Poison milk, reflux misdiagnosis, and MSPI discovery

When Sydney hit 4 weeks, she suddenly began to profusely throw up, cry at each feeding, have mucous filled stool, and was in extreme pain. After 3 days of throwing up, I convinced my husband that I wasn’t just paranoid and something was actually wrong. We called the pediatrician and they asked us to come in to rule out pyloric stenosis (narrowing of the first part of the stomach). Since she did not have pyloric stenosis, the pediatrician diagnosed her with reflux, told me it would get better, and wrote a prescription for antacids to help with the pain. He also mentioned to watch what I eat to see if anything in particular makes her react (Sydney is exclusively breastfed). We started to call my breast milk “poison milk”, which we joke about now, but at the time I became extremely discouraged from breastfeeding. It broke my heart to find out that what I thought was the best nutrition for her was actually causing her pain. I was so afraid that I was going to have to stop breastfeeding, which is so special to me. 

Several days later, I had a little wine & A LOT of cheese with my girlfriends. The following feedings – she threw up more than I did on my 21^st birthday. So I decided to cut out dairy and soy (many babies with dairy problems also have soy issues). Within three days of completely cutting out dairy and soy her vomiting decreased, crying stopped, and her stools became “seedy” rather than full of mucous or watery. Through carefully watching what I eat and how she reacts, I’ve noticed that she also has issues with tomatoes, cruciferous vegetables, beef, garlic, onions, peanuts, caffeine, and large amounts of gluten (I once ate 4 cups of freekeh). Since eliminating these foods (and reading EVERY label) Sydney is now 8 weeks old, rarely spits up, and is back to her happy self!

I can’t say that it has been easy but knowing that I am giving my daughter the most complete nutrition and having her not be in pain from it – is totally worth it. I am thankful that I was able to solve her tummy troubles without giving her medication or stopping breastfeeding.

The most difficult part for me is finding recipes and new foods. I’ll be posting my favorites soon. Below are the quick snacks that have helped me keep sane and away from cheese.

It’s not easy to eliminate so many foods from your diet – how have you handled your baby’s food sensitivities? If you have any recipe/ food suggestions, please let me know!