Long Post - Dyzzidi congratulations on your forthcoming adventure. I totally sympathise with your worries. It's hard to imagine how you will cope with the impact of the birth, but there's every chance you will cope fantastically. I found it was amazing what I managed to cope with.
I'm wondering if you would be able to put off having the myemectomy until later on, rather than get into a big operation immediately, at least that way you will have less to worry about at a stressful time. And you would get to focus on bonding with your baby without having to stress about your partner coping.
Just curious, but is the arranged section a consequence of the fibroid?
I have a large c 20cm fibroid and basically, it was monitored throughout my pregnancy with the possibility of a section hovering. There was talk of removing the fibroid at the same time, which worried me, as I didn't want to loose a lot of blood. I ended up going into spontaneous labour in the 37th week and didn't need a section. Having a fibroid removed was the last thing on my mind at the time. I'm going back in for a myemectomy in July, and I feel happier that I am doing things in this order. Now I've got breastfeeding sorted, after a bumpy start and feel happy that I can express milk whilst in hospital and maybe top up with formula, plus my ds is weaning now anyway (7months).
I had to express immediately for my baby because he was jaundiced and didn't latch on immediately. So it can be done and my dp fed him when I was expressing, but I HAD to do that and it made the whole thing much more time-consuming than it needed to be.
My baby was mixed fed for the first ten weeks until I finally managed to breast feed exclusively.
For me, the main pros of bottle feeding, were knowing how much the baby is getting, that you can get someone else to do it, and that you don't feel nervous about feeding in public, and of course as my baby's good health was maintained by formula at the start - so invaluable if there are feeding problems which compromise the baby's health.
The cons, for me, were worrying that my baby wasn't receiving immediate immunity and protection from illnesses in the long-term (see piles of research), also loosing track of how long formula has been out of the fridge and worrying whether it was still sterile and ok for use (and running out), having to wait for the steriliser whilst the baby wails and so on and having to wait for the kettle for water and then having to wait for it to cool.
Don't worry about the amount of help you will receive in hospital, If you are stuck in a ward with your baby, as I was for 8 days you will find that you will always be able to get help with all of the physical aspects of feeding, pain relief etc...so don't worry about that, there is a buzzer system and you will get a super fast, willing response.
You will however need support at home, regardless of how you choose to feed.
One benefit of breastfeeding is that your periods often take months to return, so if you had problems in that area because of the fibroid then it might help.
My consultant at the hospital said he thought breast feeding might help to reduce the fibroid, as the oestrogen levels are so low. In addition to this I have been taking Zoladex for the past two months in preparation for the op in July. This will hopefully reduce the fibroid and reduce the bleeding. Do you think this would be an option for you?
You sound as if you are trying to control a scarily, uncontrollable situation. Don't worry too much, I managed to distract myself by buying everything I could conceivably need on Ebay. It paid off and I've sold the stuff that was never used (on Ebay). Including my Dr Brown's anti-colic bottles (just in case)
Finally, make sure your doctors and midwives keep an eye on your bowels. I had BIG problem with my bladder because of the fibroid. Make a fuss if necessary - if I had known of the risks I would have.
If you want to ask me anything about my experiences please feel free to CAT me.