A confession ... and a question about breastfeeding.

[racaulk]

I confess. I drool when I sleep.

I mean I drool a lot when I sleep. I've woken up to soggy wet pillows and I also ruined a book or two when I was a student. I've shared a bed with people that have woken me up to inform me that I was drooling on their shoulder, neck, arm, etc. It's really gross and quite embarrassing.

I know for a fact that I was not breastfed as a child, and a friend told me recently that this is the reason why I drool when I sleep. That statement seemed very weird to me. Thinking this to be an old wives tale, I checked Snopes but I couldn't find anything to debunk what my friend told me.

Is it true? When you're being breastfed as a baby, do the muscles around your lips develop in a certain way so that they stay closed when you sleep? For some reason what my friend said is really bugging me. Would anyone here in the lounge have any insight on this?

:hi:

[undeterred]

1. But do you eat at Olive Garden?

[racaulk]

7. Uh...no!

:rofl:

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

2. Well, I drool when I sleep, and was breastfed.

There are some differences in the mouth depending on feeding, I've heard. Also with thumb sucking. But it's not a direct correlation.

[Lautremont]

3. I'm inclined to doubt it.

You drank from something nipple-shaped in your cradle days, whether or not it was a breast.

[racaulk]

14. That's a very good point.

I didn't think of it that way. Thanks! :hi:

[LeftyMom]

4. Nah, it has nothing to do with it.

LK drools in his sleep (not a ton, but he does, especially when he's very tired) and he was breastfed.

Your facial muscles tend to relax when you sleep no matter what.

[bigwillq]

5. I drool

and was NOT breastfed.

[LeftyMom]

9. OMG! That's it!

/me starts "bottles make your kids gay" rumor, laughs as fundies ban bottlefeeding on TV, throw cans of Similac on bonfires, and start breastfeeding ten year olds in public.

I'm so evil. :evilgrin:

[racaulk]

13. Hey, I'm gay too!

I think you're onto something!

And I bet if you feed your male babies soy milk...in a bottle...well, there's just no hope for them growing up to be straight!

:evilgrin:

[LeftyMom]

16. OMG! I was breastfed and I'm straight!

Sample size of three and it holds up, so it must be true! WorldNetDaily, here I come! :rofl:

[racaulk]

19. .

:spray:

Good one! :thumbsup:

[trof]

6. How old are you?

I really don't know if I was breast fed or not, but sometimes I do the same thing.
In my case I think age has a lot to do with it.
I'm 65, and it didn't start until a few years ago.
It doesn't happen often.
Gross, hunh?

[racaulk]

10. I'm 31, and I've been a "sleep drooler" for as long as I can remember.

And yeah, it is gross, and very embarrassing (at least to me)!

[trof]

8. Wow. All droolers check in here?

Never thought I'd see a thread like this.
Wait'll the freepers see it.
We'll NEVER live it down.

[Lautremont]

12. We just tell those freepers that at least we only do it while asleep.

Most of us have probably never had to buy those neck-mounted drool cups they sell in Wal-Mart.

[skygazer]

11. I think it has more to do with whether you breathe through your nose

or your mouth.

My ex husband, who had chronic sinus problems, drooled in his sleep but he also tended to breathe through his mouth because he couldn't through his nose.

I also think it depends on how deeply you sleep. I've never heard of a correlation between drooling and breastfeeding.

[racaulk]

17. Well, I am a very deep sleeper.

Perhaps that has something to do with it. As far as breathing through my mouth, I'm not sure, but I bet I probably do.

[Book Lover]

15. Oh fer cri-yi. No.

FWIW, my child breastfed and drools every night. Besides, you had to put your mouth around a bottle nipple to eat, right? No disrespect intended to old wives, but this is an old wives' tale. Try those stick-on nose opening things they sell to aid snorers.

[Kali]

18. I was breastfed, drooled badly until I got on cpap

do you snore too? My drool problem was because I had my mouth open to breathe. Now I don't snore or drool at all - even bought a new pillow - mine were always gross my whole life.

[racaulk]

21. I don't think I snore. At least I've never been told that I do.

But what is cpap? Sounds like something I might want to check into...

[Kali]

27. "Continuous Positive Air Pressure" -

the most effective treatment for obstructive sleep apnea. Basically it is a little machine that blows air at pressure into your nose - requires turning into darth vader at night (face mask with hose attached) not pretty or romantic but after 40 years of not sleeping right I now have the energy to stay awake and can be romantic in the daytime!

symptoms often include snoring, others tend to be overweight males, but there are certainly exceptions! If a sleeping partner ever notices that you stop breathing at night and feels the urge to wake you that is the big sign.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

20. Sounds like BS to me...

It could be caused by sleeping on your side. If the saliva secreted during sleep can't slide down your throat, it'll most likely come out of your mouth.

Sometimes it's due to a neurological condition.

Ask your doctor's advice.

[Maine-ah]

22. the four of us (siblings) were not BF'd

and we don't drool like that. I'd say it's just the way you sleep. Now, when I was prego, I drooled while I was awake, produced a lot of saliva, which happens to some people. I'd have to be careful cause I'd forget when I was talking and it would just roll out :blush: My hubbie wasn't BF'd either and he doesn't drool like that in his sleep.

I'd say your friend doesn't really know what they're talking about, JMHO.

[Gormy Cuss]

23. Drooling alone isn't a sign of anything. If however you find that

you start dragging your knuckles when you walk, you need intensive therapy.
:+

[rug]

24. I'll ask this guy.

[Left Is Write]

25. Your friend has got to be pulling your leg.

[YDogg]

26. Not sure, but I just came up with an idea to preemtively stave off drooling.

Just in case that works.