I've posted quite a lot recently re all my worries re this birth and just to say that none of them materialised and I had just the experience I had been hoping for... (apart from the pain which I had to say was excruciating but shortlived).
Our dd was born 2 days ago 7 days early... I got in at Queen Charlotte's birth centre. The midwife was GREAT, I had the option of using the birthing pool but everything went too quickly (two and three quarter hours from first twinge to birth) so I used it instead after for a bath! Dh was really supportive. The lights were dimmed..., I didn't need any stitches because I only had a small tear... I could go on and on... I really felt as if somebody up there had been listening.
In a way it has helped exorcise the demons of ds's birth. It has also shown me what a difference there can be between midwives. This one was extremely sensitive to what I wanted and very professional.
I wanted to post this message to reassure other worried people and also to say thank you for everybody's support on my various posts.
I feel really quite emotional! Must be all the hormones.