Expressing- when did you start?

[Nigatsudo]

Hello twin mums! I'm five weeks from my due date and trying to anticipate how I'll manage breastfeeding my babies. I want to exclusively breastfeed if I can, though appreciate that may not be possible. For those who did breastfeed, when did you start expressing if at all? I'm assuming expressing is essential with twins in order to share the burden of feeding with your partner or whoever is around to help. Many thanks!

I tandem fed mine for 12 months. I started expressing at about 4 weeks when I realised tandem feeding when out would be difficult (and feeding one after the other with a 4 year old waiting wouldn't work). So I expressed and fed dt2 with a bottle while out, while bf dt1 (who was a bottle refuser). I was told to get feeding established before trying a bottle. I expressed daily sort of adding in an extra feed, I'd bf at 8am, take dc1 to school and at 9 express so then I'd still have enough for the next feed. I didn't have a partner to help but think that its no slower feeding 2 than 1 when tandem feeding so only used it when out.

I started expressing (and introducing a bottle) at 2 weeks with DS1 and 3 weeks with DS2 but only because he could suck milk out of a rock from birth so I had overactive let down and didn't want to make that worse.

Anecdotally, I found introducing a bottle from this age was ok once I knew they were putting in weight from nursing exclusively. A bottle a day meant that by the time I went back to work at 16 weeks, I had about 150oz of milk in the freezer and they could have bottles at daycare and I would nurse before/after work.

But I definitely waited until I felt comfortable with breastfeeding them and confident they were gaining weight and latch was good etc.

Sorry, I now realise this is for twin mums!

Straight away. But my twins couldn't feed well as they were premature (33 weeks). I would recommend you get a very good pump though as breast feeding twins and expressing takes a lot of time

I'm hoping to express straight away too so I can get help with feeds especially night feeds. Planning on renting a hospital grade pump