Yelling Pegs
So what are yelling pegs I hear you ask?
This little system is what Hamish invented to solve some problems and incentivise Miss Aria at nighttimes.
Each morning Hamish and I would have these frustrating conversations. Â “How many times did you get up last night?” Â “I don’t know, I was half asleep” “Can you remember what times?” “Um no I was half asleep” “Was it a good night?” “Um I think so” Â We would take turns at being the questioner but the reality was we were half asleep.
So now, whenever someone gets up for Aria they put a peg up.  Two pegs equals a good night and 5 (like last night) equals a bad one.  Aria gets lots of praise and a present for two pegs.  No Wii or computer privileges for anything over 4.  Two nights with two pegs in a row equals a trip to Chuckie Cheese’s.  Never happened so far.
The reality is I think that the incentives are largely not working. Â But at least it is helping us get a handle on the situation. Â We are at the point were we just have to accept broken sleep and work with it until Aria is well enough to sleep thru. Â Because we honestly believe if she could sleep thru she would. Â Yesterday she told us she was only going to get one peg that night. Â And each morning she says ‘Aria really sorry Mummy/Daddy for 4 pegs’ Â My heart really feels for her.
Aria’s skin is looking much better although still not completely healed and she is still really itchy at night (hence the inability to sleep I think). Â Unfortunately her hair is coming out as she has a mega case of cradle cap. Â We are up to 30mls an hour on feeds (goal (90mls) Â might go up to 40mls tonight. Â So overall I think we are making progress which we are so grateful for!
17 Responses to “Yelling Pegs”
Leave a Reply
Support Aria
There are many ways that you can support Aria.
- Bank deposit
- Cheque by post
- Contact us directly
Subscribe to updates
Fundraising progress
Aria's support to date:
Progress meter: 75%
Links
- Hirschsprung’s disease
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - Starship Children’s Health
The hospital that takes great care of Aria - The Kids Foundation of NZ
The wonderful charity that supports Aria
# 4 Mar at 1:28 pm
Hang in there. Thinking of you all xx
# 4 Mar at 1:51 pm
The peg thing sounds like a good idea,could be used for a number of reasons for our little people.Glad to hear things are on the improve with Aria’s skin.Blessings to you all,Chrissy.
# 4 Mar at 2:06 pm
My heart goes out to you – I REALLY don’t know how your ALL cope. M x
# 4 Mar at 2:21 pm
Praying for you all at Redeemer that Aria would be able to sleep better at night.
In Christ
Tony
# 4 Mar at 2:52 pm
what an ingenious idea!it still gives aria a little ‘hope’ each night – yu are all in anspiration to me-whenever i feel niggardly about something i think of you all and feel ashamed of myself then do something about it! God bless you all and we keep praying with faith that the day will come soon for absolute healing! love, jeannie
# 4 Mar at 2:57 pm
So pleased to hear that Aria is doing a bit better 🙂 I agree with you, though, that Aria obviously can’t help waking up at night and that is why she is not managing to get only 1 or 2 pegs a night, shame. It’s a lovely idea though and at least it does help you and Amish recognise how many times Aria has woken up in a night. May Aria continue to go from strength to strength 🙂 Praying for all of you. God bless xx
# 4 Mar at 4:22 pm
When I saw the title of your post I figured “yelling pegs” was another NZ term I just hadn’t heart yet… ha ha! Hope you guys start having some 0 peg nights. It’s a great idea to have an goal at least, so Aria has something to work toward. Praying for you guys, and I’m glad you and Hamish aren’t “yelling pegs!”
# 4 Mar at 4:53 pm
The pegs are a neat idea! Praying the Lord’s healing balm to flow over Aria’s scalp and skin and bring total restoration.
# 4 Mar at 5:05 pm
Yay for progress on her skin and feeds, may the sleep go in the same positive direction for you!
# 4 Mar at 6:20 pm
I pray all of you get some good sleep tonight! It is definitely tough to deal with things, when you haven’t had much sleep. Glad to hear that Aria’s skin is looking a little better, though! Hang in there! God Bless!
# 4 Mar at 6:51 pm
Oh bless her! She is trying, I guess it’s pretty hard for her when she is feeling itchy/grotty to make sense of trying to not get mum and dad up. Hang in there guys, you are doing so well!
# 4 Mar at 7:08 pm
I am so amazed at all you have to cope with and what a wonderful job you are doing. Aria tries so hard I know and praying it will all get better real soon.
# 4 Mar at 10:17 pm
Remember you guys are KIWIS so along with No 8 wire equals kiwi ingenuity!!
Great invention & a usefull goal to use for children. Achange from stickers or stars!!
Hang in there , you guys are awesome & amaze us all with your strength
# 5 Mar at 5:27 am
Oh dear Aria the cause of your itchiness must be found so you and family can have good sleep and good health, thank you Lord Jesus amen.
# 6 Mar at 1:56 am
While never having had a child as unwell as Aria. We have had two years of little sleep due to illness, itchiness and phobias. The first year was the worst where twice a night was a good night, 3 to 4 times normal and it wasn’t surprising to have at least one if not more of 8+ (between the problem child (2-3) and the often woken younger grizzly sibling (0-2). I can relate to your tiredness. Because it all started around illness, itchiness and then irrational phobia we struggled to know a response. This was different from the bad dreams of our older two. All in all the Lord has used this to teach me a lot about relying on Him for all things including rest, instead of relying on sleep. I learned that he could refresh the body, mind and soul on little sleep. I prayed for relief and for a long time there was little change. Two years on, we can reflect and now see changes in all of us. This past week all our children have slept through 9+hrs every night and in the past 2 months they have slept through 50% of the time. God is answering those prayers in his time. I know you know this and I know its hard. Just saying we are praying for you and can relate and we know a GREAT GOD who can sustain in ways beyond human comprehension.
# 16 Dec at 1:01 pm
Hey blogger, thanks a lot for serving up these kinds of info! I ran across it glorious. May god many thanks, .
# 24 Jul at 12:49 am
The Great Barrier Reef is situated approximately 30km off Cairns. Most people visit the Great Barrier Reef, Daintree Rainforest and Kuranda skyrail while on holiday in Cairns