Day 3 After Retrieval

Today was another FANTASTIC day!  Remember back on Sunday, when Dr. Wilshire said they were able to retrieve 11 total eggs?  And then on Monday, they informed me that only 9 fertilized?  Well, today we got news that we have 9 perfect embryos!!  I was shocked and confused that we went went from six to nine!?  The nurse said they kept the eggs that didn't fertilize to see what would happen and then ended up getting fertilized!  She also said that she misspoke when she told me that three had arrested to develop yesterday -- they were just completely undeveloped at that point. So it sounds like of the 11 eggs retrieved, only two have arrested to develop.

So at 72 hours, the embryos should have 8 cells.  Here are today's results:

4 embryos have 8 cells and are Grade 1

1 embryo has 10 cells and is Grade 1

2 embryo have 6 cells and are Grade 1

1 embryo has 4 cells and is Grade 1
1 embryo has 2 cells and is Grade 1

I couldn't be happier!  What a great looking team!  Yes, we got some slower ones, but they are developing beautifully!  The embryos will be left alone the rest of today and tomorrow. 

My transfer is scheduled for noon on Friday.  I have to arrive at 11:30 with a full bladder and they will give me valium at this time as well.  Additionally, they will give me the final stats of the remaining embryos and they will choose the top two to be transfered back into my uterus.  The others will be frozen for a future transfer.  I will stay laying down at the office for two hours before they release me.  I plan on bringing a book and some cards to entertain ourselves.  Too bad, we don't have a tablet....hmm, I should put that on my Christmas list!  Then I get to spend the rest of my birthday and the following 48 hours on bedrest.  Not sure what that all entails at this point -- can I shower, can I lay on the couch?  I am just simply thrilled right now at how well things are going.  And the support!!  It has been tremendous!  Just being able to share these little details with you really keep my spirits up.  Hopefully soon we'll all get to meet Baby Williams!      

Day 2 After Egg Retrieval

After stressing out all day, waiting for the phone to ring, I got the call I was waiting for!  Dr. Wilshire's office does a 3 point scale from1 to 3, with 1 being the best.  As I stated yesterday, at 48 hours, the embryos should have about 4 cells.  Here are our results:

 

3 embryos have 4 cells and are Grade 1

1 embryo has 5 cells and is Grade 1

1 embryo has 6 cells and is Grade 1

1 embryo has 3 cells and is Grade 1

 

So 6 perfect embryos!!!  YAY!  I'm SOO excited!  Unfortunately, the other three embryos arrested to develop. Because so many embryos were considered perfect today, my embryo transfer will definitely be on Friday.  The nurse will call me to tomorrow to let me know how they are doing.  Now we just have to hope that they continue to grow and develop normally and that we don't lose any more along the way. 

 

Day After Retrieval

Today I got the anticipated call from our nurse. She said that out of the 11 eggs, 10 were usable  and 9 successfully fertilized!!  This was so exciting to hear and really brightened my day!  Tomorrow, she'll call me and give me the grade of each embryo and will let me know when the embryo transfer will be. 
 
Basically, each embryo is graded as A, B, C, or D ("A" being the best and "D" being the worst).  What determines the grade is the cell number, regularity, and fragmentation.  Embryos should be at 2 to 4 cells at 48 hours after egg retrieval and preferably about 6 to 10 cells by 72 hours.  It is generally best if the size of the individual cells are similar in size.  A Grade A embryo is one which has equal sized cells in it (Blastomeres). Fragmentation, is a process where portions of the embryo's cells have broken off and are now separate from the nucleated portion of the cell.  A Grade A embryo is the one which has no fragmentation or less than 10% fragmentation. A Grade C embryo, however, does not mean that the baby will be abnormal. It just means that the chances of implantation are reduced, as compared with a Grade A embryo. Below are some examples of the different Grades. 

GRADE A :

10-Cell Grade A embryo

1. Regular Blastomeres.
2. No Fragmentation.

GRADE B :

10-Cell Grade B embryo

1. Regular Blastomeres.
2. > 10 % Fragmentation.

GRADE C :

8-Cell Grade C embryo

1. Irregular Blastomeres.
2. > 10 % Fragmentation.

GRADE D :

8-Cell Grade D embryo

1. Irregular Blastomeres.
2. > 20 % Fragmentation.

The number of good embryos will determine if we do a Day 3 (Wednesday) or Day 5 (Friday) transfer. Below is a table that compares the transfers.