ok moms I need advice. I'm 36 weeks and 1 day. I haven't seen any sign of mucus plug, and I don't…

ok moms I need advice. I'm 36 weeks and 1 day. I haven't seen any sign of mucus plug, and I don't know if I'm dilated my Dr doesn't like to check unless I think I'm having contractions, which I had not at my last appointment. Well last night at 8 I was having sever back pain and was up every hour with bad abdominal cramps like where my belly button is. My stomach is super sore and back pain is still bad with a lot of pressure on my vagina. I had a contraction I think at 8:45 then 10:45 and again at 11:30 and one at 2:00? are they real contractions?