Hi y’all! We are back to give you an update on our fertilization process. We have talked with our embryologist in Memphis several times, and we have a final count from the oocyte (follicle/egg) retrieval. However, our future little princes/princesses are still in incubation so we will not have a final count for freezing until next week. So with this post we wanted to go into the process of fertilizing, incubating, counting, and freezing. If you are like us you had no clue this stage could be so interesting. Usually, this is the stage that would happen before you get that BFP (big fat positive) on a pregnancy test. So to actually get to see pictures of your cells splitting and forming your future child(ren) we think is rather cool, and it kind of puts us IVF peeps in a really unique category.
So the above picture is NOT one of our embryos. We have not gotten our official first family photo yet (it’s OK to laugh at this because I am 100% putting it in a scrapbook some day) :). I snagged this photo from another blog post (credit to Sara Ratliff). We are going to try our best to explain what is happening in the above chart, and then we will FINALLY give you a count.
Day 0 – Is retrieval day where the oocytes are removed and then fertilized
Day 1 – The egg is now fertilized and called a zygote
Days 2 – 5 The zygotes remain in a petri-dish in the incubator. From here they will be taken out of the incubator as a blastocyst (day 5). They will be graded on a scale of good, average, or poor and then the best options (zygotes that become blastocysts) will be frozen to await transfer. This is also the stage before freezing where you can find out gender with a PGS (Pre-implantation Genetic Screening), and it also can check for chromosomal abnormalities. We have decided to forego this option, but it is quite amazing what science can do.
So now the whole reason you have read this far our retrieval numbers are (drumroll):
18 oocytes (follicles) were retrieved
15 were mature
14 fertilized
We will get a “final” number that will be viable blastocysts for freezing in the next couple of days, but Drew and I have decided to keep that information to ourselves. Originally, our doctor had hoped for 25-30 oocytes, but we are thrilled with what we were able to retrieve. Obviously we would love as many as possible, but we are happy with knowing we have at least one opportunity.
This process is far from over, but for now we will continue to rest up and get me ready for transfer. Thank you again for all of the love, support, and prayers. We have been truly blessed from all the calls, texts, comments, and good vibes.
Blessed is She ... 