Hi Soul,
Can you talk to the midwife or doctor at the hospital to see how they handle/what the allow for a vbac? DS is 10 months old and I ended up with an emergency c/s after 26 hours of labour. I fully dilated but he was posterior to start with (explains the excruciating back labour) and when he turned he stopped half way so the doctor was concerned because his forehead was swelling from the pressure of the pelvis on his head during contractions. He also never dropped and/or fully engaged.
I spoke to the doctor at the time about my changes of a vbac when I'm ready to have #2 and he said my chances are good as I fully dilated. I don't think I will be able to choose the birthing centre the second time around but I will have to check on that when the time comes. I was allowed to play my relaxing music in the labour ward when they transferred me when I had DS so that was comforting as I was really in-tune (no pun intended) with my music.
I think they main thing is that they monitor you MUCH earlier. My friend tried for a vbac with her 2nd child back in May and the hospital had her come in much ealier in the labour then with her first so they could keep an eye on the strength of the contractions. But the midwife I spoke to about it said the bikini incision they do now is MUCH safer and those muscles are less stressed by contractions so it lowers the chance of uterine rupture.
I don't know if any of this rambling helps you at all - but I thought I would share my experiences. I think you should talk to the midwife or doctor and share your thoughts and concerns with them. Perhaps you will be able to formulate a birthing plan that you can be happy about. I hope this helps...