New to MPI and feeling overwhelmed

[~Sarah~]

Hi-
I am going on a hunch that DD is MPI...mostly bc after I eat a meal with dairy she cries and pops on and off breast.

So I have been trying to be dairy free for about 2 weeks and things seem better...I say trying bc i am a dope and forget dumb things like I can't try to get DS to eat a bite of something by eating a bite myself bc it has dairy in it IYSWIM

I am also just now starting to realize the magnitude of what I may be in for. 

How long does this last?  What happens when  a year comes around and she or I want to start weaning from BF?  She will not take a bottle so has had nothing but BM.  She has had rice cereal and apples due to constipation from prevacid and maybe MPI

What else do I need to worry about?  Are there different "levels" of MPI...like will she be able to eat some dairy at some point?

This is just crazy!!!

[LizzieN]

Hey Sarah,
Look I'm no expert sweetheart but there are certainly degrees of MPI, some mums can eat "hidden dairy" without it affecting their LOs (in the breast milk) whilst others have to be completely free which is obviously harder.  Hopefully soy isn't a problem for E?  As MSPI is really hard diet wise, seems there is hidden soy in everything!!

My best advice is to start collecting lots of great MPI recipes around you so that you can have snacks and you can plan your meals, basically most processed foods have dairy in them so you really do have to cook from natural ingredients (my most shocking find was dairy protein in tubes of fresh herbs, basil, coriander...that blew me away!!).  I did MSPI so was cooking my own bread, cooked many of the treats listed in the MSPI recipes on this board and then went from there xx

Lots of babies do grow out of MPI, some by about 6 months, some by 12 and often they are completely free of the issue by 3ish I think (if they haven't already gotten over it).  Ohh watch out for rice cereal too, lots of commercial ones contain dairy xx

It is overwhelming sweetie, but you can do it   Just take it one step at a time, read labels and don't feel bad when you have slips xx (oh btw rice milk is better for your calcium than oat milk)

Big hugs
xxLizzie

[EloysH]

Hugs, its is really hard at first. As Lizzie said, there are varying degrees of intolerance but they all grow out if it!
  There are only so many mistakes you can make with the diet, once they are all made, you will be set.  So many of us have made every mistake, that's the only way we can learn, I guess! 

Give yourself 4 weeks to get on a roll, just start fresh each day after a slip up.   it really does take at least 3 weeks.

My DS1 had reflux and MSPI, he grew out of reflux at 9 months, and also the intolerances.  When I weaned him off his meds, it showed his relfux was gone, so  I slowly introduced dairy into his solids from least reactive to most reactive.  By 1 year old, the only dairy he hadn't had was cows milk, I waited till 18 months for that one.  Let the meds weaning be your guide as to when you can introduce dairy, but most recommend not to give any till 9 months if they had a history of MPI.

As you know my DS2 has multiple intolerances,


Let her symptoms be your barometer.  Is is easiest to start with complete elimination so you have a baseline of staibility, and gradually instroduce dairy from there. You will find what she can and can't tolerate easily because you will be comaring her reaction to her baseline of "wellness".  If you are finding complete elimination too hard them eliminate what you can, and *hope* that you get some form of stability.  If you feel that she should be better, then eliminate more and more until you get your settled, painfee bub.

As you know my DS2 has multiple intolerances,  after eliminating dairy, soy, gluten and gassy foods, and low additivies, I still felt he was reacting to foods and could be happier and more settled.  It was obvious that foods were still causing him issues with his poos and relfux.  Hence I started an elimination diet.  You just got to go with your instinct and trust that you know your baby best.

[LizzieN]

How are you going Sarah?

[firsttimemummy]

just adding my note so I can keep track with what is said - I think DS (and myself) have MPI (I am okay with most things, just not cold cows milk) ... got to go now but will read this later!

[~Sarah~]

Doing ok.  Still having a hard time with quick snack...used to be a nice piece of cheese or glass of milk.

On the good side...I should quickly lose the rest of my baby weight, DH and FIL had pizza at our house last night while I had fish and squash on the grill.

firsttimemummy....that is how we started, and by 4mo it seemed like I could have no more dairy at all

[firsttimemummy]

lots of hugs - I have been told that DS may grow out of the intolerence around age 2 or 4 (but some have it into adulthood) - I find even boiling the cows milk when cooking is fine for both DS and myself, but suppose everyone is different.  Can you get a referral to a dietician for further advice/food suggestions?

[Mama2boys]

i am listening in.....

[~Sarah~]

so far I have been able to get plenty of information from the lovely ladies here.  They have lots of recipes, and in the scheme of things, I have a lot less to worry about than some of the other mommies.  Thankfully she does not seem to have a reaction to anything other than milk-which is nice.

In retrospect, I am almost thinking DS may have had a few issues too, but on the slight end.  He was FF but was always slightly constipated before 6 mo.  Then we started food and it got better.  Then when we started cheese and cows milk, he would easily constipate and at first could only take about 6oz. Any more than that and he would throw up.
Maybe DD will grow out of it quickly too.  Otherwise, I am not sure what you give them to drink after 12mo?

[deb]

Actually, none of us in our family can handle milk protein or sugar well, not even the grownups. Thankfully, cultured milk (yogurt and kefir) seem to change the protein and sugar enough that we can have them without problems, so when we have dairy, we have it cultured; I've learned to make my own yogurt and sour cream (same process, start w/light cream instead of milk). We also had the chance to try raw goats' milk recently and had no problems with it, whether it was straight-up, made into ice cream, or turned into yogurt. Goats' milk is pricier than cows' milk and harder to find, but the protein is slightly different so some MPI people can handle it.

Natalie has been drinking rice milk instead of cows milk since she was small, although recently there was a thread on BW (sorry, maybe a mod can help search for it?) about that not being such a good idea for small kids, but neither of mine tolerate soy milk well at all. :X Coconut milk with a calcium supplement can also be used as a replacement drink; we haven't tried it yet as it's pricier than the rice milk we can get in big cartons at Trader Joe's (WAAAAY less expensive than Rice Dream or even Whole Foods' brand), but I've just bought a bunch of organic coconut milk on sale and some dolomite as a calcium source to mix in. And frankly, for the protein in dairy pretty much any animal product - meat and eggs, for example - will give them a complete protein, while other dietary sources of calcium like leafy greens and salmon are possibly even better-absorbed than the added calcium in store-bought milk. A good calcium supplement can help make up the difference as well while you sort out dietary stuff. If your LO does outgrow the MPI, you're home free, and if not, you've done lots of homework in the meantime.

[~Sarah~]

Deb-Thank You!!  I think this is the direction I needed.  I just had no idea where to begin to look for alternatives.
I will be honest, coming from "America's Dairyland" I had a hard time fathoming what people feed their children if they don't give them milk!!
Trader Joe's is already a favorite of the house, and will become an even better choice I see

Thanks again!!

[Mama2boys]

so yopghurt is ok? yipeee doo!!!
so only plain milk in milk form is not...

what abt butter and cheese??

[~Sarah~]

Well, for awhile we could do butter yogurt and cheese, but over the last month I have found even that makes her feel very very bad.  DD is just about 5mo right now, not sure if that makes a difference.

[Peek-a-boo]

Sarah--my favorite replacement is actually hemp milk.  It has a much better nutritional profile than either rice or soy milk--and more healthy fats in it than either.  It's a little pricey/harder to find.

Mukta--it depends on your LO.  Straight cow's milk is likely to be the most reactive.  The process of making cheese and yogurt partially breaks down the protein, so some can handle it, others can't.  I have a DS who, at 4 years old, still can't tolerate any of it.  Event trace amounts eaten on daily basis eventually catches up to him. 

[deb]

Bethany beat me to it - some with MPI, like us, can handle yogurt while others can't have even the tiniest trace of any dairy, not even goat. It kind of depends on how sensitive the individual is.