number one: if at all possible, express your little boobies off to have some good fatty milk stored up. the reason for this comes later.

it'll obviously be essential to speak to your anaesthetist and surgeon for their exact instructions, but with my surgery they were able to give me an epidural and then a light non-narcotic anaesthetic. This meant that I was still completely out throughout the surgery, but I could bf as soon as I woke up.

My lower half was still numb, but DH was there, and he could help me with my DS and hold him in position, etc. And it was pretty hard, but I was able to express overnight and have milk for him.

I'd been on liquid only and a bowel clear the day before, and had to stay on liquid only for a few days, so my milk was really, really thin - but it was still fine for DS to drink, and because I had some stored, DH could give him some of the thin, and some of the good fatty milk too, so DS wasn't drinking but still hungry ITMS.

But be sure not to be doing this all if it ends up stressing you more out, and then that stress wearing or burning you out, making your recovery slower ...

be kind to yourself!

and all the best for the impending bikinis