Inspiration for the Vampire Myth?

Since I became a mother, I started noticing the similarities between infants and vampire mythology. It does sound pretty unlikely, but, well... Here are my observations:


Feeding--first, the fact that its referred to as "feeding" or "feed". This language is reserved for vampires, parasites, and infants. Then, add in that the infants do much of their feeding at night, directly from the body of a woman. Just like vampires, their keen sense of smell helps them locate the food. After feeding, their pale skin flushes red.


When they appear, baby teeth are very sharp! Not fangs exactly, but serrated. Both creatures have fingernails that grow back to their original length within 1 day's time.


Babies spend much of the day sleeping. Like the vampires, the delicate baby skin cannot tolerate direct sunlight. Babies are supposed to be kept in the shade and/or slathered heavily with sunscreen. The sunscreen has to be a barrier type like zinc oxide, not just a chemical sunscreen.


This was just a sampling. Other similarities occur to me all the time.