It's pushing one o'clock, but instead of sleeping I'm sitting at the computer, bleary eyed and sagging, listening to the sounds from the next room- mild baby chatter, punctuated by harsh coughing.

There are some aspects of parenting that you don't hear about. The sleepless nights? Plenty of people mention that, but they neglect to explain the cause. I foolishly assumed it was just the noise- the coughing, the crying, pleads for a favorite toy or a glass of water. However, when the crying stops and the only sounds coming over the monitor are breathing and soft sighs, you're still awake, wishing like hell that you were a better parent so you could magically make the cold/nightmares/whatnot just disappear.