen, lower back and radiating down to your upper thighs. They start small and build peak intensity, slow fade, they feel like an intense wave cramp. It’s more like lasting 60-90 seconds and very heavy felt pressure like an intense period cramp in the vagina followed by relief. Everyone is different but for me I felt Braxton hicks a few weeks ahead of time every other day which is the practice of contractions, the day before my water broke followed intense true labor contractions day of due date and day after

I had a bunch of lightning crotch in my pregnancy too and it got worse 3rd trimester. Was sh** lol
I was induced...but um the contractions for me felt like really strong muscle tightening up around my stomach to lower back and then release and repeat and it was very intense tight feeling and then finally a small break for a bit. Then i remember the feelings of tightness in my upper thighs too?
For me, I only realize now, so my 1st time my body was teaching me/telling me/involuntarily pushing - pushing out the baby giving birth. There's a term for it, but yeah so my body was doing it on its own but I did still have to push.

I guess idk like that feeling when you clench your fist and it's super tight and then a release. But imagine a bunch of stomach muscles doing that 🫠 involuntarily by itself.

Sort of like spasm but not that bad like spasms lol. Idk how to describe it.