WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THE WHOLE PLAYGROUP GETS SICK?

Our playgroup met at my house on Tuesday. We ate cupcakes and had fun watching our children interact. My husband had been having muscle aches since Saturday, but it was pain that he and his doctor attributed to food poisoning. Tuesday morning before the group met, hubby went to the Dr. to do some testing because he was still feeling bad. Up until I got sick in the wee hours of Thursday morning we didn't suspect that was anything other than food poisoning. 

I felt fluish the whole day on Thursday, spending most of it in bed. I napped when Milo did, and took it easy the rest of the day, watching him play from the couch. While I never had a fever, my symptoms felt like the flu: achy muscles, headache, soar throat, nausea (no vomiting) and general fatigue. I was hoping that nobody we were with throughout the week would come down with the same thing.

Yesterday I got an email from one of the other moms that said she and her daughter were quite ill. The mom had the same symptoms as me, and the daughter had been vomiting through the night. I felt so guilty that I had gotten them sick, and I felt bad knowing how they were physically feeling because I had gone through it just a day earlier. 

I contacted the other two mothers who came over on Tuesday. As it turns out, one other toddler vomited in the night, and one mother had some nausea. I feel incredibly guilty, and hope they will forgive me. If we had thought hubby had some virus that would infect all of us, we would've cancelled Tuesday's playgroup. 

We have subsequently talked, and there are no hard feelings or blame. This was a learning experience for all of us, and we're hopeful it has left us with extra immunities to fight this winter's flu season. Consult the CDC website for up to date information on both H1N1 and seasonal flu, and be extra vigilant about hand washing.