I would like to preface this post with a quick fact: I love dairy. It’s yummy and it’s something I used to eat a lot. Ice cream, cheese, milk, yogurt, butter… it all sounded good to me. Now, however, I eat zero dairy. It’s a sad fact but surprisingly one that has been monumental in changing my diet dramatically. Was this a decision I came to on my own? Not quite. Unfortunately it took Little Deer having MSPI to get us to this point, but let’s back up a bit…

Little Deer was born at the end of December 2012. By the time Mr. Deer deployed two weeks later, I already had a suspicion that she was sensitive to certain foods in my diet. Neither Mr. Deer nor I have any food allergies though, so it wasn’t something I was overly concerned about. One night, in a sleep-deprived act of desperation, I ordered a small Domino’s pizza and ate the entire thing. Not my proudest moment. The next morning LD was spitting up constantly. After each nursing session I think she spit up a good four to five times. And not just a little smear you could wipe with a burp cloth; I’m talking cottage cheese people (gross).

Initially I thought she was just a little sensitive to dairy. I knew that lots of people don’t process dairy very well, so that made sense to me. I decided to cut down on my dairy intake, though I wasn’t feeling ready to totally eliminate it. Being essentially a single mom to a newborn left me with little brain power to think about meal planning and preparation, so the idea of cutting out every little hint of dairy seemed daunting. I decided to start by getting the big dairy items out first. I switched to almond milk for my morning cereal and emptied the fridge of any cheese, yogurt, or butter. I still had creamy dressings on occasion and didn’t worry about hidden dairy in desserts, but that was about it. Her symptoms did get better, but she was definitely still a very spitty baby.

We continued on with breastfeeding and my limited dairy diet, but I still felt like something wasn’t quite right. I brought it up with our pediatrician at LD’s two month appointment, and she said she was probably just a spitty baby and not to worry since she was growing well and otherwise wasn’t too fussy. Around the three month mark, after another dairy binge (I blame Pinterest and the delicious mason jar strawberry shortcake recipe I pinned), LD had a super spit-up fest, so I got to googling. Within minutes I came across MSPI, or Milk Soy Protein Intolerance. I knew right away that this was our answer: Little Deer had MSPI. I never really understood it until I became a mom myself, but a mother’s instinct is a real thing and something to be trusted. And my mother’s instinct screamed she has MSPI! It just all made sense.

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So what is MSPI? It means that LD’s body isn’t able to properly digest the proteins in cow’s milk (and soy too, though we didn’t realize that right away). It’s not a true allergy and is different than being lactose intolerant. Symptoms can include excessive crying, congestion, reflux, gas, mucousy stools, rash, and difficulty sleeping among other things. MSPI is usually diagnosed by the baby’s symptoms, which can be tricky since they can resemble so many different things, including colic, reflux, etc. There is no cure for MSPI, but most children usually outgrow it by toddlerhood. In terms of LD’s symptoms, she had always had very mucousy stools. This hadn’t concerned me, though in hindsight I wish I had realized that they weren’t normal. Like I mentioned, she was spitting up excessively. She was also always very congested; we used our Nosefrida pretty much daily. Though not very fussy, she also wasn’t the best sleeper which could have also been attributed to the MSPI.

A few days after the strawberry shortcake incident, I was changing Little Deer’s diaper when I noticed a small streak of blood in it. It was then that I was absolutely positive she had MSPI. I called her pediatrician, and after going in and meeting with her she agreed with me. From that day on I have been 100% dairy-free. Within about two weeks the mucous cleared from her stools. Not only that, she went from pooping about four times a day to once every five days or so. That was a big change! I hadn’t realized that her poor gut was so irritated and that was why she was having such frequent stools. Her congestion also got much better too, and the spitting up lessened quite a bit.

Though she was doing a lot better overall, occasionally I would notice these “flare-ups” of spitting up and congestion. Sometimes her poor little bottom would get really red where it had come in contact with her stool, no matter how quickly I changed her. I knew something I was eating must have still been bothering her. I had read that about half of infants and children that have a protein intolerance to dairy also have an issue with soy, but since I hadn’t noticed any backlash after I ate soy previously, I decided not to eliminate it (in hindsight I now realize that you don’t typically ingest large quantities of soy like you do dairy, so it would have been hard to tell). It was one thing to eliminate dairy, but to eliminate soy meant that I would give up processed foods and all of the dairy-free treats I had found (read: Oreos). Crackers, chips, cereals… no more. That seemed so scary! But I was committed, and a few weeks after I was dairy-free, I was soy-free too. Some MSPI mamas are able to just eliminate soy proteins, but I found that LD is also sensitive to soybean oil and soy lecithin, so anything to do with soy was out for us. And that was that!

Seeing that Little Deer was finally feeling better definitely kept my stamina up and helped me stick to the dairy/soy elimination diet. Was it extremely difficult? Yes. Dairy and soy seems to be in everything. And I seriously MISSED dessert, pretty much on a daily basis. I think many moms who have been on this MSPI journey question if using formula is the best option for them. Several people have told me to not worry about it and to just give LD formula. We didn’t do that for several reasons. Firstly, I am a firm believer in the benefits of breast milk, and I had worked too hard getting the hang of breastfeeding to give up. Secondly, Little Deer would not take a bottle to save her life, so that was really not an option for us. And finally, the cost of special formula for her would be so high, I just couldn’t justify it. I understand that formula may be the best option for some, especially for those whose babies have worse symptoms and possible other allergies that are tough to identify. I have no judgement towards those that needed to make that decision. We as moms need to do what’s best not only for our babies, but for our health and sanity too. What was best for us was eliminating dairy and soy, and sticking with breastfeeding.

When she first got this diagnosis I looked at all of this as a burden and a challenge I was going to have to conquer. Now though, I’m surprised by how much my thoughts have changed. Yes I still miss dairy, but this has now become a way of life. After doing some research I’m pretty sure that as a family we will have very little to no dairy in our lives in the future (even if she outgrows it). I’m convinced that although it’s yummy, humans do not need cow’s milk as a part of our diet. I believe soy has its lists of potential issues too. Not to mention that the foods that usually have dairy and soy in them are often sugary, unhealthy, and highly processed foods. Getting away from those foods has forced me to cook, learn new recipes, meal plan, and try new and different foods. Little Deer’s MSPI kickstarted us into really taking a long hard look at our diet. With our reevaluation of what we eat has come some big changes, and I think that LD’s MSPI, that I had thought was so terrible, has really turned out to be a blessing in disguise.

Prunes sure are yummy!

So yes, Little Deer and I have been rocking the MSPI lifestyle now for about six months, phew! Thanks for reading about our journey so far. I’m planning to write more about how we’re eating now (I’m sure you’ve heard of the paleo craze? Yup, I’m on board!) as well as our experience with the Whole30 challenge. Not to mention I’ve come across some awesome recipes that I’ve tried and love that are dairy/soy-free and delicious. I hope to share a little more about the research I’ve come across regarding dairy and soy in our diets.

For any of those new to MSPI please don’t be discouraged! It is hard but it is do-able for sure. If you have a feeling that your baby may be sensitive to something in your diet, don’t be afraid to speak up and talk with your pediatrician. Follow your gut and eliminate a few foods if you think that’s necessary. When we were getting started I found a few sites to be very helpful. Here are those resources:

  • Mrs. Jacks post: This is truly the first thing I read about MSPI, and it served as my introduction to Hellobee and its wonderful resources. Mrs. Jacks’ post has a lot of great information and links too.
  • MSPI printout: This is a family education handout from Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. It does a great job of talking about the basics and listing foods you should avoid.
  • MSPI Mama: This is a great website started by another MSPI mama. This specific link takes you to her list of web resources. There is a TON of great information on this page as well as on her main site (recipes too!).

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MSPI mamas, how has your journey been? Are there any other resources or sites you recommend? 

Milk soy protein intolerance (MSPI) part 3 of 3

1. Beyond colic: milk/soy protein intolerance by Mrs. Jacks
2. Elimination Diet Adventures by Mrs. Superhero
3. Our Journey with Milk/Soy Protein Intolerance (MSPI) by Mrs. Deer