Milk/Soy Protein Intolerance - MSPI - READ HERE!!!

[1sttime]

I forgot, I had one more question. Has anyone had any success with goat's milk or cheese? I'm pretty sure my lo is intolerant not allergic so I wondered if he might do ok with that since I've ready it's supposed to be easier to digest. thanks

[GraceKellysmom]

Welcome to Hayleysmom!

1sttime - The milk proteins are diferent in yogurt and also the bacteria helps to digest it. Beans are a great source of protein, and so are grains and vegetable in combinations. Do you like cooking, can you make soups? Bean burritos? Beans & rice combinations? Eggs? Turkey bacon? Nuts are also a good source if you're not allergic, you can make your own granola bars packed with almonds and peanuts. Here is your chance to experiment a little with new foods and flavors. You could try checking out a vegan cookbook from the library to find new recipes, just omit the soy or substitute for chicken or turkey when applicable.

Tips for adding fat to your diet include adding omega3's. You can add flax seed (found in the refrigerated aisle at the health food store) to pancakes, homemade breads, oatmeal, muffins, etc. Try to keep your fats "healthier" fats, for your long term health. I also like eating dips - avocado, bean, hummus (watch for soy sauce in this one) with organic corn chips.

I still have not tried soy with Max (19 months now) because I think I am intolerant to it too. I would try organic soy when you do - the genetically engineered crap they put as a protein filler in most foods is what hurts me the most. Max tolerated cows milk yogurt around 13ish months old but Grace was 18 months old before she was ok with it.

I tried goats milk and it was pretty icky, but you may acquire the taste. Try to stay organic. I didn't try goats cheese.

[marmack]

Hi, I am desperately trying to find out more about milk and soy allergies.  My daughter is 6 months now and I am still breastfeeding.  I think she is allergic to milk and soy as on the odd occasion that I have given her cows milk formula or soy formula she has been very sick within an hour or two.  I also gave her a jar of vegetables with 1% skimmed milk in it and she was very sick 2 hours later.  She loved the soy yoghurt I tried her on but within an hour and a half we both needed 2 changes of clothes! What is confusing me is that I seem to be able to eat milk and associated products and she seems to be fine with my breastmilk. Everyone else I have heard about has had to cut milk out of their diet.  She is a very contented baby with none of the discomforts I have been reading that other babies suffer with when they are allergic to milk.  I would like to be able to use formula occasionaly and in her cereal, as I find expressing a pain. I have purchased some Omneo Comfort which has hydrolysed whey in it, but haven't plucked up courage to try it yet. Has anyone else out there  been in the same situation, where there milk is fine for baby even although they have milk in their diet.

[threesweetboys]

Hi Moms,

I'm new to the site and have a one week, one day old baby. His big brother (now 2 1/2 and eats just fine) had MPSI and we put him on Nutramigen since I was not tough enough to handle the diet. I remember him as being very fussy from day one (He is VERY Spirited!!!) and he showed his MPSI through severe constipation.

New baby boy had a rough day today (has eaten and eliminated just fine until now) and I am fearful that we are returning to the same path. When did MPSI manifest itself in your babies? Was it an at-birth thing or something that came up over the first few weeks? Just want to try to catch this and try to act asap...and TRY to follow the diet, but all things dairy are my weakness!

Thanks so much.

[GraceKellysmom]

I missed the pp, but you can put water in the cereal, with a little bananas or applesauce if that is too bland. Doesn't need to be mixed with milk.

With my kids, the intolerances showed up around the 3 week mark for sure. I think the first week or so they just sleep and eat and seem pretty content.

[hayleysmum]

Hayley was diagnosed with MSPI at 4 weeks - however, vomitting began within a few days of her being born, the eczema presented at around 2 weeks and blood in the stool was at 3 weeks. 

hope that helps!

s.

[kim&savannah]

Just curious--does anyone know what the chances are of having a second with MSPI?  I know that Stacey has two, but is that normal--once one kid has it, most probably will, or is it not hereditary?  I know I'll have to wait until #2 comes, but just trying to prep myself if it will probably be the same.

~Kim

[Mom to M&M]

I do think it's quite possible that your second child might be MSPI (sorry) - allergies are often hereditary. I do know people who have avoided milk and soy and other family allergens in their third trimester. Not sure it's proven to help - but it certainly can't hurt!

As for the earlier question about intolerances taking time to show up - YES. At first the babies are mainly sleeping and not eating all that much. But after a few weeks of the milk proteins building up in their systems, BAM. That's what happened with us - I was unable to BF - my supply NEVER came in (not even with domperidone) and we thought DD was fine at first on Carnation GS. Boy were we wrong... And it's funny - I swear she was that way in the womb. I drank a lot of milk while pregnant and it ALWAYS made her kick extra hard. Odd.

[mommytoabigail]

I just wanted to share my story.  My daughter is 10 months old and has MSPI.  We have come a LONG way.  For the first two weeks she didn't show any signs of trouble but like the previous poster said, she spent a lot of time sleeping etc.  Then she stopped having bowel movements.  We ended up in sick kids hospital for a week and had to irrigate her for a few months (didn't know the cause at the time).  While at the hospital (she was 3 weeks) she started to become very irritable.  After eating she showed signs of silent acid reflux (didn't know that at the time).  I even suggested to the doctors that it could be something in my milk and they we so "sure" that wasn't it.  They kept saying "breastmilk is the best blah blah blah".  When I look back now I can't believe I knew more than the actual doctors!!!!  It really irritates me.  At home she continued to show reflux signs and that is when I did lots of research and decided that she had acid reflux myself!  Then I researched what could be causing it.  I started to experiment with my diet and her pooping problem would come and go so I finally decided that her pooping problem was related to the acid reflux.  I had a hunch that it was something in my diet after researching.  I finally got in to a ped. who agreed with me right away and put her on Zantac.  He told me to eliminate dairy/soy from my diet and low and behold she gradually started to poop again!  Of course I had to really eliminate dairy/soy though.  I had been trying this before seeing the ped. but once I talked to him I realized that she was sensitive to even the smallest trace.  With my diet change and Zantac she became a totally different baby.  It was a long, hard 4 months to diagnose her problem because her symptoms were not typical.  She didn't spit up for one thing and "silent" reflux seemed unknown to the doctors.  Plus she reacted to the dairy/soy by not being able to eliminate her bowels, which was not typical.  Thank God I found a wonderful ped. at 4 months.  For a while I felt horrible for everything Abigail went through in the first few months.  It could have been completely avoided if the doctors had tested for this. 

Once I started my non-dairy/soy diet it was very difficult.  I was hardly eating anything.  I have learned a lot over the months though and I just wanted to tell you that it does get easier.  I finally stopped craving the foods I loved.  I found other substitutes so that I could enjoy foods I love.  For example I love stuffing so my MIL made some for me by using oil instead of butter.  I have also had rice krispies with oil instead of butter and they taste exactly the same.  I have substituted rice milk for cow's milk in many dishes.  The hardest thing for me to learn was...HOW TO COOK    I used to have so many prepared meals and I had to start from scratch and make my own food a lot of the times.  I started to really enjoy it though because I am eating healthier and I am discovering how to make the foods I like by changing the ingredients.  One thing that has been hard is keeping weight on.  It seems no matter how much I eat, I lose weight.  The ped. warned me about this though.  At the beginning I felt like I was starving because I thought I couldn't eat anything.  I don't ever feel unsatisfied anymore. 

I don't know how long Abigail will have this sensitivity.  Every now and then some dairy/soy gets in my system (like if we are at someone's house and they aren't as careful about the ingredients) and Abigail still reacts.  It takes several days of increased reflux and misery to get out of her system    I am going back to work in September and I guess I will have to pump a bottle or two a day if she is still sensitive.  I really don't know at this point.  My ped. said by 1 year 85% of babies outgrow it but I am sceptical since it wasn't until 4 months that I finally got it out of her system permanently.

I live in Canada and there is an Organic name brand for many of the items in the grocery store.  A lot of their items are made without dairy /soy.  They have pancakes, cake, cookies for example without milk/soy.

I hope I have given some hope to new mom's just starting out with this.  I am thankful that I will be more prepared for baby #2 so that we can avoid him/her experiencing the same discomforts in the beginning of life.

[mommytoabigail]

I just posted our story but it went out with all the other posts instead of in here.  It is "My daughter's MSPI"  It is my first time posting so I messed up.  Sorry.  I hope it gives some hope to those of you just starting out.

[GraceKellysmom]

Awesome post!! Does a moderator know, can we move this on to the MSPI thread? Otherwise, will the poster copy/paste into a new reply on that thread? What a super and positive statement on living with MSPI while breastfeeding. I am no longer nursing a MSPIer, but I have to say I agree with you on the "not craving those foods anymore" and I still eat the MSPI diet almost all the time. Except for cheese pizza. 

[kim&savannah]

That is a great story!  I just wanted to reassure you about the outgrowing it--I don't think it depends on when you caught it.  I'm not totally sure how long my dd was actually suffering with it before we caught it--for the first couple months she really seemed ok, and she was 5 months before I finally figured it all out (yes, the ped's just don't seem to be as knowledgable about this as I would think they should be).  But she did outgrow it by about 14 months, so there is hope!

Good luck!

~Kim

[First Time Mom]

Pancakes, cakes, cookies without milk/soy... oh please share to a fellow Canadian mom suffering from favorite food withdrawl!
I now have fantasies about pigging out on cheese. My dd had everything you mentioned until she was 6 weeks old and scream cried day and night. The hospital told me I didn't have enough milk and my dd was hungry so to supplement w/ formula! Not knowing better, we did. In week 6 the blood in her bm's showed up and we were back in the hospital, the ped said it was cow's milk in the formula and my diet. We stopped the formula (I hated giving it to her anyways and sometimes lied to dh that I gave it when I didn't ), she's now exclusively bf'd, I've eliminated the culprits from my diet, and she's one happy baby! My downfall is now honey roasted peanuts, I polish off a jar in 2 days . Still miss my cheese.

[ks6]

Did anyone mention that a lot of the kosher food for Passover has no milk or soy?  I even found a box mix of chocolate cake!

[mommytoabigail]

Oh I'm so happy my story helped.  Thank you for moving it    It is so nice to chat with other moms going through this.

Thank you kim for the reassurance.  I have a question for you.  How did you know she outgrew it?  Did you keep trying it?  Did you nurse?  Do I just keep nursing until she outgrows it?  Sorry for all the questions. 

Fellow Canadian, the brand is Organics by President's Choice in Zehrs.  I get pancake mix, cake mix, oatmeal cookies etc. and when those mixes call for milk I use rice milk.  I have also found many brands of icing that are dairy/soy free!!!  I am so excited because Abigail is almost a year old and I want her to enjoy her 1 year old cake 

I finally stopped craving cheese a couple months ago.  That was the hardest one for me.  Speaking of that, I just read in a book called "Vegetarian Pregnancy" that if babies are oversensitized to dairy while you are pregnant, they could get MSPI.......I basically LIVED on dairy while pregant because I was so sick and I craved it and it made my nausea better.  Do you think I caused my daughter to get MSPI?

I have come up with many, many recipes in the last 5 months to satisfy my tastebuds.  If you would like some ideas let me know!!  Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Rice Milk have been a life saver!