Pre-period cramping?

So my period ended up being late by 3 days for some reason (I’m fairly sure I got it this morning-if it progresses to a waterfall flow by the end of the day then we’re golden haha), but for about 3 days before that, I was having noticeable cramping. I have never cramped *before* my period before so it was a little mystifying and frankly a little scary. Is this a new pms symptom I’ve developed? Has anyone else had an experience like this?