MSPI… All Up In My Eye

MSPI… wha? What is MSPI?, you may ask. First of all, if you have had to feed an infant and you do not know what MSPI is, leave your address so I can send you a congratulatory note and let me also say, I hope you never do know, outside of this blog. And to all of the milking mamas out there who I know currently on the diet, let me just say: I get where you’re at. The proof is in the picture above: Rotella’s bread, Fleischmann’s Light spread, Chex, peanut butter… all MSPI friendly.

MSPI. It’s not one of those o-m-goodness-it’s-the-end-of-the-world things. It’s not dangerous {unless it causes a baby not to thrive}. And it isn’t permanent {at least not for us}. But it is inconvenient and annoying. And while I suppose no one has ever deemed any part of having children to be that convenient {except maybe the tax deduction…} you kinda just cross your fingers and hope for the normal things babies do to be, well, normal. But our babes… not normal. Not abnormal. Perhaps extraordinary. But I digress…

MSPI stands for Milk Soy Protein Intolerance. It is not an allergy to all things dairy and soy, but rather a result of some kiddos having intolerant bellies that don’t like breaking down the proteins present in dairy and soy products.   

The idea is that when mama munches down anything with milk or soy, it transfers through the milk, to the babe, causing quite the belly ache for the wee ones. It can also cause spitting, screaming, and really disgusting diapers. So, in order for the babe to peace out on this predicament, mom has to eliminate milk and soy from her diet to “clean out” the milk as long as the baby presents the symptoms or as long as she breastfeeds — whichever wins out. For Barrett and Jonah, I modified my meals for about the first 8 months of their existence and then added back in foods one by one to see if we were more tolerant of some things than others.

Tuesday was the day. One week after Harrison graced this green earth, the spits were in full effect. Having not yet gained any weight and after having 7 “spits” overnight and a few days of ramping up prior to that, on Monday, Mr. Harrison was switched from MBM {mother’s breast milk} to Alimentum, a hypoallergenic formula. And the NICU dietician and lactation staff and I had a pow wow. So. Tuesday morning I ditched the dairy and said soyonara.

Why not just stick with the superhero formula? For us, the reasons are twofold. First, while Harrison is currently, thanks to our BCBSNE insurance, receiving the Cadillac of care, once we go home, we will pay out-of-pocket for this formula. And while I don’t know the exact math on the pricetag yet, I know that when we were offered Elecare {another Hypoallergenic brand} with Barrett and Jonah, it was, then, priced at $36 per can. And we were told that we’d likely need a little over 2.5 cans a week. Equal to hundreds of dollars, each month. Ridonculous, right? The second reason: Harrison’s gut. Apparently these little dudes just do better on MBM. It’s better for their tum tums in the long run. So if we can, we’d like to cut out the cans.

So this diet… it would be super easy if I had a chef. Or if I lived in California and could just grow my own goodness year round. Or if I already shopped at Whole Paycheck Foods for all of my grocery needs. But none of those things are true. They will be when I win the lottery… if I ever play it… but for now, not the case. I know a lot of people who have pretty restrictive diets these days. With so much stuff being put in our foods, more and more people are presenting issues with gluten, dairy and much more. But on a normal day, in my normal life, I pretty much eat whatever I like. So this change takes a little bit of work.

Eliminating dairy sounds easy, right? Pretty cut and dry, eh? The intolerance not only includes things that you might immediately label as dairy… Milk, cheese, sour cream, ice cream, yogurt and so on … But also includes casein and whey {not to be confused with curds and whey, which are likely also not on the plan}, which are hidden in a lot of ingredient lists on processed foods. And soy. Oh boy, soy. We are not just talking the Magic Wok and edamame here, folks. A lot of processed foods include soy protein or soy flour… Including breads, meats and anything you might find in the freezer section at your nearest store. So if I turn down your offer to bring me food and suggest you bring a pizza for the Brehm boys instead, don’t take it personally… I just don’t want you to spend time pouring over labels.

This is my third go-round with this diet. So it’s not really something that I need to cry to my mom about anymore {yes. I am 31. And sometimes. I still cry to my mom}. In fact, I am on it like gangbusters for now. Because it kind of is what it is at this point. But the biggest issue I have with it is that we never saw stellar results with Barrett and Jonah. They still screamed. They still spit. They still contorted their bods like they were part of Cirque du Soleil. And they were still very slow to gain. So we have had quite the debate… did they actually have an intolerance, were they angry because they were preemies with pre-prime bellies, was it severe reflux or something we didn’t even know about? If we don’t see Harrison thrive after a good bit back on MBM, we will likely have to have a discussion. And if that’s the case, then formula may be our fate. But for now, I’m rocking the modifications. And two days in, I refuse to let it beat me down. I am in a place right now where it’s all about the attitude. But look for me in two months, and you’ll likely find me near the cheese cooler at HyVee… I’ll be the one curled up on the ground, rocking back and forth, hands reached out toward the unattainable packages of cheesy goodness and Chobani yogurt.

Thank the good Lord that my husband is on board. He’s a take action type of guy. With the biggest heart I know. He scours labels and the internet looking for products and labels of things he can make and buy. Last night he made Puppy Chow with “safe” dairy/soy/nut free chocolate chips. And he stocked the pantry with safe snacks. And his attitude completely rocks which makes me {somewhat} less synical. He’s ninja’d me smoothies, handed over the hummus, delivered me breakfast tacos and is an all-around absolute peach about all the parameters. Because he’s basically the bee’s knees.

A lot of the MSPI modifications are really just eating fresh, healthy foods… which is something we could all do more of. And for now, I am not venturing into the full-out elimination diet that I did with the other two boys. But I will still need a whole lot of good luck vibes sent my way to make this thing fly once again. Because the harrier things get with Harrison, I may start to go a little bonkers. But I am thinking positive that throughout Harrison’s next 3-6 weeks in the NICU, we will have this feeding situation figured out in time for him to come home and be a true delight. I mean, after all, third time’s a charm, right?!

If you have done the MSPI diet, what are your very favorite go-to grabs? And what do you pick up when out and about? If you have made diet modifications or lifestyle changes for health reasons, did you find it hard or easy peasy?

Regardless, just like his brothers, one thing I know is that this little love is worth it. I mean, he’ll owe me later. And I’ll never let any of them live this down. But totally worth it.