Sweet, although to a certain extent you can't control exactly what your body does in labour (although there are heaps of things you can do to help it do what it's going to do naturally), but you can control how you respond to your body.
This is actually what I was intending to convey to you Lauren but thankfully the others managed to phrase it much better than my cold and flu riddled head could.

My other suggestion would be take up all of the offers of help and advice these ladies are offering. I'm seriously quite useless with this stuff but there are so many Mummy Goddesses on here to help you find your own way to having the birthing experience of your dreams.

And a big hello and hug to your DF for reading all of this along with you! That's a huge first step already!!