epidural or no epidural?

Ok, ok, so i know it's like really really early to be thinking about these things.. but you know me, the one who loooves to plan and sort things out, right? Kale calls me the queen of lists. sigh.

Anyhow, I was reading one of the numerous pregnancy books I have at home. Now that exams are over, I consider this my "constructive reading" since I never have to look at another law case again. heh. The pregnancy books all state that you're supposed to have a "birthing plan". Hmm. Now, of course, I'm drawn to anything that has the word "plan" in it, right?

So yes, I'm thinking about my birthing plan and what I'd want my labor to be like. (As if I really have a choice, right? Ultimately, the baby girlie has final say in how she gets born.. surely a precursor to her teenage years where she'll try to have the last say in everything.. ) But yeah, there are so many options - pain relief? no pain relief? rooming in? no rooming in? what kind of pain relief??? etc etc...

So, back to the topic of pain relief.. all along I've always said I shall NOT be a hero and I shall opt for an epidural. After all, I've heard all these horror stories about women whose labor was dragged out because they were so tense without any pain relief that they didn't dilate... ending up in an emergency C-section. Egads. Or worse still, the women who decided they wanted epidural when it got too bad and were told they were too far along for it. eeps.

BUT, then I also hear all the horror stories about not being able to feel the contractions and so not knowing when to push, the epidural needle getting dislodged and the pain relief not working, the longer recovery time, the lack of being able to walk around to speed up labor, etc. And the 2 things that are really making me question the epidural? Well, the side-effects of vomiting and nausea. I was reading some forum page with labor stories, and apparently vomiting and nausea is a very common side-effect of epidurals. For those of you who don't know, my BIGGEST phobia has to do with puking - anything and everything to do with it.. the feeling of nausea, being near anyone who's throwing up, the sight, the smell, the actual act. *shudder*. I don't know if I could go through with it. I think I'd almost rather bear the pain than the side-effects.

The other thing? Well, I spoke to a couple of women I work with who've had kids, and I've heard about a few others, who have gone through labor without epidural and swear that it's totally bearable. Maybe they were just lucky and had short, easy labors... but still, the fact that their testimony is that it's doable makes me wonder. I'm, well, what you would consider competitive. There's nothing like a little competition to get me going... and if people I know tell me it's doable, then dammit, I sooo feel the urge to take it on as a challenge. Yes, I know, this is a totally retarded chain of thought (as Kale has pointed out numerous times).. but humor me anyhow.

So yeah, now I'm wondering what's best... epi or no epi? Anyone out there with experience... any thoughts? Anyone gone with epi and not had side effects, and anyone gone without and found it ok? Need to increase my sample pool so that I can make an informed, rational decision (yes, that would involve me having to ignore my competitive side..)