Hi Ladies,

So last night I was experiencing something new, which I will add everything is new since this is my first pregnancy, anyways I was feeling "off" my back was hurting & I noticed my stomach was harder than normal when I was experiencing the back ache/pain, then it would stop for a little while & then come back. I wasn't experiencing pain, it was just weird tightness feeling kind of like a very mild period cramp plus some back ache/pain. I at first thought maybe the baby was moving around but it just kept doing it for a period of time. I finally decided to take a hot shower & it finally let up. Plus I added a heating pad to my back. After doing some googling a lot of people said this was "Braxton hicks". Since this is my first I have no idea if that is true or not. What my question is, did any of you have Braxton hicks early on? I am 18 weeks & I thought any form of contractions waited till later on? Should I be worried & call my doctor? Or is this normal?

ETA: When the tightness happens I am pretty sure I can actually see where the baby is. It kind of looks like a small ball under my skin.

A big thanks in advance!