returning to work: do I need to express for my comfort?

[MamaChocoholic]

I am returning to work when my twins turn 1 year. they still (11mo) feed quite often through the day (3-5 times). they will be in nursery, I am happy for them to have cow's milk there and bf the rest of the time (and weekends). friends' opinions have ranged from I will probably need to express to I will need to express 5 times a day to avoid exploding. I was hoping not to have the express at all. we went 9am - 1pm today with no feeds and I didn't feel at all full.

what are your experiences?

I can get away without it at all. Dd3 is 11m.
My problem is I work with children & babies set me off. If it wasn't for that I think I'd be ok.
Ive been back a week & take stuff in case

thanks HJ, good to know. am thinking I can take a muslin, then hand express if I do get too uncomfortable, but would rather not take all the pumping paraphernalia.

HarrietJones how many feeds were you doing before you went back? I have been wondering this as my DD has 4 feeds a day.

I have no issues in a 10/12 hour day and ds is 11 months. He finds 3-5 times a day when I am around.

feeds even.

2-3 during the day. Plus breakfast, supper & all night!

Depends I think mama. You might need to a little bit for the first few days, but you might not. How long is a piece of string? I certainly wouldn?t bother taking a pump as you want to effectively drop those feeds during the day and pumping will make your body think you are still feeding. Take plenty of breast pads though! I found I got letdowns when I was thinking of DS when at work as I was missing him.

...you breastfed twins for almost a year...wow...I'm ever so impressed!

I took my pump to work for a couple of days just in case, but found I barely needed it and my body soon regulated itself. I was working 4 days and bf as normal on the other 3 without a problem.

thanks all, seems I may be ok without will wear breastpads (good idea!), and will borrow a friend's handpump just in case, but hopefully won't need to use it.

metal - please don't be too impressed. it really has been easier in many ways than bf my first ds. perhaps we got lucky, but although twins are harder work generally, bf them is not necessarily a big deal :)

I'm sure you're right but I still think it's brilliant that you did it! Good luck with going back to work :)

thanks :)