Depth of breath

This morning I discovered something new..yet again..about my swimming. I was breathing TOO deep. I noticed that when I first get in , I can swim one lap pretty easily. Then, I get out of breath, butt drops, knees kick, etc. BUT..I catch my breath and the same cycle starts again. I was told to take good DEEP breaths when I breath in. I am breathing unilateral to the right now,as a beginner. So I'm breathing every time my right arm comes out of the water. I think later, I'll be able to breath bilaterally well. But for now, I'm concentrating on head down, butt up (my butt just ain't buoyant). Basically, I was breathing in deeep breaths, and having to force them out. The work of forcing them out is taxing it itself. It is a gradual buildup of CO2. My 18 years as an R.N. came in handy here, lol. So, I slowed down, consciously. More shallow breaths, but kept a steady pace. That's when I looked at the other consistent swimmers and noticed that they're not taking in deeeeep breaths at all. I did much better after that. So, in summary, for the newbies like me, it's easy to hyperventilate, unknowingly. Thought I'd share, Mark