This is my second pregnancy. Was induced with my first so I don’t know what going into natural labor feels like. Earlier this evening around 6 pm I noted the slightest ever sensation of a menstrual cramp - like the initial feeling you might get your period in the next 24 hours - and then just now I was awake (3 am - pregnancy insomnia) and felt it again, one notch up this time. I also felt lower back pain during the same time. It lasted a short duration and stopped - maybe 1-2 minutes. If this is a contraction, does that mean labor is near? Or can this happen still several weeks away from true labor? Going to call my OB when they open.

I’ve had Braxton hicks contractions from early on during this pregnancy- several months now - and this feeling was very different than that.