Help!!

I have never had contractions before. This is not my first pregnancy but with my first they took her via c-section at 40weeks bc of her size and I wasn’t doing anything. I seriously never felt a thing.

With my second she came a whole month early bc my water broke and I still never felt like I was doing much. Maybe some Braxton Hicks but now I’m questioning things. My second was also a c-section. I tried to VBAC but after laying in a hospital bed for 36 hours, given Pitocin multiple times and trying to stretch me with a balloon I still never progressed and they started to worry about my second daughter’s stress.

So with this one I am 36weeks today, 26 days from my scheduled c-section date and I’ve been having period like cramps from last night into today. Nothing consistent or debilitating, but annoying enough that I feel like I need to sit for a min. I have also had a few what I thought were Braxton Hicks, where the top of my uterus gets really tight and it’s a strong feeling, but it only lasts 30secs and is very very infrequent.

I guess my questions for you all are: what does really contractions feel like? Am I possibly in early labor? What do Braxton Hicks feel like? Thanks!