11yr son masterbating in his sleep.

[mom2fourboys]

I recently noticed my son may be masterbating in the middle of the night.  I'm not sure if he is awake or sleeping. Here is what happened.  I was awake around 3am and heard a rythmic type noise coming from upstairs.  My son was sleeping on a futon in our upstairs game room which is an open livingroom type area at the top of the stairs.  The first night I heard this I didn't do anything, I thought is sounded very rythmic and my gut told him he might be masterbating but then I quickly thought it was just me and my 'adult' mind thinking too much.  I mentioned it to my husband and he asked me if the boy could of been dreaming and why didn't I go check.  I told him I was afraid of what I might see.  We have twins that are 4 and they were sleeping on a mattress in the floor next to the futon (camping out).  Anyway, lastnight I had trouble sleeping again.  Again, I heard the noise, so I walked up the steps just high enough to see my son on the futon..the steps creeked and I saw his face only, the rest of his body was covered with blankets.  He was still and it was dark but I think his eyes were closed.  I watching for a few more seconds and nothing, so I walked down the steps.  Immediately the noise started again so I quietly walked back up the steps.  This time his face and body were totally covered with blanket and his body was moving up and down or side to side in a typical, sexual type motion.  I was kinda stunned, I froze and watched for a min. maybe less and then he stopped and all was silent.  I have no idea if he was asleep or awake.  I don't know if he was dreaming or not.  He is usually a very vocal sleeper..moaning and groaning all the time, has done that since birth.  He is also a very heavy sleeper, can't wake him for nothing. But, this particular time he made no noise other than the sound of his body moving.  I'm not really worried.  I definantly don't want him doing this around my 4yr olds, so we are making sure that he sleeps in his own room from now on.  Should I ask him about this?  Should I ask him if he's had any dreams or anything?  Should I ask him if he's had trouble sleeping?  Should I ask him anything at all?
He is a very loving child, always helping me and wanting to please us parents.
I have an older son who is 13 and I he has never...that I know of, done anything like this.
I know puberty has started for my 11 year old, but I'm just not sure if this is a typical part of boyhood.
I guess the reason I'm a little overly worried is because my son's biological father ,who has passed away, battled mental illness in adulthood and I worry that it maybe passed down to my two older boys.  Could this be a sign of mental illness or am I just paranoid??
If this is normal behavior should my husband have a talk with him about this...if he is doing it in his sleep and knows nothing about it..should we just leave well enough alone????  Lots of questions on how to handle this.  DOn't want to make him feel bad or dirty but also want to protect him from any harmful behavior and want to teach him proper time and place for private things.
Being a good Mom is not easy..I need a little help on this one

[mom2fourboys]

Thanks for responding.  I actually had a little talk with him lastnight, not really too detailed but just told him he is getting older and he really needs to sleep in his own room.  He has a wonderful room full of all his favorite things but he hates sleeping alone.  I find him in various places in the morning..on the couch down stairs or upstairs or on his brothers top bunk.  He just hates being alone.  Anyway, I'm sure we will get through it.  The initial shock was of seeing my baby do that was very...for lack of a better word..freaking me out!  lol, but I know from all I read on line yesterday for the most part it is normal.
I'm sure as my boys get older I will be back with more questions.
Thank you for your support.

[margypops]

You are right being a good Mom isnt easy but I can tell you are one from the concern in your words, all this is pretty normal for his age perhaps him having his own room may be good, you dont need to makle an issue of it, but if he asks why you may say something like you think he needs his own privacy.,he may be doing it in his sleep so best say nothing but let him have the privacy of his own space,if he starts to do it so the younger children are aware, then have a chat and tell him these are private things that people do in their own room . Good luck caring Mom.