Doctors Think They Know Everything

Every body is different.

I mean it the way I typed it. Every BODY is different. Every pregnancy is unique, every weight loss story, every weight gain story, every development, every part of who you are physically (and mentally, but we're not talking about that today) is different than everyone else.

So why is it that we lump so many things together?

It's simpler for sure, but because we're all human with the same body parts, organs, and structure (for the most part anyway) it seems logical that we would make correlations from what we've heard from others and what we know about ourselves. This works for many conditions and situations, but I'm talking about pregnancy, of course.

This is why women always have so much advice to give on pregnancy, because they've experienced it or know someone who has and therefore because I'm pregnant that information is automatically valid.
This isn't to say I haven't received some great pregnancy information from people, I have. Doctors, on the other hand, have made me want to scream.

I really would have preferred a midwife. My fiance really wanted some professional medical input and since this is my first pregnancy I thought it'd be fine. I'm not a doctor person. I have avoided the doctor for a very long time. And my reasons are reinforced every time I see a doctor. They have a way of making you feel bad about yourself.

First of all, there is no perfect diet. No matter how well you eat, for example organic and loaded with whole grains, vegetables, fruits, dairy, with small amounts of protein thrown in, and the occasional sweet, it's not good enough. Nope, there are still things that can be improved on.

Apparently, even if I'm in perfect health, testing is still important. Oh, let's draw a blood sample to see how your blood count is doing. Oh, let's make sure your iron is at a decent level. Let's make sure you don't have gestational diabetes. Despite feeling fine, eating fairly well, having perfect blood pressure, the fact that I'm not even 25 yet... let's test just to say you're really in good health because just feeling and seeming that way isn't enough. Did anyone ever think that the more you're tested, the higher the chances are they'll find something? Then they'll do more tests and then by the time they rule it out you've undergone biopsies and expensive procedures. And just in case we'll put you on a regimented medication. It's ridiculous. (Not to mention women were having babies LONG before medical intervention.)

There are three OBs at the place I'm having prenatal care done at. I actually really do like my regular OB. She's nice, understanding, and doesn't make me feel as though my beliefs and decisions are ludicrous. They scheduled me for two appointments where I don't meet with my regular OB but instead with the others, just in case my OB can't be there for the birth. So on my Monday visit, I met with another OB. I mentioned that I did not want the glucose screening test. Now, I didn't expect anyone to understand, but I also didn't expect to have someone be condescending about it. She told me that she has to explain why they have the test done (I already knew why) and that she understood that I just didn't want to go through the testing. That was not it at all. I didn't want the testing because I don't want to put my body through that. It's not worth it. I eat well, yadda yadda. Well, it didn't help that I had binged a little this weekend with my pâte à choux, so I had been feeling a little sugar high the last few days. I knew my sugar was up too, so when she tested my urine for sugar, lo and behold it was high. So that didn't help my case much. Might I add though, that this was the first time it had been high and I already knew it would be before walking into the clinic. She told me that even if I did test positive for gestational diabetes they would just regulate my diet. Regulate my diet to what? I looked up the diet for gestational diabetes, it's basically what I'm already doing. I'm not diabetic! I had a bit of a sugar fit, yes, and I knew I overdid it because I never eat sugary things and my body went a little nuts but does that mean I have gestational diabetes? I process sugar just fine, thank you. I just ate a little too much in a short time frame.

What doesn't help is that no one understands. It's just a nice little prelude to have others say, "well, gestational diabetes is a real thing and it's important that you're aware of whether or not you have it." People automatically assume that since I don't want something I know nothing about it. Many people in our society when they don't want something or are afraid of it choose not to research it because of what they may or may not find out. I was fully aware of what I was refusing. I looked it up. I know that gestational diabetes is a serious condition and it would be bad for me to ignore it. I'm an informed refuser.

The other thing that grated me was when the OB measured my stomach. She looked at the measurement and said, "that seems a little large." So I asked her what "average" was since I did not know the statistic because I didn't know this was even a thing; I've never been pregnant! She said something about 20-some centimeters, then remeasured. So when I became slightly nervous she said that my measurement was really a "base-line" and that I should grow no more than one centimeter a month until I deliver. One centimeter a month? How am I supposed to put on, what, another ten pounds total and only grow 3.5 centimeters? Where is this weight going? Of course, this could have very well been a way for her to tell me I had gained too much weight during my pregnancy. Why is it that doctors always think they know your body better than you do? If I wasn't pregnant, I'd only be overweight by a little over 10 pounds. Very frustrating.

The bottom line: if my sugar is high again the next appointment, I will go get the screening done just to ease my own mind and to prove everyone wrong. If my sugar is normal, I'm not going to do anything about it.

The baby, by the way, is doing well. He's happy in there. The doctor says he looks great and he's about the size of an acorn squash now. He's kicking and rolling around in there, and even kicked the doctor when she went to put that ultrasound thing on me. He must not have liked what she said either.

Pregnancy tip: drink a lot of water. I was also heavy on juice this last month, which I usually have a glass or two but I drank a LOT more than that. I switched to lemon water, so good and hydrating.

Today I also want to give a shout-out to Laura Vitale of laurainthekitchen.com. I'm a big proponent of basic dishes that you can dress up in your own way and she does a lot of basic recipes. I will probably being doing a few recipes from her. She's responsible for my recipe of the week.

As you already know from my previous post, or at least hopefully know, my pâte à choux was beautiful and delicious too. Probably tomorrow will be the day I do my "practice-run" bundt cake, which I hope will be wonderful. My chocolate marshmallow/meringue treats are on the list but before I do those I will be doing another chocolate dessert of which will remain a secret until revealed. I've never made anything like what I'm going to make and I'm very excited. On the non-dessert end, I will be making dinner rolls, maybe today or tomorrow, with the recipe courtesy Laura Vitale.

So, recipe of the week (so far at least)? Strawberry shortcake. (It wasn't even on my list!) What makes this so amazing is the little amount of sugar in the shortcakes themselves while still managing to be sweet from the strawberries. I can't take any credit for the recipe, the only thing I changed about the shortcakes was that I didn't have heavy cream so I used whole milk. Worked just fine.  Another minor, minor thing I changed was because I didn't have heavy cream I couldn't make whipped cream for the middle. Something I stumbled across was the usage of coconut cream for a whipped cream substitute. This does work. One thing though, once the can of coconut milk is chilled, getting that top layer of cream off is very difficult. Once it's off, it's almost plastic-y it's so hard. If you throw it in the microwave for 5 seconds on high, no more, it should be perfect whipping consistency. Whip well with a few pinches of sugar and a splash of vanilla and you're good to go. Dairy-free, low in sugar, high in healthy fats... it's perfect really. Mind you, it does taste like coconut, duh. It's like how people think carob is a reasonable substitute for chocolate. There is a flavor difference, and it's noticeable. But it's still delicious. It actually is almost passable for whipped cream if you don't add too much because the other flavors compensate. Enough with the chatter though, on with the pictures!

The recipe stated that it would make about 4-6. I had a seventh one, a quite large one actually, as you can see from the middle. The yellow on top was the egg wash.

Assembly time. First you slice the cake open...

Then you add the layer of whipped cream, coconut or otherwise. Note: If you do this instead of adding the strawberries first, it will prevent your cake from getting soggy too quickly from strawberry juice.

On top of the cream you add your strawberries. I loved that it had some orange zest and juice in it. So yummy. (And organic!)

Put the lid on, and for decoration I threw on a dab of cream with a strawberry just for appearances. It's truly delicious.

That's about all I had to say! I will post again with more recipes and information as I have them. Enjoy your day!

P.S.: Happy birthday Grandma!

Pâte à Choux or Cream Puff Recipe

These little French desserts are pure heaven, but require a bit of work. I am writing this post because I could not find a concise set of directions to follow to make these beauties and I know others will need help just as I did. And so begins the recipe for...

Pâte à Choux (Cream Puffs in English)

Aren't they pretty? They are pronounced "pat-ah-shoo."

Ingredients:

1 Stick of Butter (1/2 cup)

1 Cup of Water

1 Cup All-Purpose Flour

4-6 Large Eggs (details on that below)

Good Pinch of Salt

Before I get started on the directions, I used three sources for help. I may refer to them as the directions go along as Source 1, Source 2, or Source 3. The links for them are:

SteamyKitchen (or Source 1)

TheKitchn (or Source 2)

YouTube (or Source 3)

Directions:

1) Preheat your oven to 425 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper or aluminum foil, shiny side down.

2) Over medium heat in a large saucepan, melt the butter in the water, allowing the water to come to a simmer.

3) Add the flour all at once and stir until a dough is formed. Once the dough is formed, continue cooking over medium heat, stirring and mashing constantly until dough has dried slightly, about 3-5 minutes. (For a good visual on what the dough should look like, see Source 3.)

4) Remove from heat and allow to come to room temperature or slightly warmer than. Stirring and mashing helps with the cooling process.

5) Once the dough has cooled, add salt and then the eggs one at a time, being sure to fully incorporate them before adding the next one. You know your dough is ready when you take a spoonful and the dough falls into a clump back into the pan. (Again, see Source 3 for a visual.) I needed about five or six eggs, but it is very dry in my house. Humid days may take fewer eggs. Another way to tell if you're done is being able to tell whether it is pipe-able yet still would hold its shape without issue. Note: You could use a mixer for this as I did it by hand and it took quite a bit of muscle power, but you do get a better sense of how you're doing when you do it by hand.

Unbaked pâte à choux. I had covered them with plastic wrap while the first batch was finishing.

6) Fill a pastry or gallon size plastic bag with your dough. (You can refrigerate for up to a day if properly sealed, but allow to come up to room temperature before using.) Cut or use a tip about 1/2" in diameter although it doesn't really matter. Pipe little mounds of dough about an 1 1/2" to 2" around and about as high as a golf ball. You can really make any shape or size you want, but if you do your baking times will change.

7) Place baking sheet with uncooked puffs into the oven and reduce the heat to 375. If you made your puffs about the size listed above you will need to cook about 40 minutes. Otherwise, you can tell if you're done by the pastry being thoroughly golden brown or by cracking one open and seeing how the dry the inside looks (they'll be hollow!). If very, very slightly damp, this is okay. If they're still pretty wet, keep baking. Do not check on your pastries before 15 minutes. From what I understand, there are some cases when an influx of air too soon before the dough sets can cause the puffs to fall. This did not happen to me but I understand the concern. Opening the oven door too often will also change the temperature of the oven creating longer bake times.

8) Once your dough has reached the appropriate doneness, reduce the oven to 300 and cook another 10 minutes. This allows them to dry out.

9) Once done, remove from the oven. Source 2 suggested pricking the puffs with a toothpick to release any pent-up steam to keep the insides from getting soggy. I agree with this, plus remove the puffs from the pan within about three-five minutes so the bottoms do not get soggy. Place on a plate with the puffs on their side to they can cool evenly.

Baked pâte à choux.

10) You have made pâte à choux! Slice in half and then you can fill them with whatever you desire. The most common filling is whipped cream. The filling I used is:

Swiss Meringue Buttercream

(Thank you BakingAMoment!)

Ingredients:

3 Egg Whites

3/4 Cup Sugar (more or less depending on how sweet you like it)

1 Cup or 2 Sticks of Butter, allowed to sit at room temperature

1/2 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract

Directions:

1) In a clean glass or metal heat-proof bowl, place the egg whites and sugar. Place the bowl over a pot of water that has come to a simmer over medium heat. Beat or whisk the mixture until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture becomes quite thick. Note: The mixture will not become hot, but fairly warm. If you are worried about the consumption of raw eggs, cook eggs to a temperature of 160 degrees F. (Source: FoodSafety)

2) Remove from heat and continue to beat/whip until meringue has come to room temperature or slightly warmer than. This will take some time. To expedite the process, place bowl in a larger bowl filled slightly with ice water while whisking.

3) Beat in the vanilla and then the butter two or three tablespoons at a time until butter is fully incorporated. Depending on how warm your mixture and butter was during preparation, your frosting may look less like frosting and more like sweet, thick soup. If this happens, and it did to me, place bowl, covered, in the fridge for 30-40 minutes. After, re-whip the buttercream and you will see a huge difference. This buttercream is awesome!

4) Place mixture in pastry or plastic baggie to pipe onto whatever you desire.

Note: The original recipe was for chocolate buttercream. I was going to make it chocolate, but my fiance tasted it and decided it was good the way it was without the chocolate. I have to say, he was right! Also, this did not make quite enough for all of my pâte à choux. (I would have had about 10 or so pâte à choux left.) You may want to double the recipe.

Finished pâte à choux. They're so yummy.

Be sure to dust finished pâte à choux with powdered sugar! They're quite a lot of fun to eat!

A pregnancy blog post will follow this week with more fun recipes. See you then!