The Incorrigible Night Owl

Just a quick update while my hands are free for a few, brief moments:
I’m still here. Also still living, which is a big bonus.
Eliza is doing better at night — well, at least up till 5:30 or 6:00. We’re getting 2-3 hour stretches out of her, in her own bed. However, early in the a.m. she starts grunting and wriggling and squeaking and it takes a good hour-and-a-half to get her back to sleep — by which time it’s time to get up with the older two to get ready for school. I had forgotten all about it but JZ did this exact same thing around this age and I never did figure out why. He grew out of it after a while so hopefully Eliza will soon, as well. Unfortunately she’s also now giving me some trouble during the day. She doesn’t seem to want to stay asleep more than 20 minutes at a time. Yesterday and today it’s more like five minutes, if I’m lucky. I’m getting a bit frazzled because, though she will pay some attention to her gym and bouncy seat, that only lasts a few minutes. Mostly she wants to be held and eat and it’s very hard to get anything done. I sort of count on her naptimes for a little “me” time — you know, for such luxuries as feeding myself, showering, etc. I’m still clinging to the hope that at some point soon we will have both nights AND days arranged into some sort of manageable routine instead of just one at a time — sooner rather than later!
In exchange for all the trouble, though, she smiled at me yesterday. No, it was NOT gas! It was in response to my talking to her. She also cooed twice. Then she gave me another quick smile this morning, too. I seem to recall JZ was around 3 weeks old when he first smiled, too. As I mentioned, she’s also starting to show a little interest in her baby gym and the toys on the toy bar of her bouncy seat, so that’s a big plus. With Robert being gone overnight regularly and me being responsible for morning and nighttime routines by myself it’s a big help to have something that will keep her occupied and happy for a few minutes while I tend to the other two or do some other small task. I think we’ve got to the point that those items’ helpfulness will only increase as we go along.
Eh, there’s probably more to say but she is awake yet again after a five-minute nap so the crying is about to start and I have to dash.