Over the last week all three of us have been sick. It started two weeks ago -- we were supposed to go over to a friend's house to watch the football game but Ella had a fever. Having a fever isn't so bad, but she started acting very listless so we had to call off. The next day she was fine.
A few days later she had a stuffy nose but she was her normal perky self. The baby books tell you that the external diagnostic indicators of a sickness (like a temperature) aren't as important as how the kid is acting. A sleepy, out of it kid with a 100 degree fever is much more worrisome than a sniffly but normal kid with one at 102.
Sunday night she woke up with a barking cough. A little reading came to croup. There are two types of croup. One type you basically wait out -- lots of fluids, exposure to warm humidity and cool outside air. The other type can cause inflammation of the larynx and obstruct breathing -- very serious.
I assume that the possibility that your child could have something serious is something parents get used to dealing with. You read about the problem, make an assessment to see if it applies and if it does, you take acltion. It's not something we're used to yet, so it made my heart race a bit. (Okay, more than a bit.)
Fortunately, her breathing wasn't labored, so we cranked up the humidifier and opened a window to outside and kept an eye on her. Over the course of the week she improved and she's basically back to normal now, with a little runny nose that may or may not be related to more teeth coming in. (Honestly, why can't they all come in at once?)
Meanwhile, that same Sunday night both Barb and I had our own internal wars going on. Monday morning we both felt a little logy, Monday evening we were both coughing and miserable. This continued all week, both of us getting pretty awful sleep because of Ella and our own sickness. If only one of us were sick the other could safely take Nyquil or some other heavy-duty knock-your-ass-out medication and take out the illness. But since both of us were sick and didn't know who'd be in shape to deal with Ella during the night, we both muddled through.
We both seem on the mend now, just in time for my birthday.