Breaking News!

The embryologist called this morning to let us know that our third embryo that was still being cultured is a grade:1.5 expanded blastocyst!! It is going to cryopreservation as we speak! I cannot believe that 100% of our embryos ended up being of such high-quality! This is practically unheard of! The nurse said this morning "Courtney, your embryos were few in number but VERY MIGHTY." This is amazing news and we couldn't be happier.

So, let's talk about what an "expanded blastocyst" is. This would be the stage of an embryo just before hatching. Here is a picture of what a high-quality expanded blastocyst would look like. Note: this is not Billy or Harry.


We are around day 6 in the life of an embryo, which brings us to the "hatching" phase. Here is a picture what a hatching blastocyst would look like.


Shortly after hatching, the blastocyst begins "implantation" into the uterine lining. This is, officially, when conception occurs. Here is a picture of a fully-hatched blastocyst that is ready for implantation. The mass of cells seen at approx 3-4 o'clock is what will become the fetus. The cells seen around the "border" of the blastocyst, will become the placenta, that will nourish the fetus.


Thank you for attending my Embryology 101 lecture for today.

I do not have anything else to report at this point, other than that Adam is still giving me my PIO (progestrone in oil) injections every night. It is a big-fat 1.5" 22g needle that goes in my butt cheek every night. It is not fun and they make my a$$ really sore. We heat the oil up before hand, and use a heating pad afterwards, and we also rotate cheeks. But it does not seem to help the pain all that much. I do not care though, if it helps me sustain a pregnancy, I am all for it!