(Sings) Oh where, oh where have Taff'n'Cally gone?

So.  Freyja and I had been at our Japanese class on Thursday evening and decided on our way home to call in to visit Taff, Gaz and Cally.  Wandered in through the back door to the most delicious smell of dinner.  Ambled through in to the lounge room, and found Gaz playing a computer game.  No sign of Tabitha or Cally - but I assumed they were upstairs in bed, or in the bath, or that Tabitha was in the loo or something.

Engaged in some general conversation with Gaz. Then Freyja mentioned that the kitchen smelled wonderful.  Gaz agreed, and then said that it had been intended for Taffa's dinner.  At which point I asked where she was.  And come to that - where's the baby?

"In the hospital," said Gaz - in a tone which suggested that really, we ought to know that.

"Why?" I asked.

At which point, Gaz looked at Freyja, silently.  She looked at me.  No point looking at me - I don't know.  I thought they were at home.

It seems that the midwife had called in earlier in the day and had weighed Cally.  She had weighed in at about 0.4 of a gram over the 10 grams (or whatever) the allowable weight loss from birth was.  So they had to go to the hospital to have some tests done and for Cally to be assessed by the neonatal paediatrician.  Ross went too, to keep them company.

We called in to the house at about quarter to ten in the evening.  At about quarter past ten, Tabitha was told that she and Cally were being kept in overnight, that that had been decided some hours ago and that someone should have told her.  She wasn't entirely delighted.  She had missed out on dinner, both at home and at the hospital.  She didn't have her toothbrush.  She was, in fact, entirely unprepared for night in hospital.

She did get a single room though.  With an en suite bathroom and everything.

And the one night became two.  Freyja, The Builder and I called to see them last evening.  And found that Cally - who has been quite fractious since birth - has been put on a three hourly feeding regimen and has been given a couple of pipettes of supplementary formula, and is now calm and peaceful and sleepy.  A much happier little splodge.  It seems she has been hungry!  And Tabitha also has had food.  And we took magazines and chocolate.  Plus she has television and internet access in her room.  So she's quite happy too.

And now she is back at home, as too is Cally.  And I, now at work for the afternoon, have prepared the makings of a beef and tomato pie for this evening.  The Builder is meeting me at five and we're heading round to Nettleham Road armed with pie ingredients, potatoes and vegetables and will join Tabitha, Gareth and Cally for dinner.  Freyja is out scrimmaging with her roller derby team.  And Ross is about somewhere, but can't join us for dinner.

So let's hope now that Cally will thrive properly and there will be no need for random returns to the hospital.

And we have sacked Gareth as the Town crier and message bearer.  He hasn't been keeping Freyja, The Builder or me In The Loop at all!!!!!!!