Aaargh, magnolia... I've just typed a long message to you ... and lost it
Anyway, I was saying 'SNAP!'. I had dd1 by elective section because of placenta praevia back in 2000.
My experience was very positive, I must say. The whole procedure was very calm (except for dh, who was petrified but trying to hide it and had been given a size XS theatre gown, even though he weighs 14 stone!!!) and once I was numbed and the op had started it felt like just a matter of minutes before I was holding my beautiful baby. I was able to hold her while I was being sewn up, and the anaesthetist even took some pics of us while we were still in theatre.
Do you know exactly where your placenta is? Unless it's over the cervix and towards the front, there is no real reason why you should bleed excessively during the op (unless you have some other reason why you might haemorrage which I'm unaware of). Even if the placenta is towards the front, the surgeon will be aware of this and there is no reason at all why there should be a problem. My experience with pp was that people were very keen to tell me the 'worst case scenario', even though it's quite rare for the worst to happen. Their point was that if it happens, then it is very serious (this was when I was trying to discharge myself from hospital and they were trying to keep me in!). But once you're in the hospital anyway, you should be fine. I'm sorry, I obviously don't know your past history, but there is no reason why pp alone should make you need a general anaesthetic rather than a spinal, unless the op needs to be done as an emergency (i.e. if the placenta comes away - but it sounds as if they are doing the op on Thursday to try to forestall that happening).
At nearly 37 weeks your baby shouldn't need special care (again, unless there are other factors). My dd was born at 36 weeks exactly but had been small for dates (or possibly my dates had been wrong, as I'd got pg straight after a mc) all the way through my pregnancy, so she may have been more like 35 weeks. Also, I had had several bleeding episodes (some quite dramatic) and had (sorry if TMI, this is gross) lost a bit of placenta at one point. Dd was therefore a bit undernourished. She was 4lb 12oz when she was born. She had no problems other than just smallness. She breathed on her own immediately (though I'd had steriods from 27 weeks to 34 weeks, because they really didn't think I'd make it to 36 weeks) and in fact was screaming before her whole body was out of me! (She is still a drama queen .) She needed to be kept warm on a heated pad (not an incubator) for a couple of hours, but they didn't do this until we were out of theatre. In theatre they let me hold her. Oh, and if it's any reassurance, my dd2 (born by VBAC) was born at 37 weeks + 5 and weighed a healthy 7lb 8oz, so dd1 is clearly not representative of 36-weekers.
I did have problems breastfeeding, but they were not to do with the c-section... more to do with my flat nipple/huge nork combo (sorry if again TMI). I had the same problems with dd2. The only difference was that dd1 was very sleepy and didn't really have the energy to suck. She was tube-fed (EBM once I managed to get some out) for nearly 2 weeks and I eventually got her home feeding with nipple shields. That wasn't very successful, and I gave up after 6 weeks. But you have already breastfed successfully and there is no reason why you shouldn't do so again. Make sure that the midwife who is with you for the op is aware that you don't want your baby to be given formula without your explicit consent.
Good luck with everything. I'll be thinking about you on Thursday.