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KELOWNA
At thirty weeks, the babies were now out of the incubators and sharing an infant bed. Their eyes were still uncoordinated, but they were blinking, attentive to Sydney’s voice, and were having longer periods of alertness. When she touched them, they responded by turning their heads. She’d spent the past four weeks visiting her babies twice a day. She stayed for hours beside them, talking and singing to them. So far, she hadn’t been able to hold them, just touch their hands or cheeks. They had all gained weight but Willow was still the smallest of the three.
Jenna and Kylie were responding to her facial touch by beginning to suckle, which meant that soon they could come off of their feeding tubes and start breastfeeding. Before they could go home, each baby would have to be ab
