I keep thinking I'm going to somehow not notice that they're happening!

With my first child, my water broke but I didn't have any contractions on my own, so I had to have pitocin, so the only ones I've experienced have been the pitocin variety. I THINK I'm starting to have some intermittent Braxton-Hicks; I sometimes feel a general tightening sensation over my entire belly area, but I just don't know what a NORMAL (non-pitocin) contraction feels like! I keep worrying they're going to sneak up on me and I'll mistake them for Braxton-Hicks/general discomfort/baby squirming!

Dev... having had both.  In my experience...  the non pit contraction was like a dull cramp... but more generalized over the abdomen than a menstrual cramp. (that is of course compared to the pit contraction of holy crap, I think I'm going to be torn in 2!)  Everyone is soooo different.  THey get intense though... when you notice a change in your breathing you know something is going on.  When in doubt... get checked!  You'll be neither the first nor the last woman to be unsure about this!

It's amazing, with all medical science we have, no one can give a good description of a contraction... it's simply too unique and too subjective! But, rest assured... I believe most people can truly trust their bodies... you'll just know.

Good luck to you!!!

Well thanks! I've been having some odd intermittent craping that feels almost like a mild period cramp, fairly low though, not all over. Can't tell if it would be a cramp or if it just hurts because he's getting so big and really killing my bladder these days. I at very least want to make it through this weekend because we moved up Rowan's birthday to avoid having to cancel it (I'm due the 13th, his birthday is the 10th) and I'd like to make it until next weekend, because my husband's mom and grandmother are flying in so they can be here to help with Rowan when the baby comes. I'm getting paranoid about an early appearance!

Trust me, you'll know!  At first they can be very similar to braxton hicks (which I've had for the last half of both my pregnancies), but then you get to the point of "oh **** this is real..."