I also have 3 kitties, all very young ranging in ages from 2 1/2 months to 6 months. Scout the oldest was part feral, I think. I found him at 11 weeks old dehydrated outside my apartment. It took working with him a few weeks before he really trusted me. He would then lay in my lap and sleep. Funny thing is, now that he's older he never lays in my lap anymore and he's much more socialized now then before. He'll still come for pets and lays by me occasionally, I think part of it is the other kittens that were introduced. I guess he doesn't need me as much anymore. My other babies are total lap kitties..but only when I'm laying on the sofa. I didn't need to buy a cat bed for Gigi...she uses me for one!

As far as kitty meowing at 5:30 am...do you get up and try to stop the meowing or do you ignore it? Do you get up and give attention and/or food to kitty?...because that just reinforces the meowing. I've read that to try to get cats to sleep all night, there's a few things you can do right before bed. First play with them. Tire them out with one of those fishing pole toys or mouse on a string. Make it challenging, let them pounce, but at the end let them finally catch the mousie...that way they feel the thrill of the hunt and victory of capture at then end. When that's done feed kitty. That way when you go to bed you have a tired well fed kitty that should sleep for hours.

For making them lap kitties, that will probably come with age. But, you could try to coax them onto your lap for treats. That way they associate your lap with something yummy and plesant. There's a great website on cat behaviour that I have bookmarked on my home computer. If I can find it at work I'll post it or I'll post it when I get home. Good Luck. Sorry so long and hope that helps you a little.