Hard cramps.. could they be real contractions?

I am 37w3d. The past four days I've been losing my plug and I also just learned of the bloody show so I think that may have happened too. I've been having hard cramps in my lower belly part that won't really go away. I've been resting in bed all day and been getting them all day. I've even showered and they went away for a little but quickly returned. They aren't so bad that I cant talk thru them but they're bad enough that I cant move when they do come. This is my first pregnancy so I dont know what to do. I've read that dehydration can cause cramps so I'm going to try and drink a lot of water and see if that helps them.