[SOLVED}Automation fails to wait for mqtt message to be received if any payload already present

ESPHome
,
1

This is part of my automation to keep an ESP device from going back to sleep when it wakes and instead turn on a pump. It should wait at the wait for trigger which is mqtt message with payload “ON” but it continues if there is any message in the solarplantwatering/birth field either ON/OFF/offline. The device is still asleep so automation finishes without pump ever switching on.The only thing to prevent it continuing on early is if I delete solarplantwatering/birth topic by mqttexplorer. Anybody got a clue?

alias: Water Plant Pump 2
sequence:
  - service: mqtt.publish
    data:
      topic: solarplantwatering/ota_mode
      payload: "ON"
      qos: "1"
      retain: true
  - service: mqtt.publish
    data:
      topic: solarplantwatering/sleepearly
      payload: "OFF"
      qos: "1"
      retain: true
  - wait_for_trigger:
      - platform: mqtt
        topic: solarplantwatering/birth
        payload: "ON"
    continue_on_timeout: false
    timeout:
      hours: 1
      minutes: 0
      seconds: 0
      milliseconds: 0
  - delay:
      hours: 0
      minutes: 0
      seconds: 3
      milliseconds: 0
  - service: switch.turn_on
    data: {}
    target:
      entity_id: switch.plant_watering2
2

I seemed to have solved the problem by changing the wait_for_trigger to a different mqtt topic. There may have be something special about the birth_message that prevents me doing what I was trying to or more likely I just made a mistake somewhere. Had to create a new topic sent from ESP device when it woke and deep sleep was disabled to allow the pumps to start. I tried to create a on_connect: (to mqtt broker) message but couldn’t get that to send anything. Lastly I had to add a publish mqtt to show the ESP device was offline when I sent it back to deep sleep.

mqtt:
  broker: 
  username: 
  password: 
  birth_message:
    topic: solarplantwatering/birth
    payload: 'ON'
  will_message:
    topic: solarplantwatering/willdisable
    payload: disable
  discovery: true
  discovery_retain: false   
  on_message:
    - topic: solarplantwatering/ota_mode
      payload: 'ON'
      then:
        - logger.log: 'OTA Mode ON - Deep sleep DISABLED'
        - deep_sleep.prevent: deep_sleep_1
        - mqtt.publish:
            topic: solarplantwatering/available_mode
            payload: online 
    - topic: solarplantwatering/sleepearly
      payload: 'ON'
      then:
        - deep_sleep.enter: deep_sleep_1