So Confused- I thought labour had started lasted 22 hours now nothing!

[supermoon15]

I am currently 38 plus 6 and I have been having strong Braxton Hicks for around a week, Friday night I was woken at 11pm with strong period like pains which kept me awake until four am.
Saturday morning there was nothing when I first got up but as the day progressed I began to get mild to medium contractions and regular tummy tightening and could not rest. I thought ‘here we go’ and thought any minute they would ramp up and get stronger.
I am having a home birth so got everything ready, hot tub filled, lots of towels etc. Had some funk music on, rocked my hips, walked about trying to bring them on stronger. I had a shower at about half six and had a lay down for half an hour as I was so tired from the night before. Things calmed after that but still getting tightening of my tummy. I ate a slice of toast at half eight then by nine was so shattered I went to bed and slept until half five this morning undisturbed by any pains . Now nothing apart from tightening!
My first labour was pretty standard, started in the night and progressed through the day resulting in a baby at the end of it! This is just so confusing. Has it happened to anyone else and can I expect to meet my baby soon?!

I had something similar with my second labour - hours of contractions only for them to fade away completely! It's very confusing and frustrating. I'd had induction and a c-section first time so really had no idea if this was normal for me or not.

My due date is tomorrow (no sign yet) buy if it happened to me again, I would alternate times if being active and upright (walking, swaying, bouncing on the ball etc) to try and get things moving more steadily, with times of as good quality rest as you can manage - I didn't do enough of that the last time and was so very fatigued when I eventually got to hospital that I just felt good for nothing! Also eating a little and often to keep energy levels up.

I had 4 days/nights of contractions, the first couple of days of which were on and off, then a bit more regular but still the timing and length varied, before I reached 4 cm and got admitted to hospital. In the end it turned out the little blighter had got in a slightly awkward position which was why he wasn't pressing down on the cervix uniformly - though that may not be the reason in your case. He was born 13 hours after we got to hospital with a little help but no c-section and I was delighted.

Just keep the faith, your body is doing it's thing and getting ready for that baby even if it's not the same pattern as last time. Hope it's not driving you too crazy and it all settles down to a better pattern soon!

Ah, thanks so much for your reply. It is obviously something that happens but I was not aware of! I am glad that you managed to meet your little one naturally.
Gosh, you had it for four nights! It sounds like I did the right thing going to bed and not trying to encourage it last night once things stopped. I had a good nights sleep and have eaten really well today so should my contractions start again any time soon I will have more energy.
I think that my problem is comparing my current pregnancy to my last one and expecting the labour to be similar if not quicker. This little lady is obviously is not so eager to come out yet. Her position is good according to my last check up on Thursday.
I hope that your next babe is in a good for you and that your labour goes nice and quickly and thanks again for your encouragement and good advice.