After 48

Kristina and I just received the phone call from the clinic. We remain hopeful as the results are good but with some surprises.
 

I indicated yesterday that we had 10 viable zygotes. I also mentioned there was a "pronuclei" egg that had been fertilized. We were told not to expect that one to continue progressing; however, today it is a nine-cell formation. That is actually probably not good as it is too much too fast. However, because it continues to divide, it remains a potential candidate. Still, we should not expect this particular one to grow properly, but we will wait another day to reassess. This is a fairly rare scenario. (Like we do anything normal...)
 

As for the five which showed no signs of fertilization, they have now been confirmed as unsuccessful. This leaves the ones classified as the ten normal fertilizations from yesterday.
 

Sadly, one of the ten became polynucleated. Essentially, this means the egg generated or received too much genetic information and is not sustainable. We had one of the zygotes do this last time too. Apparently it is not uncommon, but a bit disappointing nonetheless. Of the other nine, I will place the results in a table below, as that makes it a little easier to read and follow:
 

Quantity	Cell Count
1	Six-Cell
5	Four-Cell
2	Three-Cell
1	Two-Cell

What does all that mean? Well, it's still too early to tell. We have to recall that each zygote is not time-stamped, so most likely the six-cell one was the first one fertilized out of the group, while the two-cell one is probably the last of the process, but we just don't know. Realistically, slow development could also be the explanation and we could end up losing that one. The six-cell is also not as symmetrical as it should be, but again, that could fix itself with the next few divisions.
 

On average, at the 48-hour mark, we should expect to see about 4 cells. That is the guideline for normal growth. At this point we have seven that are strong candidates and a total of ten growing morulae. But remember, there are reasons why they are not officially graded until the fifth day.
 

Quick education note: I may not have used all the terms perfectly as I always struggle to know how to refer to these fertilized cell masses, especially in the first few days. Plus, the clinic calls it an "embryo report," which is technically incorrect.
 

However, from a purely scientific terminology perspective, here is how it works. A zygote is the initial cell formed after a sperm and egg have joined. A morula is the process where the zygote begins to divide and multiply into many cells. By day 5, a properly formed morula becomes a blastocyst. Finally two days later, an implanted developing life form is called an embryo.
 

And that seems like a good place to end this post. Class dismissed.