Contractions and Irritable Uterus

I feel for you. I have not been officially diagnosed - however, I have many of the same complaints. (I did not notice them as early as you, but have noticed they are on the upswing.) I am currently 28 weeks along, and tend to have contractions (which my dr refers to as 'cramping') much of the time, especially in the late afternoon, early evening. (Although, like you, there are specific things that set it off too.)
They have been monitoring me because my 1st was 5 weeks early - so they were able to check cervical length, and it was not changing.... Hence the distinction between contractions and 'cramping'.
That said, it is not fun, or enjoyable. (This is my 3rd pregnancy, the 2nd was 39 weeks- although I was on semi-bedrest with #2 at 34 weeks due to this exact problem.)
So, the good news is that it is probably not something that you need to go crazy about. Baby is probably fine. :) To me, it was helpful to find out that other people had this happen too - and they were OK.
There is a website that is a bit out of date, but talks about this. It made me feel more comfortable that it was not all in my head. :) (Most people get REALLY worried about it, when I talk to them - or think that it is in my head....)
http://www.irritable-uterus.com/

Not sure any of that is of help, other than letting you know that you are not alone with this. :)

Sounds like me and I did have it. Everything I did put me into contractions. Eventually they would be REAL contractions every once in a while. It was my first pregnancy, but boy did I know when they were real. I was put on bed rest at the end, because the real contractions were a bit more frequent then my Dr. was comfortable with pre-term. The good news is they probably aren't real contractions, you really would know. They will probably continue to be braxton hicks for you. I had a HUGE amount of extra fluid, that complicated my situation and made my uterus more irritable. The weight of all that fluid was hard on my body and that's why I kept going into the real deal contractions. I doubt this is the case with you, which is a good thing!! What helped me the most, was LOTS of water...I'm talking a gallon a day...and warm baths. Not hot (bad for baby), but warm. The baths helped so very much. I carried to 3 days before my due date. Did your midwives advise you to drink wine? I just ask, because I wouldn't unless they advise you to. Well, I myself wouldn't ever...but if it's Ok'd by your midwives, that's another story.
PS.
They can give medication to stop real contractions, but it was so terrible for me. It made me shake uncontrollably and made my heart race. I felt like I was going to have a heart attack and shake to death! It was really scary. Of course, everyone reacts differently to meds. If it's not real labor contractions, you shouldn't need the medication.

I had a lot of contractions that started early with my first pregnancy. I would keep a log of them throughout the day so I could accurately discuss them with my doctor. If you're having a day when they seem to be more frequent, drink water and try to get plenty of rest - too much physical activity can trigger them and if you have two other kids you're chasing around you may be overdoing it without realizing it. I got my first contraction with this pregnancy when I was 13 weeks along and asked my doctor about it. He said that since I had them so early with my first and now I'm running around after a 3 year old, I should expect to have them earlier and more often. He said to be concerned if they start to hurt. So my recommendation would be to keep track of them so you can report back to your midwives, get some rest on the days when they seem to be coming more frequently and monitor if they change (hurt, you have lower back pain or menstrual type cramping). Otherwise, I think it's just an annoying part of pregnancy. Hope all goes well!

I had a "cranky" uterus as well, but I lasted 42 weeks!! : D I kind of just got used to it after awhile. lol

I, too, had contractions from pretty early on. With my first, they started at 35 weeks (which isn't overly early), but they were immediately every 10-15 minutes for 2 or 3 or 4 hours at a time. I ended up in the hospital 3 times for a brief visit to get checked out to make sure everything was ok. Each time, they gave me a shot to stop the contractions, which helped for a couple days each time. Baby was still moving plenty, baby's heart rate was fine and I wasn't really dilating. I ended up going into labor on my own at 36 1/2 weeks with that one. All was fine in the end.

With my second, I started having the regular contractions around 30 weeks (with irregular ones before that would kinda come and go as they pleased from about 20-25 wks). They were, again, every 10-15 minutes for an hour or more at a time. This time, I hung out in the hospital 5 times with one overnight stay since the medicine wasn't working to stop the contractions that time. So they switched to another one which did work...again, for a couple days. They also gave me the steroid shots to develop the baby's lungs since with the amount of contractions I was having, they wanted to make sure that if I did go into full, unstoppable labor, the baby would have a better chance of being ok. Their whole plan was to make sure I made it to at least 37 weeks for "full term". I was put on modified bedrest (since I worked a desk job, I wasn't on my feet) at 33 weeks, full bedrest at 36 and was induced at 37 since I was 5 cm dilated at my weekly visit! Apparently, those contractions were doing some work on the inside! Again, all ended up ok.

If you are worried, you can go to your hospital, get checked out and monitored for a little while during the contractions and get a Dr's reassurance that you and the baby are ok. Like you, I was freaking out a bit on the quantity and earliness of the contractions and having the Dr tell me that everything still looked ok with the baby was the only thing that would put my mind at ease...at least until the next set of contractions would hit!

Good luck to you and blessings on your new baby!!

:)

Maybe a referral to a maternal-fetal specialist will put your mind at ease? If it is simply (and I use that term lightly) irritable uterus, then you'll at least have a second opinion and perhaps some decent strategies to help ease the womb. If it something more significant or remarkable, then you'll have the guidance of specialist who can help you and your midwives if necessary.