Monday 21 January 2013

More Homecoming pictures....Love Actually

Thanks everyone for your lovely well wishes on our homecoming and also support around the less than welcoming other side of the family. We are very blessed already with the family and friends we do have which includes the wonderful people we were priveleged to meet on this journey.

Have posted some more homecoming pics ...these ones were taken at Melbourne airport by a dear friend who is more like family thanks so much Nigel (Tracey's equally fantastic half) .....it reminds me of that movie "Love Actually" where they have filmed the comings and goings of people at an airport and the emotions this ensues...


Into the arms of loving big sisters!
Baby huddle!

Aunit Nic and Lilly girl 

Auntie Nic with Lilly and Rachel holding Jack - she was amazing  in India




I love this pic our niece Alix (Rachel's sister) meets Lilly for the first time

Auntie Lindee with Jack as her daughter Rachel looks on who cared for Jack on the flight home

Dad with the bags and Sophie who still has her socks on!



Family pics

More family pics

Dad with Sophie girl and bestest friend Tracey

A tired new Mummy after the flight but happy to be home
The obligatory running towards each other me and my niece Alix who was absolutely busting at the seams to meet her new cousins

Tracey cuddling Sophie

More family pics

And more



Sunday 20 January 2013

EMOTIONAL HOMECOMINGS

We arrived home last Monday 14 January into the arms of loving family and bestest friends. We were tired after the flight, transit time and lack of sleep . At Melbourne airport there were queues a mile long for immigration and customs and I looked at all of that and groaned. My wonderful husband went off seeking help and on both occasions and we were able to jump the queue because of our triple treats in hand! Thank you to the wonderful staff at Melbourne airport for that!

Of course when we came out of the doors our family were waiting further down so there was the obligatory running towards each other and crying with babies in arms. I so loved cuddling my two sisters at once with our Lilly girl in my arms. Have you ever seen that movie "Love actually" where they film the comings and goings at an airport? It was very much like that but so much better!

It is so much easier being home and hubby and I think we have worked out the night routine so we are both getting about 5-6 hours of sleep with a core period of 4 hours in one block.

Our babies seemed amazed about what is around them and they all appear to be having growth spurts!

My family has been amazing, from one sister making a huge lasagne and stocking the fridge, to offering our nieces to help babysit overnight and during the day through to my other sister coming to help out on one of her only 2 days off per week. So many things really.....They are incredible.

On a very upsetting note, a visit to Andrew's mother so she could meet the babies didnt go too well. There was barely any interest and she asked us to leave within an hour or so of being there...furthermore when we were driving down the main road near where she lives, Andrew saw his brother so he stopped the car and asked him to come and meet his family. Andrew's brother rejected the offer saying he had to get back to work...he then turned away as Andrew kept calling him. It has deeply wounded Andrew.

After this we decided to go to my sister's place as she was nearby. Her husband welcomed us and the babies with open arms. He ran out and bought celebratory drinks and we stayed for the best pizza I have had in a long time. Andrew and Den talked about what happened and I love how Den supported Andrew with this issue. It was beautiful watching Den and Nic with our babies. I especially love the pic of Den smiling at Jack and Jack clearly smiling back - see below. Upon leaving their place, Denny talked about his culture (Punjabi) and gave us some money for the babies. This brought both Andrew and I to tears....Denny kept saying to us and he is so right "we may not have a big house but we both have big hearts". They are such good people and I love them so much.

I couldnt do this without my amazing family.....my sister Lindee  and her husband Neal have been amazing (she made the lasagne, stocked the fridge and pretty much kept lots of things under control for us whilst we were in India). I find myself talking to her about my feelings as a mother and it is so reassuring that my  feelings of inadequacy through to insanity are fairly normal!!!!)

Today we have bestest friends coming around including the honorary adopted Grandma Helen. Cant wait to see them - our friends Tracey and Nigel came to the airport when we left for India and also when we came home...they have been so supportive of us from the beginning and it is so wonderful for our babies to have these marvellous people in their lives! Very very luck babies!

Am getting very emotional so will sign off for now. Hope everyone is well out there in blogland.


Dr Shivani if you are reading this - thank you again for the most amazing gift. Hope to see you in a few years time.


Thursday 10 January 2013

We survived the FRRO......

Our babies got Australian citizenship on Tuesday 8 January 2013 and yesterday we got their emergency passports. I will never be able to thank the wonderful people at the Australian High Commission and DFAT enough for making the process go so smoothly for us and our babies - this was very quick given DNA results did not arrive until Tuesday morning. Any Aussies on this journey over the next six months the contact at the High Commission is Jennie MitchelL and she is fantastic. A big thankyou to Maree Rogers for giving Andrew the tips and her contacts for this process....

Today we went to the FRRO with our 3 babies in hand. I had every document under the sun and more learning from other people's  previous experience.....the only additional item they asked us for was for us to write a document to certify that we undertake to care for our babies born through surrogacy. That was easy - I wrote it and hubby and I both signed it straight away on the spot. A fairly redundant document though in our view.....so at 11.30am we thought we were home and hosed with babies passports being stamped.....lo and behold they then started questioning Andrew about his surrogacy visa  (medical visa).....Why did you not register with the FRRO as you have a medical visa? As Andrew tried to explain that his visa was a surrogacy visa they did not care. They said well you need an exit visa now yourself and we will fine you. So Andrew had to go to a cyber cafe, register for exit permit and then queue up again. My niece and I came home with the three babies and we were home at about 1pm....with babies passports with exit permits in hand. For Aussies it is 3700 INR per exit visa - I dont understand why there are different costs if you come from a different country???

At about 3.30pm Andrew came home with his exit visa in hand at a cost of 1600 INR......so the process is over ....we head home this Sunday 13 January 2013 to the loving arms of our family......sigh of relief

It feels so surreal......India has become a second home........we not only feel blessed to now have our three bubs but to be part of a special family with lots of Indian cousins that are living around the world.  So to Aiden and Zara and Ryan and Ruben and to Francisco and Gachy and Fernando - this is not goodbye but see ya later or in Hindi fill a malinga (बाद में मिलेंगे).......we love you all very much and are forever in our hearts.....we are going home to save money for future trips for ourselves and babies to visit their cousins in Miami and Argentina......

Love Sophie, Lilly, Jack, Mel and Andrew and Rachel

Sunday 6 January 2013

A Family reunion....

My beautiful niece arrived in India on Friday night to help us on our last leg towards home. With three babies we need 3 adults to accompany them home so our darling niece very happily volunteered her services.

It was emotional seeing her at the airport and the big surprise was that she got through customs very easily and was out of the airport within 35 minutes of her plane landing - is this unheard of at Indiria Ghandi airport?

So Rachel is with us for a little over a week. So far I have taken her shopping at M Block market where she bought herself a coat and a warm hoodie pullover as she didnt really believe how cold it could be in Delhi. After spending a measly $30AUD on these two items we did more baby clothes shopping.....

Last night we had a pizza night with Gachy, Fernando and Francisco and Ryan and Ruben and Zara and Aiden. There were lots of laughs and a touch of sadness as we realised this would be the last time we would be altogether as Ryan and Ruben fly home Wednesday night and Gachy and Fernando the next day. We have been so blessed already with our 3 gorgeous children but to have also met these wonderful people along the journey is so incredible. I cant wait to take our children to Miami in 5 years time or so (Disneyworld Orlando) but also to catch up with Ryan and Ruben and Zara and Aiden again and hopefully a trip to Argentina can also be in the plans. I will miss them all so much ......Thank goodness for Skype to help stay in touch.

This week sees us ensuring all the paperwork moves along smoothly so we are thankful Rachel is here to help out with the babies. Today Andrew and Rachel are seeing the Taj Mahal so I have my three babies all to myself.....

Here is a pic of my gorgeous niece on her first night in India cuddling her cousin Sophie....