thanks to carol brussel for the informative post on obligate nose breathers,
and how babies can breathe through their mouths if they have to.  my 13 year
old (the one who has Down Syndrome) is breathing through his nose while
asleep at night for the first time since his birth.  he has always been a
complete mouth breather.  since he had his tonsils and adenoids out last
month, he can now breathe through his nose for the first time.  it was
difficult to breastfeed and to bottle-feed him, because he had to pause
between each suck/swallow in order to breathe through his mouth.  on the
other hand, nasal congestion didn't affect his breathing, since he didn't
use his nose to breathe anyway.

Kathy Dettwyler