Genetic Testing

It’s almost been two weeks since our Egg retrieval and a week and a half since we found out how many viable embryos we have (12)… which means, it’s been 12 days since we sent our eggs off to be genetically tested (PGS – Pre-Genetic Screening). Normally, according to my doctor, this process takes about 7-10 days but considering the number of embryos we sent off, he mentioned it could take a few more days to get the results.

PGS takes our embryos and checks to see if they are considered “normal”/healthy. Checking to see if they have the correct number of chromosomes (46). They can also check if there are any genetics (that we know of) that run in the family that we want to be on the lookout for. When Garrett and I started the initial testing wayyyy backkkkk (however long ago it’s been now), we had our blood sent off to be genetically tested – to see if we were both positive for the same recessive trait. We weren’t but if we were, one of the things PGS can do is check for that trait in your embryo. Thankfully for us, we didn’t have that concern. We just wanted to make sure we had healthy children (no abnormal DNA).

Checking the chromosomes helps to make sure that we are more likely to have a successful birth. They lower the risk of miscarriage early on and risk of live birth (due to Chromosomal abnormalities). This also allows us to know ahead of time what the gender of our babies are. We actually get to decide if we want a boy or a girl.

Now, remember back when we had our eggs make it to the blastocyst phase – day 5. By this point, our eggs had successfully made it to the stage where they divide to create the fetus and placenta. I’ve had a lot of people ask me how they can take my babies genetics (that early on) to be tested. They aren’t taking any cells from the fetus. They take a couple of cells from the placenta. My eggs remain safe and untouched in the lab waiting for me.

So finally I got the call from my nurse saying she had some great news for us. I called her as soon as classes let out. Out of the 12 viable embryos we had tested, 9 came back normal/healthy. 9! AHH! So happy with this number. This means that I will never have to do hormones again or the egg retrieval again. This is great news because we can put our embryos aside in our egg bank (frozen in the lab) until we are ready to try again for a 2nd child (down the road/in a few years).

Now for the extra good news…..out of the 9 healthy children we currently have….. we have 4 boys and 5 girls waiting for us!!! I already feel like a mother to 9 children. So happy.

We are beyond thrilled with this news. Finally, after 3 1/2 years of trying to have children, we have 9 possible embryos waiting for us. Finally starting to get some good news (knock on wood).

Next week, I go in for this polyp surgery and after that we will finally know when we can do the egg transfer. Getting closer everyday guys!

xoxoxo

Next up: Polyp Surgery