will I produce enough for a feed after expressing?

[bratnav]

I have always been confused about exactly how BF works. My question is, if I express from both breasts until they feel empty, will I produce milk if DS wants to feed fairly soon afterwards?

DH and I are attempting a night out so GPs will need 2 full feeds (plus a safety margin IYSWIM) for Friday night. I am concerned that if I try and express and then DS needs a feed soon after this, that my breasts will be empty and he will be hungry.

Will my breasts produce more as he latches on, or does it take time to refill?

I can't believe I don't know the answer to this, DS is DC3

Have you heard the leaky tap theory? Basically, if you imagine a dripping tap filling a glass with water... you can take a drink of water, even drain the glass but water is still coming from the tap, even if slowly. So you can 'drain' the breasts but DS can drink straight from the 'tap'! Hope that makes some sort of sense, made sense to me when I couldn't get my head around it.
Can you express after feeds instead to save worrying about it?

Thank you starlight and hairy, that makes perfect sense, I feel really happy to know that.

I don't think I can express after feeding as ds empties both sides and I would much rather he feeds for longer than I pump for longer, much more comfortable.

Thanks Starlight.

DS is very impatient, if he isn't being drowned in milk he gets really antsy. Also, he has started trying to chew my nipples and shakes his head at the same time, ouch. Is this a side effect of bottle feeding him sometimes?