Hello everyone!
I suppose i have to post on this one, is that okay?
I have read the live birth thread, thank you all for your warm wishes, and staying with me all the way to the end
Sorry my friend didn't update you as often as i'd hoped - didn't want to leave you all in the lurch, but I think she was pre-occupied and didn't realise how important updating the thread was! 
(although, at one point , I did scream and rant at her how important it was to keep you up-to-date and put whatwas actually happening as oppsed to a "oh, she's doing this" - it was supposed to be "yeah, she's making random screams and rants about this that or the other" 
adewonder - i'll put you on the advent thread
Details if anyone wants them:
Everything was going great until the pushing stage - i went through a while feeling that my body wanted to push on its own, but i was told that that wasn't the pushing contractions, that I would feel the need to push myself when they came.
I was kinda hoping that my body would take over, though, because I was sooooo knackered by that point!
i was on gas and air, and apparently the tens machine had stopped working ages ago (they wanted to take it off me, but I was so adamant that I needed it! but they did remove it, and I couldn't tell, so obv it had stopped... )
then I went into the pushing stage - just all of a sudden my contraction made me need to push. it was very strange.
then they said they had to take the gas and air off me so that I could push effectively.
That was not a good idea, because for some reason 
only half of my contractions were actually doing anything.
I'd get a huge contraction where I could do loads of pushing (not that I wanted to cos it bloody hurt), and then a contraction that did nothing at all - to the extent that i had to tell myself to push (not even knowing whether it was a contraction or not!)
they started to get worried after nearly 2 hours, and the head was crowning, but nothing was moving.
they decided that I needed to move into the bathroom- I felt like i needed to poo, which i had no problem with doing (had resigned myself to it!), but I was pre-occupied that the poo was getting in the way of the baby coming out! So we went to the bathroom to try on the toilet. weird that pushing whilst on the toilet was easier than in a squat, even though the squat felt more natural.
one of the MWs kept trying to monitor heartbeat, but coulsn't find it. so of course, they worried about that as well.
eventually, they got me on the bed - they said (Friend1 said) that i was only making progress with the pushing when I was on my back - which seemed insane to me cos I was working against gravity.
and when I was on my back, i had the biggest bachache, all around the back of my middle, and on the sides, and I needed someone to support me, but no one could reach there.
they got DH to sit behdin me to hold me up, then they decided that it was just not happening, so they did an episiotomy. it was quite a big cut, i think. As they'd done it, (i was hoping that the anaesthetic would help and i could push it out before they cut, but that didn't work unfortunately, although they did wait a couple of minutes for me to try), i did a few more big pushes, and eventually the baby popped out. The problem was that the push that finally got her out was on one of those crappy contractions, so I was possibly pushing when there was nothing to push with (i tore as well).
I looked at the clock as soon as i felt the "gurgleblurgleplop" of the baby coming out and went "but it's midnight, is that the 11th or the 12th? 
"
(am slightly annoyed that my offical record says 2 mins past)
placenta was delivered by injection - had thought i would do it naturally unless it took too long, but once the baby was out, i decided that it should be done medically. Apparently, according to Friend1, the MWs had obv already decided that should be the case, but they had to ask my permission before they could do it.
then we got transferred to Medway by ambulance (not blue light ), and I got stitched up by a lovely Reg. It was funny, cos by that time my pain threshold had pretty much reduced, and it bloody hurt when she put the anaesthetic in. after that it was fine, and it felt like she was darning something that was attached to me. bizarre.
i kept telling her off for pulling too tightly.
we stayed in hospital till 13th in the evening, which had its own problems - i lost 750ml blood officially, and my iron level kept dropping. it was last measured at 6.6, and one of the MWs mentioned blood transfusion - i had made it really clear to MW at home that I didn't want a transfusion at all, if it could be possibly avoided - because I'm normally a blood donor, and I did not want to have to worry about not being able to give blood any more - that it would feel like the most selfish thing to do and i'd have to live with it for the rest of my life.
That was actually the worst thing about the whole experience - everythign else was managable, fine and I didn't mind being in hospital, and Isbn latched on great, and everything was good.
I had a complete melt-down about the iron thing, because they kept going onand on and on about the iron being really low etc, but none of the food was iron-rich (having to have the veggie options, there wasn't anything iron-y in them!), and they kept offering "tea and toast" when tea inhibits the absroption of iron!!
I also had a huge strop because DH was supposed to come and visit me in the day, was expecting that if visiting starts at 10, and he's got some food to fetch, sandwiches to make, and to buy a car seat, that he would be there by 11, or half past at the latest. I didn't have a clue what time it was, because my watch had been removed at home, and my phone battery had run out, so I couldn't contact him either. One of my issues was that i got weaker overnight, having not had much food, so the food he was bringing was supposed to make up for the crap food that the hospital had given me.
Everything else was lovely - they all rallied round me, and once i'd expressed my tantrum concerns about the food, i got 2 different cereals and loads of juice, and an iron tablet.
So home at about 8ish on the 13th, and we've been in and out of sleep and feeding and changing patterns since then.
Had a bath yesterday, which was lovely.
and because i've been drinking so much liquid (mainly water, but also lots of juice), it hasn't been stingy or painful to wee. (in fact, the only times I've had stinging is when I've tried to position myself on the bed and ended up sitting funny and pulling at a stitch)
Conclusion:
Girl: Eleanor Katherine born 12/12/11 at midnight, weight 8lbs.
and I can use the christmas smileys now! 