Why do babies move this much when sleeping?

Question

Just to be clear: this is not a big problem, I am just curious about a funny behaviour :)

My daughter is 13 months old now and I sometimes sleep next to her at night. This can happen when for example we spend the night in a hotel were no cradles are available, so we book an extra bed and we put them all together. This way, she has a full grown-up person bed for her.

Then, during the night she will sleep tight but somehow moving back and forth, rolling, twisting, etc. Every time I check she will be in a completely new position, so I may have her foot next to my head but half an hour later she will be at the bottom of the bed.

I understand this like as: if I had a bed on this proportion (4x4 meters with no boundaries) I would move this much, because involuntary movement during the night would not find limits and my body would just go on doing them. But still, I am not sure if this is right.

So: is this absolutely random movement normal during the night? I assume there is no problem on it, but just in case: is it good for her?

Answer 1

Yes its TOTALLY normal. We have 'co-slept' with all of our 4 kids and it is always funny to see what position they're going to end up in. One moment their little head is right next to yours...a couple hours later you might have a foot in your mouth :)

I'm sure you already know, but the biggest danger for her is you. If you move around a lot during the night I would think very carefully about whether its worth the risk.