hi,
i don't think i'm the best person to answer this - hopefully someone more knowledgeable will be along in a minute. but i did have an epidural with dc1 7 weeks ago, so maybe i can help a bit!
i don't see why you couldn't lie on your side - with my epidural i was still quite mobile and could stand, kneel and even walk a bit. you will have continuous monitoring, but i didn't find the belts restricted my movements. you do still have feeling, just no pain. i had some acupuncture when the epidural was up and i could still feel the needles in my legs.
yes, you can request that the epidural isn't topped up after the first dose starts to wear off, or you can request half a dose. i did this when i was approaching 10cm. when i was at the pushing stage the epidural had worn off. tbh i was so confused and out of it that i had no idea what was going on and wasn't sure when i was supposed to be pushing - don't know if that was the epidural, but i know i would have been in a far worse and less capable state without one. i found that the data from the monitoring really helped me - i could look at the trace on the machine, see when i was contracting and push then. and the mws were really good - putting their hands on my tummy and confirming that i was having a contraction.
good luck!!