DEAR ABBY: My husband recently caught a cold, and he has been coughing badly. Other than the cough, he is in good shape and not feverish.
Last night his coughing woke me up three times. The first time, I went back to sleep. The second time, I asked him to sleep somewhere else so he wouldn't wake me up, and the third time, I got up and slept on the couch.
We disagree on who should have left the room. He says he was sick, so he was right to stay in bed. I say he was the one who couldn't sleep and, therefore, he should've left the room. I know when I can't sleep, I usually leave the room so I won't disturb him.
Abby, we have a 20-month-old son who regularly wakes me up at night, and I'm usually the one who gets up for him. I get less than six hours' sleep a night -- and that's when my son sleeps well. I think my husband was selfish in disturbing my sleep when he could have left the room and returned to bed when his cough subsided. Am I wrong? -- SLEEPLESS IN MONTREAL
DEAR SLEEPLESS: Coughing is a reflex, and your husband may not have been able to stifle or control it. Rather than arguing about this, my advice to you is to arrange to sleep in another room until he's over the cough. That way you can get the sleep you need.
P.S. A bad cough is nothing to sneeze at.