What contractions?????

So contractions........This weekend I thought I was starting to have Braxton Hicks contractions aka "practice contractions". They are nothing to be too concerned about and actually very common. They can begin as early as the second trimester, however they are most common in the third trimester. Monday I called the doctor's office and they told not to be concerned unless I was having 4 or more in an hour. Fast forward to Wednesday. I was a little more uncomfortable than I had been so I was walking a little slower and having to sit a little more often. At lunch I went to the mall for a couple of errands and get lunch. I found that the more I walked the more uncomfortable I became. Following the instructions of my doctor I made note of how often I was feeling the Braxton Hicks contractions. I went back to work and continued with my work day until about 4:15 at which time uncomfortable enough to call it a day. My belly was still pretty tight when I went to bed. I was hoping I would wake up today feeling much better. I did feel a little better this morning but still not completely ok so I called the doctor again early this afternoon to see if they had any recommendations as to how to relieve some of my discomfort. I was expecting things like - hydrate, take a warm bath, put your feet up, etc. Instead I was asked to come in to be monitored. So off to the doctor's office I went. I was a little concerned that they wanted me to come in and a little skeptical that they were going to see anything since the only time I felt them was when I was walking. I titled this post "What contractions?" because evidently I was having contractions about every 2-3 minutes but I wasn't feeling most of them. When the nurse said I was having them I could sometimes feel my belly becoming a little tighter but nothing that hurt. I always thought that contractions would hurt. These were just slightly uncomfortable. My doc is on vacation so his partner sent me to be admitted to Bergan Mercy Hospital (where I will be delivering just not anytime soon) for monitoring and tests. They hooked me up to another monitor and observed my contractions for about an hour at which time they had the resident OB do an exam and tests. The exam gave no indication that I was in pre-term labor which was a relief. There are pre-term contractions and pre-term labor contractions. If the contraction affect the cervix then they are considered pre-term labor contraction. My were not affecting the cervix meaning that there was no sign of pre-term labor just pre-term contractions. The test they did was also to indicate pre-term labor which would return positive if I was in fact in pre-term labor or negative if I wasn't. We are in the clear - the test came back negative so they sent me home!! I have to continue to be aware of the contractions and follow up with my doctor next week but at this point we are still planning to meet Miss Livi in July!!