One big milestone in surrogacy saga
BABY Tomas Andrew is toddling about and babbling just like any other child celebrating their first birthday.
But beloved little Tomas’ start to life was anything but ordinary, having been stuck in Kazakhstan with his mum for months due to an international surrogacy saga.
Yesterday, baby Tomas, now happily back at home in Beech Forest, celebrated his first birthday with family and friends.
Tomas’ dad, John, said the youngster could walk but “falls over all the time”.
“He’s very big and very strong,” Mr Andrew said. “He laughs all the time.”
And Tomas loves getting out and about on the Otways farm when the weather permits, finding joy in seeing cattle and pigs.
Baby Tomas was born via surrogate in Kazakhstan, but didn’t make it back to Australia until April this year.
Tomas’ older brother Nicolas was born in Kazakhstan through IVF in 2012. Their mother Khanar is a Kazakh national.
Mr and Mrs Andrew wanted a sibling for Nicolas and pursued surrogacy, as they were unable to conceive.
Commercial surrogacy is legal in Kazakhstan, but getting Tomas home to Australia was no simple task.
Visa complications, DNA testing for Mr Andrew and Tomas, a successful citizenship-by-descent application, and various documentation that required Mrs Andrew to fly around Kazakhstan were all twists in the longrunning saga.
Eventually Tomas was granted an emergency passport and was able to fly home with his mum to be reunited with his dad and brother.
Mr Andrew described the saga as a “struggle” that had sent the family financially broke. “It’s a matter of picking ourselves back up,” he said.