Sick days and sleepless nights

It is back: the season for colds and achy throats. AAAHH! Finn has been sick for two weeks, and after he seemed to be getting better he is getting worse again. He has a bad cough. Last week we were all down with the flu. This week Neil is back at work, but still not completely well. Lily still has a stuffy nose which keeps her from sleeping well.
Speaking of sleep: Lily used to be a pretty good night-sleeper, but not anymore. The last few weeks I've had to feed her twice at night (instead of once). Contrary to her older brother she really likes having a pacifier, too. So sometimes she will wake up a few more times and I (or Neil) go in and put the paci in her mouth again. Eventually we will have to wean her of this, but not right now when she is not feeling well. And of course it is impossible to suck on a paci when you can't breathe through your nose. So more night waking! I tried giving her a bottle as well as nursing her before bed to see if she would sleep longer, but she will not take it. She is one temperamental little girl and hates the bottle with fiery passion now, no matter what's inside. I even tried spoon-feeding her (she is 4.5 months old now), but to no avail. So I will just breastfeed her until she is ready to eat other foods as well. Maybe she will start sleeping through the night anyway. (Yeah, right...)
Our days are better than our nights as long as I can keep both Finn and Lily happy and entertained at the same time. (Mind you I am not healthy again yet either, but I guess there is no sick-leave for parents.) And not to give anyone a wrong impression: they are absolutely adorable! It is such a miracle to see them grow up. They really start interacting, too. I absolutely, totally LOVE being their mommy! Sometimes they even nap at the same time, like now. At first I layed down, too, but Finn keeps on waking up crying and I have to go in, so I gave up and turned on the computer instead.
But I sure am tired. Last night topped it all. Here goes:
I was pretty exhaused yesterday, functioning on 5 hours of sleep total from the night before (a 2 hour and a 3 hour stretch, great, eh?). Neil had to go to a workshop, so he wouldn't come home at night. Thankfully he would only have to spend 1 night away. So I drag myself through the day, of course Finn and Lily don't nap at the same time and it is raining outside. Oh well, we manage. At 8:30pm Finn is finally in bed, yay! Lily goes to bed around 9:30 or 10:00, otherwise she would be up for the day way too early. Finn has a hard time falling asleep, talking in his bed. I can still hear him when I nurse Lily and put her in her bed. I am lucky, she takes the paci and soothes herself to sleep at 9:45. I fall into my bed and am SOO ready to go to sleep, but Finn is still talking, coughing some, then calling me. I give him some cough syrup, a drink, sing his lullaby again twice and at 10:30 (!) he is finally asleep. I doze off, but Lily wakes me up at 11. Her nose is stuffy and the paci is lost. I fix both (although I try not to overdo the nosedrops because they damage your mucous membranes). AND I SLEEP! Until 12:30am. Finn wakes up coughing and can't stop. There is no way I can sleep with him coughing so hard next door. Lily stirs but keeps on sleeping. (Finn's bedroom is between Lily's and ours.) I listen to him for a while, but he won't stop! So I go in, give him a drink and more cough syrup, to no avail. He keeps on coughing. I don't know what to do. Then he coughs REALLY hard and throws up. There is vomit everywhere and the smell is almost unbearable. Poor guy. I get him to the bathroom, him chattering away: "Mama, Binn couf LEALLY loud and BIG bup and pit up all ova!" (transl.: Finn coughed really loud, out came a big burp and then he spit up all over the place.) Yeah, you tell ME. At 2:00 am Finn is washed up, changed into clean PJs and back in bed. There is a big pile of barfy stuff in my laundry room: his clothes, blanket, pillow, sheets, even his crib bumper. But he is still coughing! So I try to make his room warm and moist, put a basin with hot water by his bed, turn up the heat etc. I also try a different brand of cough syrup, which doesn't help. I sure wish Neil were here. I go back to bed, trying to ignore the coughing. Funny thing is, Finn seems to be able to sleep some even though he is coughing so bad. I can't fall asleep, but that's okay since at 3:00am Lily wants some milk anyway. I am SOO tired. I nurse her, she goes back to sleep. I decide to sleep in Lily's bedroom (there is a big bed in there, too). I put in earplugs. They block out the coughing from Finn's room but still let me hear Lily. That way I get almost 3 hours of uninterrupted sleep! At 6:15 Lily wants her second feeding. I nurse her again, Finn is still coughing. I put my earplugs back in and sleep for another hour. Then Finn is up for the day. I have time to give him a bath and take a shower myself before Lily wakes up. Then I go meet my new best friend: COFFEE! I phone Finn's doctor and get an appointment at 11:45am.
They take his blood (again) and we get more medication, an antibiotic and yet another cough syrup. Although tired, Finn is a good sport. It helps that his doctor really likes him and vice versa. Finn gets a bandaid, gummybears and a toy. An hour later the three of us are on our way home. I adjust the rearview mirror so I can see Finn.
- "Hallo, Mama!", he grins at me.
- "Hallo, Finn!"
This goes on for a while. Then:
- "Mama?"
- "Yes, Finn?"
- "I lovou, Mama."
My heart melts.

- "Bery much."

- "I love you, too, Finn!"

Do I ever! Sleepless nights? What sleepless nights?