I should be so Lachie! TONI'S EMOTIONAL ROLLER COASTER

The bubbly boradcaster and be sotted mum is embarking on her next chapter with gratitude and love.

When broadcaster Toni Street first set out on the long and emotional surrogacy journey that would eventually result in the birth of her adorable baby Lachie, she couldn’t help but worry about the bond she’d have with her longed-for third child. Would she love him in the same way as her daughters, who were carried naturally, she wondered, or would their connection be somehow different?

But as her not-so-little toddler clambers over her, planting kisses on Toni’s face and shouting “Mama!” at the top of his lungs, it’s clear those fears were unfounded. In fact, the besotted mum can’t help but well up when talking about her beautiful boy, who was made possible thanks to the selflessness of her best friend Sophie Braggins.

The New Plymouth-based businesswoman and mum of two stepped in as a surrogate mother, carrying little Lachie to term in the ultimate gift to Toni and her husband Matt France.

“It feels quite ridiculous that I even had those worries now,” Toni admits, kissing the top of her tot’s head. “But surrogacy is such an emotional rollercoaster. In some ways it seems like a lifetime ago and in other ways it’s like it was yesterday. It still amazes me that it happened and we went through it, and every single day I am still blown away by what Sophie did for us. She’s given us such incredible joy and love with this little man.”

Just like his two big sisters, 18-month-old Lachie is an energetic bundle of joy, and on the day of our photo shoot he’s making it very clear he isn’t keen on his midday nap. Instead, he roams the house in nothing but a nappy, his toothy grin melting the hearts of the Woman’s Day team.

“He’s like a little prince,” laughs Toni. “He has everyone wrapped around his little finger!”