You've already found there was an issue with "just lacing up", so it's safer to imagine that what can go wrong will go wrong.
I like to finish one wheel before starting another. That way if I made a mistake that doesn't show up until well into tensioning (e.g., spokes too long so I run out of threads, or too short so threads are left exposed) I won't copy the mistake into the second wheel. The spoke supplier is unlikely to accept return of the spokes for exchange if they have been laced into a wheel because of the "setting" that occurs during lacing and early tensioning -- they won't look "new" to the next customer. Better to have the second wheel's spokes unused in the box if you need to get them a few mm longer or shorter.