At five pm the routine begins
My anxiety starts to rise
You eat your tea and sit with me
And then, oh how she cries
Maybe some relaxations
Will soothe you into sleep
For a moment I think, we’re on the brink
But then up the volume creeps
You wail more, like somethings wrong
Have you got an upset tummy
Are you teething, or is it just my breathing
And I resort back to the dummy
At half past six I run the bath
The water’s so nice and warm
We splash and sing, and get all clean
It’s just another perfect storm
I dress you in your nightwear
As you thrash and kick and scream
I say to you, this isn’t new
Let’s work together as a team
Your white noise machine is buzzing
It’s all that I can hear
Like one hundred bees catching zees
Right outside my ear
You drink your bedtime bottle
And we read a lovely story
Your eyes close as you start to doze
Is this new territory
I lay you down inside your cot
In an instant you start to stir
Then we commence, to my expense
The back and forth transfer
I hold you ‘til you fall asleep
And go back to put you down
But as your head, hits the bed
I’m greeted with a frown
And on and on and on we go
For hours, days and weeks
The tensions build on this battlefield
As we try all the sleep techniques
I’m not sure this will ever end
There is no light ahead
So I will stay, every single day
In a state of pure bed dread
