My contractions were just very very mild tightening they didn't hurt or make me uncomfortable in anyway though out my entire labor and I was in labor for over 30 hours and at the hospital for 27 hours before giving birth because right from the start of it they were only 4 minutes apart. 

I think the only universal answer is that contractions feel different for everyone.

I didn't even realize I was feeling mine the first time until I'd been on pitocin for HOURS.  (Water broke w/o being in labor, hence the pit eventually.)  Just felt like the baby was moving, until I realized the baby moved at the same time the contraction monitor showed a contraction was happening.  Then the back labor hit eventually & it just felt like I really really had to poop during every contraction.  I don't even remember my tummy/uterus hurting.  Just the pressure in the back, which I still describe as "extremely uncomfortable" and not necessarily "painful".

I'm about to go through it again in about a month, but this time I'm very conscious about my positioning, as I'm hoping a properly positioned anterior baby will allow labor to progress normally w/o intervention.  I'm just hoping I realize I'm in labor in time!  It will be interesting to see how a contraction feels without the back labor.

didn't know i was in labor with my second cause i was induced with my first and immediatly put on pitocin and had a bad reaction to it. so i didnt' know what normal contractions felt like. it took me 6 hours to call the dr and they yelled at me. got to the hospitol my water broke and 2 hours later i had my daughter.

i had back labor and i literally felt like my back was breaking. it was such a tight squeezing pain that would never subside. needless to say, i begged for an epidural which made it allllll better!

It felt like I had to go almost like UTI with a cramp. For a while I thought I had a UTI till it dawned on me that if was happening every 10 minutes and then every 5 minutes. 10 hours later I had a baby!

Makes me wonder about having kids sometime in the future...my mom told me she didn't scream when she had me (3.5 pounds) or my brother (9.6 pounds). I am NOT as strong as my mother, lol

I went natural with my son 16 hrs or labor and no meds I was fine till I went to the bathroom... before the bathroom visit I was 5cm after I peed I was 10 cm and ready to push and I was on the max level of pitocin... I never had menstrual cramps before so when they hit the only thing that came to my mind is there is thunder in the drawers LOL... it did hurt really bad but it was easier to handle once I started to push pushing really took the edge off

Oh my contractions hurt bad it is the worst kind of pain it takes your breath away my sister had to keep telling me to breath then i got drugs n felt nothing after that epidoral good

I started contractions around 9pm but I didnt know what they were...it was irregular. By 11pm I was pretty sure they were contractions so I went to sleep for a few hours knowing what was ahead of me. At 3am I timed them for an hour til they were 5 mins apart, called Dr and was at hospital by 5. I thought that was pain?? Boy, I had no idea what was ahead. By 10 am I wasnt sure I could do it (low pain tolerance) so I got in water...that helped my back pain slightly. I finslly got an epidural that made me itch horribly and only lasted 3 hrs. So I walked, got on all 4's, tried the bsll...nothing helped. At 4pm I started pushing but I never felt like I had to. Everyone kept telling me to breath but everytime a contraction stopped, Id try to take breath and it started again. I was a screamer to everyones annoyance...it felt like my back was breaking and my stomach would tighten so bad it took my breath away. I ended up having a c section...my daughter was stuck and there was no time between contractions yet never felt the need to push...they had to tell me when to push. I dont even know if I was pushing correctly! Would I do it again? For 2 yrs I said no way, now I say, in a heartbeat. This coming from a low pain tolerance, hate bodily functions, it all scares me, type of person. So worth it....dont be scared, you CAN do it, with drugs or not.