MSPI stands for Milk, Soy Protein Intolerance. It is different than a lactose intolerance as the baby involved actually has a problem with the proteins of the milk and soy itself.

 Well because my fifth daughter has it. There is still a hope she will outgrow it but as of yet at 3 she still suffers when she is exposed to the proteins in milk or soy. Her reactions have gotten less severe but she is still quite uncomfortable.   Next week she will have her 3 year annual appointment and we will be talking with the doctor about what we can do to figure out if there is more of an allergy involved or how to handle this in the future as she is growing up.

Imagine what you eat on a daily day?  Any cheese?  Milk with your cereal?  Cream in your coffee?  When you have to eat for MSPI you have to find substitutes for all of that.  I have managed to manage to find a substitute for most, but not cheese.  Not where I live.  I haven’t found anything we have enjoyed so I just do not have cheese.

This past October for Halloween we lucked out pretty well. Miss M got to dress up and have the fun of trick-or-treating. Just like her sisters.

She got to eat some of her candy even. Halloween night I removed anything that I knew was an intolerance (basically anything chocolate) and placed it in a bag. Her older sisters could then trade a candy she could eat for one of those to put in the respective pumpkins. It worked mostly. I did learn the hard way tootsie-rolls, even the orange ones, are made with dairy. 🙁

Last Easter she really didn’t know any better. This Easter however, she is three. She sees the displays. She wants what her sisters want.

So I just plunked down $16 for a three pack of safe chocolate like colored candies and a bunny lollipop with shipping. Now I want her to enjoy these and if she does, I will figure out how to treat her now and then.  What is sad though is I likely will spend only that much for candy for the other three (and my husband) combined.

I hate the fact that because of MSPI, which she still hasn’t outgrown, that we have to do this to give her the same experience. It is so much more expensive. Just like milk.  Currently a gallon of regular cows milk where we live costs about $3.49.  It costs that much or more for a half gallon of coconut or almond milk for her and I.  The costs sometimes at the grocery store are enough to make me want to cry. It drives me nuts to do this is on a chance that, my daughter who is currently eating about five things,will actually eat it.

And I will admit I did contemplate briefly adding the box of 12 truffles for me but I just couldn’t justify the $30. I know keeping allergen free is hard and takes special equipment and processes. I just wish we didn’t have to do it anymore.

Yes she’s three. Yes she is still nursing a bit. But that bit is enough that until she either outgrows this or she weans herself I’m not eating it either and after three years of this almost it’s getting hard to keep saying nope can’t eat or make x, y, or z.

So I keep going to the store, wishing at times there was an easy answer and there is not.  She knows what she cannot eat most of the time.  To the point that if I find something new that she can eat she is extremely reluctant to try it.  We shall see what the doctor says next week.  :/

Blessings,