The Number...

Guess how many eggs fertilized???? 24!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The embryologist just called to tell us, and said that this is very good for this point. I thought I'd include a few pictures today so you can understand what is actually going on right now. This picture is what the egg looks like the morning after fertilization--what they should be looking like now. If you look closely, you see two cells in the middle-this is the sign that they fertilized.

This next picture is a high quality 8-celled embryo--what we would see on Day 3 (Sunday). They will call us again on Sunday to let us know how many embryos we have that have continued to divide normally. They have a rating/grading scale that they use to determine which embryos won't continue to divide normally, just like what happens naturally inside a woman's body.

This picture is what you see on Day 5--the day they transfer embryos back into the uterus. It is called the blastocyst stage, and you can see a group of cells in the middle--which develops into the baby, and some around the outside--which develop into the placenta.

Because Justin and I both believe that life begins at conception, any high quality embryos we have more than the two they will transfer back in, we are planning to freeze for later use/future children. You're not guaranteed to get "snowflake babies" (frozen embryos), but we are hoping that we might have some. It makes future IVF processes so much easier, shorter, and even less expensive. So we'll see!!

I'm feeling somewhat better today...still a bit sore. It is a strange feeling. I'm not quite sure if I have more of a bloated feeling with pain, or more tightness pain with a little bit of bloating thrown in. If I breathe in too deeply or try to do a belly laugh, it hurts. Strange feelings. The nurse told us that the first few days are the ones that usually are the hardest, but if you stay super hydrated, you should be okay and have the best chance of not getting hyperstimulated. So yesterday Justin bought me ten 32oz bottles of gatorade, and I am already on #6! So I think all will be fine!

We start the progesterone shots on Sunday, the same day we get our next report on our embryos. So stay tuned!

What a great birthday I had yesterday...fun presents, sweet cards, calls, emails, and facebook messages, yummy food, great family, and best of all 24 possibilities of future children!! (But you will never see me having anywhere near that many children!!) Thanks everyone for making it so special, and all your prayers for us!