I know this has been asked here before, but what did early labor feel like for those of you who have gone through it?

I am on my second baby, but I never went into labor on my own with the first.

I am 36 1 today. I have been having a lot of cramping, lower back pain, contractions, and pelvic pressure for the past week or two. Just nothing consistent enough to call the doctor over, but definitely enough to get my attention. I lost a part of my mucus plug yesterday afternoon while doing some cleaning to get ready for the baby.

As some here might know, I have some pretty bad and frequent migraines with this pregnancy. I woke up this morning in the beginning stages of a migraine. I have percocet which I was prescribed to take for them so I gave in and took one at around 10AM. It's 12 now and I seem to be feeling the full effects of the drug. My head feels fine.

But these cramps are terrible. They hit me in waves and my back and abdomen just get this awful burning pain. Every time I get one I feel like I want to throw up.

I can't tell if they are coming with actual contractions or not. My belly gets a little more tense when they come, but is that an actual contraction? When I get BH contractions, my belly sometimes feels as hard as a rock. My actual labor with #1 was induced with pitocin, so it just all came on suddenly and hit me like a train.

I also have a lot of pressure in my lower abdomen. In my vaginal area and I (TMI ahead) feel like I need to poop even though I already managed to take a pretty healthy poop today.

Could this be the beginning of the real thing? A practice run? I have an appointment to see the OB tomorrow afternoon, so I am not really feeling inclined to get in to see him sooner. Unless things start to progress more I am just planning to tough it out until I tomorrows appointment.

Thoughts?