I think my H also misses the freedom of not having children. They both seem to want to not have that added responsibility. It is good that you recognize this and try to handle the kid as much as possible when he is around.
Also since he claims that you too work better as friends than partners can you try to be more sexy around him in subtle ways. If he feels attracted to you physically it may make him want more than friendship. Every time I see my H now, I dress for him. Tight shirt and tight jeans. Its within my style range but a little more geared towards attracting him then I normally dress.
Also maybe at some point you can say something like "I love the idea of just being friends with you but its hard cause I still so attracted to you" Rather than it being about needing him as a provider its more about sex which he may like. Also it reinforces his want of just being friends. (Anyway I am thinking of saying something like this to my H but just waiting for the right moment)
---- M 39 H 35 D5,D4 M 4 T 9 ILYBNILWY 5/18/11 Left 7/11/11 Divorced 12/1/13