When my first daughter was a newborn, she was fussy.  Seriously, she would cry when she was laid down at only a day old.  At first, I thought it was because my milk hadn't come in yet and she was so tiny and hungry.  So, I nursed her and nursed her and nursed her.  Over the next couple days, my milk came in but my baby got fussier!  By the time she was two weeks old, she was crying more than she did anything else.  Almost nothing worked to soothe her.  We tried taking her for car rides, carrying her in a baby carrier, singing, bouncing, walking the floors...nothing helped.  Finally, at three weeks old, it got to the point where she began crying *while* I was nursing her.  She would nurse for a little bit, pop off and scream, nurse, scream.  It was miserable.  She was never happy, never!  One night, after having pizza for dinner, she was worse than she ever had been.  I sat there with tears running down my face trying repeatedly to nurse her to soothe her.  It didn't work.  She screamed until she wore herself out and fell asleep exhausted in my arms.  The next day, I finally took her to the Doctor.  After I explained my concerns (a bit sheepishly, for I was sure I would be told, "babies are fussy, it can't be THAT bad), the Doctor tested my baby's stool.  It came back positive for blood and reducing substances.  My pediatrician said this fit the clinical picture for Milk-soy protein intolerance. (MSPI)  Because I am vegetarian, she said I could try just getting out milk first and then soy as well if there was no improvement.  I thanked her, but said I would cut both out immediately.  I was desperate to see my daughter improve.  Two weeks later, we had a different baby.  We finally saw some smiles!  She still had reflux and had to sleep with her head up, but it was so much better!  My diet was no fun, but I kept telling myself, "It's just food...it's just for a year or so of my life!"  I am writing this post to make people aware of milk-soy protein intolerance.  It's so prevalent in the midwest that some estimates place it as high as one in every eight babies.  Here is a summary of symptoms of MSPI:

Baby is fussy to the point of being inconsolable or almost so

Stools contain mucous and/or blood

Stools are acidic, causing a red bottom and possibly diaper rash

Baby has severe acid reflux

Breastfed baby may be constipated

If your baby has some of these symptoms, check out:

www.mspiguide.com

www.thepicfoundation.org/

and my MSPI moms group here on cafemom:

www.cafemom.com/group/32945

Tags: mspi, food intolerance, fussy baby, inconsolable baby

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