Any one had a long latent labour after previous rapid one?

[chuffoff]

Previous labour (DC2) was less than 30 mins from first contraction to delivery. I was 40+5 and had had a sweep about 7 hours earlier.
I'm currently 37+6 with DC3 and at my consultant appointment a few days ago she confirmed baby's head was 2/5 engaged. They told me to be on high alert due to previous history of rapid labour and to call as soon as I have my first contraction. I've had pretty regular braxton hicks with this pregnancy from about 28 weeks, having never had them in previous pregnancies. Yesterday they ramped up a lot more and by the evening I was getting waves of period type pain in my lower back and coming round to my front. I started timing them and they were coming every 20 - 30 minutes and definitely feeling more contraction like although not the intensity I felt with my last labour. As they weren't so intense and quick I held off calling triage and tried to get some sleep. I did get a bit but woke at 4am with more waves of pain. Breathed through them and must've fallen back to sleep, now have woken up and nothing! I'm so confused. This isn't what I was expecting from labour and not what I had been told to prepare for. On the one hand I'm kind of pleased as it means I can feel semi-prepared but on the other I just don't know if it will ramp up from 0-60 at any moment. Has anyone else had any experience of a rapid labour followed by a prolonged latent one?

Yes!!
DC1 was induced after my waters had already broken so was rapid fire from there - 3 hours from first contraction to baby.
DC2 was 10 hours from the first little niggle to baby. (Born at home, called midwife after a few hours of regular contractions)
DC3 was a whole other ball game! I had episodes of regular contractions (every 6ish minutes) for 3-4 hours at a time that would then taper off into nothing....FOR 2 WEEKS before she finally decided to make her appearance I was having another home birth, and called the midwife out on one of the false alarms On the day she was finally born, I hesitated about calling the midwife again in case it just turned out to be nothing....but bloody good job I listened to my gut and called her because DC3 was born 1hr and 2mins after the midwife arrived!

So in my experience, a long, awkward latent phase, meant a very quick, uncomplicated active labour and birth!

@ThePolishWombat thank you! I like the sound of the quick uncomplicated active stage but 2 weeks of these contractions?? I really hope not

It was a nightmare it would always be evening time, when the kids had gone to bed. I’d sit on my ball, and they would start - more painful than braxton hicks but not full on labour pain if that makes sense? They’d come every 6-7 mins for a few hours then taper off into nothing.
But when madam decided it was in fact time to vacate the premises, she did it pretty swiftly