What do contractions feel like?

I think I’m having irregular contractions, but I’m not sure what true contractions feel like. It’s coming in waves, and when it does there’s a lot of pressure in my upper torso where the top of my uterus is, and it makes me feel like I’m going to pass out and throw up, and when that happens my whole uterus gets really hard and I feel like I have poop pains. Are those irregular contractions, or preterm labor?