This is long. I'm a paranoid first time mommy - forgive me!

So, I know a million questions have been asked about contractions vs. Braxton Hicks, but I'm having a hard time deciphering between the two as a FTM. I've been experiencing BH for most of the second half of my pregnancy, but it's usually just a tightening that lasts for a pretty long while (doesn't come and go). The BH I usually have are normally associated with physical activity or occur at night around bedtime. All day today, though, I've been having a different kind of tightening that comes and goes in waves... starts off light, definite peak of discomfort/light pain, and then a subsiding. It's my entire stomach from my boobs to my pelvic bone, and is sometimes associated with mild menstrual-like cramping from around my left hip into my inner thigh. It feels like I'm being squeezed. I wouldn't say it hurts, but it's definitely more uncomfortable than any BH I've had so far.

I'm not sure if this is just the crazy uncomfortable BH that come when the end is near or if maybe these are the beginnings of the real deal. I know I've heard it explained that real contractions start in your back & wrap around, but I don't have any back pain.

Expert opinions? Am I getting close or just over-analyzing?