Renstar, don't listen to them. You know, THEY HAVE NO IDEA!
I had people say the same things to me. My FIL laughed at me when I said I was going to a birth centre and wanting to do it naturally without drugs. He actually said: "You won't be able to do it without drugs. it really, really hurts, believe me!" What??? BELIEVE ME??? How many babies has he given birth to??? And how would he know how I can handle the situation. He doesn't even know whether I have a high or low pain threshold.
I had a slightly different experience to you though, as my own parents were more along the lines: "Thousands of generations of women have done this wihtout drugs, so why couldn't you."
Although, when I mentioned the possibility of a water birth, my mum was really against it. until she witnessed the waterbirth of my baby girl and since then she's the biggest supporter of waterbirth.
So, even though they might have had 10 children, if they have never experienced a well supported natural birth, they really don't know what they're talking about.

There's a link to my birth story in my siggie, if you want to read a story about how it can be done.

And about the hammock, I am a bit sad that I didn't know about them when DD was still little. I do believe they would work. DD slept best in the Hug A Bub which also had continuous motion, as I was moving around.

Get used to it, they will continue to patronise you and criticise you for your parenting decisions. Just don't listen. Pick the things that sound good to you, but ignore the rest. Listen to your instincts. They have served our species well for hundreds of thousands of years.

Saša