Braxton Hicks or Labor? (FTM, Baby not moving)

Question

I apologize, I know there are a lot of posts about this but I’m a FTM with no friends to ask for advice. 
Last night after dinner, I started getting my usual full tummy feeling. But, something felt off. I tried explaining how I felt to my fiancé but since he’s obviously never had period cramps the closest thing I could think of was gas pains. Bad move, he wrote it off as gas pains.
My question was about the irregularity of the contractions during Braxton Hicks. My stomach felt like it was tightening up on a pretty regular basis for about 30 minutes before bed. Felt the tightening in my lower back as well. The feeling stopped for a while and is now happening again. It’s not painful. But my baby isn’t moving as much as it normally does. Actually, I haven’t felt my baby move at all last night or today. Which is odd. 
Should I be calling my OB or am I just overthinking? I’ve had a feeling since I found out I was pregnant that our little one would come early. Doing my best to not let that thought turn into anxiety but use it to just prepare myself just in case.
UPDATE:
Called my OB, the nurse said to relax and drink orange juice then a lot of water. She thinks I’m just dehydrated because I drink too much (decaf) coffee. I’m also counting kicks, they want 10 kicks in 2 hours which the orange juice has definitely woken up my little one and I’m at 7 kicks in 11 minutes. 
The nurse will be calling back after talking to my OB to see if I need to come in.
UPDATE #2:
Just heard back from the nurse, my OB thinks I’m just dehydrated and to drink a ton of water (so much idk if it’s even possible) but dehydration can cause preterm labor so if anything gets worse I need to go to the ER.

Answer

Also, trust your momma instincts. If you feel like something is wrong call. They will either calm your nerves or have you come in. Either way, better to be safe!

Answer

I posted last night at L&D about this! I ended up going in because I had so many and everything I tried to do wouldn’t stop them. But of course I went in and everything was just fine!! It did give me peace of mind though because they checked my cervix during the contractions and everything looked normal! So I guess I’ll just be having a ton of Braxton Hicks this pregnancy! Oh well!

Answer

To me, it sounds like Braxton Hicks. Labor contractions will take your breath away and/or stop you in your tracks. BH happen pretty frequently for most women and a lot of moms have a hard time differentiating between the two! As for fetal movement, my doctor told me to eat some chocolate or drink some orange juice, then go lay on my left side. That should wake the baby up and relax you enough to feel him/her. If you try that and don’t feel anything within an hour or two, definitely call. Worst case scenario is you go in and they locate the heartbeat for peace of mind, and check your cervix for dilation :) I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about, but I know how scary it can be! Keep us posted!

Answer

Not sure how far along you are but my OB said around 28 weeks you should make sure you feel them move about 4x an hour. So sit still and you can count 4 kicks/movements and you’re good. If you ever feel like something is off definitely call your OB! They can get you in and hook you up to monitors to make sure everything is ok.

Answer

Have you been timing them? Mine come regularly at night but only once every 15-30 minutes. And then they usually stop by the time I go to bed. Sometimes they are a little painful but not excruciating. 
If they are 5-10 minutes apart and last longer than an hour, I’d call.