As he hugs his newborn son in a £40,000 bespoke nursery, Daryl Lee has realised his dream of becoming a father for the first time. He gazes at his civil partner Luke Harris, then they turn to the child’s surrogate mother, Bex Harris, and say: ‘Thank you for giving us the baby we’ve always dreamed of.’ Phoenix Blue Harris-Lee, nicknamed ‘little master Blue’ by the couple, was born naturally at 11.01pm on January 14 after a 16-hour induced labour, weighing 7lb 15oz. Biologically, 41-year-old Mr Lee is the father and Bex – no relation to Luke – used her own eggs, as a traditional surrogate. But Bex isn’t the only woman to be giving birth for the gay couple, who live in an £800,000 four-bedroomed home in Surrey. Scroll down for video . Surrogate mother Bex Harris holds baby Phoenix surrounded by fellow surrogate Viktoria Ellis, left, father Luke Harris, is partner Daryl Lee and third surrogate Becky Harris . In their quest for a family, Mr Harris and Mr Lee have controversially enlisted the help of not one but three surrogates. All three became pregnant within weeks of each other – meaning that two more babies are on the way. The second, a girl, who is biologically Mr Harris’s child, is due to be born on February 23 to first-time surrogate Viktoria Ellis from Glemsford, Suffolk. A third baby, a boy, who also is biologically Mr Lee’s, is due on July 14 to Bex’s sister-in-law Becky Harris – who, remarkably, is also Viktoria’s neighbour. Last night IT consultant Mr Harris, 50, said: ‘We are overwhelmed and overjoyed that we’ve become dads as we’ve longed for a family for more than a decade. It’s something we never thought would be possible. ‘Yes, our family is unconventional, but just because we are gay shouldn’t preclude us from becoming parents. Our home is a loving, nurturing environment and between us we have three sisters and our parents so there will be plenty of positive female role models for our children as they grow up. I suppose you could say we are a very modern family.’ Mr Lee, a dentist, and Mr Harris met on the internet in January 1999 and moved in together that year. In 2012 they became civil partners. They had often talked about wanting children and originally intended to try to adopt. But after reading about Sir Elton John and his partner David Furnish becoming parents to a boy through surrogacy in 2010, they decided to follow his example. The mothers were introduced to the gay couple after they joined several surrogacy websites and forums. Initially, they chatted for 12 months to Becky, 27, from Suffolk. The happy couple Mr Harris and Mr Lee controversially enlisted the help of not one but three surrogates . Because she was already helping a couple, she introduced them to her former sister-in-law Bex, 32, who had been a surrogate once before. Six weeks later, when she knew they longed for a family, Bex told them that her best friend Viktoria, 32, was looking to become a first-time surrogate. After four months of meetings, both women agreed to become their surrogate mothers. In an even more bizarre twist, Becky also came back to the dads and offered to make it a hat-trick for them – and a world first for surrogacy. Each of the women is a traditional surrogate, meaning they use their own eggs – so while babies one and three will be half brothers, baby two will not be genetically linked to them. Surrogate mother Bex holds baby boy Phoenix Blue after the birth last month . Mr Harris said: ‘We never set out to become a world first, we just wanted children of our own. But because Bex and Becky are former sisters-in-law they are really close and they both used to live on the same street as Viktoria, so it’s like we are a huge extended family. ‘They’ve been nicknamed the “twiplets” as they will all go to school at the same time together. After sitting down and talking it through we knew in our hearts that we couldn’t turn down the chance to have the family we’d always dreamed of.’ For the birth, Bex’s mother Karen drove her to the NHS hospital and they met Mr Harris and Mr Lee at the entrance. Bex said: ‘I spent hour after hour in the early stages of labour, which was exhausting. Then I started to feel a lot of pressure and I knew the baby was on its way. I just started breathing deeply and focusing on the job in hand but the pain was awful. ‘As soon as I was taken into the delivery suite my mum Karen, who is known as “mamma stork” as she’s my and the two other surrogates’ birthing partner, and the dads encouraged me. ‘Daryl held my hand throughout the whole thing. I had my eyes shut tight as the pain was so intense. It was too late to give me an epidural so I had to do it with gas and air alone. ‘There was a lot of commotion and I started crying with the joy of it all. ‘Daryl cut the cord and the baby was handed straight to Luke for skin on skin [contact]. It was a beautiful moment. I just felt so elated I’d done this for them and had given them the son they’d always dreamed of.’ Mr Lee said: ‘During the birth we could see his little heart racing so we were worried about him. Then, when he popped out, he was so delightful. Ten perfect little fingers and toes and a pretty good pair of lungs. ‘As soon as he was in Luke’s arms he stared up at him and immediately became calm. It was so overwhelming I couldn’t hold back my tears. I felt a rush of love for my son. He grimaced a bit but he was delightful. It was a beautiful, wonderful moment to hold our child in our arms.’ Birth: Bex was introduced to the gay couple after they joined several surrogacy websites and forums . All three women became pregnant within weeks of each other – meaning that two more babies are on the way . Within hours of the birth Mr Lee gave Bex a ‘push present’ – a £200 Swarovski crystal necklace, saying: ‘This is from Luke and I to thank you.’ In law, surrogates are not allowed to be paid but can claim expenses up to £15,000. Mr Harris said: ‘Surrogates always seem to say they don’t form a bond and have no difficulty when the moment comes to hand them over, but we found it hard to say goodbye. ‘Bex obviously feels love for this little mite even though she knows he’s our little boy – she’d even chosen his name, telling us, “As you’re gay you need something really out there”. ‘But she and our other surrogate mums are going to be very much a part of our babies’ lives. We are constantly visiting each other and that’s going to continue.’ Bex, who has spent two weekends with Phoenix and the dads since the birth, said: ‘As I handed him over to say goodbye I just felt physically empty as he wasn’t in my stomach keeping me warm any more. I’d carried him for nine months for Luke and Daryl and I never lost sight of that and I did it as I knew they’d make wonderful dads. ‘Over the past three weeks my initial maternal instinct has cooled. Now when I look at Phoenix I think of him as being my nephew. He doesn’t feel like my child at all. I had nine months to reconcile in my mind that he isn’t mine.’ Once Phoenix is six weeks old, Mr Lee and Mr Harris will apply for a Parental Order through the Family Courts which will give them joint custody . The dads and Bex all went together to register the birth and Mr Lee and Bex’s names are on the birth certificate. Once Phoenix is six weeks old, Mr Lee and Mr Harris will apply for a Parental Order through the Family Courts which will give them joint custody. Once signed, the order means Bex will have no legal responsibility over Phoenix and the dads can apply, if they choose, for a new birth certificate to be issued. They haven’t decided if they will do that yet. For now Mr Harris, a computer programmer and the son of a journalist father and book keeper mother, and Mr Lee are ‘exhausted’ but enjoying every part of fatherhood. They have spent thousands in preparation, including the loft extension, painted in Farrow and Ball paint with Disney-themed blinds featuring the characters from Cars and Bambi. Hand-painted elephants decorate the walls. Their Honda Jazz car has been replaced by a £20,000 Volkswagen Touran people carrier, a custom hand-built wardrobe is half full of blue clothes and half of pink for the impending arrivals, and a £700 iCandy Apple 2 Pear buggy stands in the hall – for now, the dads prefer to use their £100 Babybjorn sling. They continue to work part time, with one dad staying at home on the days the other works. Mr Lee’s parents are going to live with them for the next six months to be on hand while they get the babies into a routine. Mr Harris said: ‘Phoenix is up three times in the night normally and whoever isn’t working the next day does the night-time feeds. He has just slotted into our relationship, he’s another piece in the jigsaw. We were two and now we are three and it feels so natural. ‘Our neighbours have all been over to meet him, and while they are all interested in surrogacy, they have all given us incredible support.’ And for now Bex is delighted to be very much a part of their lives.
Gay couple Daryl Lee and Luke Harris enlisted help of 3 surrogate mothers .
Their first child was born last month and two more are on the way soon .
Second mother is due to give birth this month with the third in July .
The third surrogate is the sister-in-law of the first and neighbour of second .
Fathers say their unconventional family is 'a loving, nurturing environment'
Couple were inspired to try surrogacy by Sir Elton John and David Furnish .
As he hugs his newborn son in a £40,000 bespoke nursery, Daryl Lee has realised his dream of becoming a father for the first time. He gazes at his civil partner Luke Harris, then they turn to the child’s surrogate mother, Bex Harris, and say: ‘Thank you for giving us the baby we’ve always dreamed of.’ Phoenix Blue Harris-Lee, nicknamed ‘little master Blue’ by the couple, was born naturally at 11.01pm on January 14 after a 16-hour induced labour, weighing 7lb 15oz. Biologically, 41-year-old Mr Lee is the father and Bex – no relation to Luke – used her own eggs, as a traditional surrogate. But Bex isn’t the only woman to be giving birth for the gay couple, who live in an £800,000 four-bedroomed home in Surrey. Scroll down for video . Surrogate mother Bex Harris holds baby Phoenix surrounded by fellow surrogate Viktoria Ellis, left, father Luke Harris, is partner Daryl Lee and third surrogate Becky Harris . In their quest for a family, Mr Harris and Mr Lee have controversially enlisted the help of not one but three surrogates. All three became pregnant within weeks of each other – meaning that two more babies are on the way. The second, a girl, who is biologically Mr Harris’s child, is due to be born on February 23 to first-time surrogate Viktoria Ellis from Glemsford, Suffolk. A third baby, a boy, who also is biologically Mr Lee’s, is due on July 14 to Bex’s sister-in-law Becky Harris – who, remarkably, is also Viktoria’s neighbour. Last night IT consultant Mr Harris, 50, said: ‘We are overwhelmed and overjoyed that we’ve become dads as we’ve longed for a family for more than a decade. It’s something we never thought would be possible. ‘Yes, our family is unconventional, but just because we are gay shouldn’t preclude us from becoming parents. Our home is a loving, nurturing environment and between us we have three sisters and our parents so there will be plenty of positive female role models for our children as they grow up. I suppose you could say we are a very modern family.’ Mr Lee, a dentist, and Mr Harris met on the internet in January 1999 and moved in together that year. In 2012 they became civil partners. They had often talked about wanting children and originally intended to try to adopt. But after reading about Sir Elton John and his partner David Furnish becoming parents to a boy through surrogacy in 2010, they decided to follow his example. The mothers were introduced to the gay couple after they joined several surrogacy websites and forums. Initially, they chatted for 12 months to Becky, 27, from Suffolk. The happy couple Mr Harris and Mr Lee controversially enlisted the help of not one but three surrogates . Because she was already helping a couple, she introduced them to her former sister-in-law Bex, 32, who had been a surrogate once before. Six weeks later, when she knew they longed for a family, Bex told them that her best friend Viktoria, 32, was looking to become a first-time surrogate. After four months of meetings, both women agreed to become their surrogate mothers. In an even more bizarre twist, Becky also came back to the dads and offered to make it a hat-trick for them – and a world first for surrogacy. Each of the women is a traditional surrogate, meaning they use their own eggs – so while babies one and three will be half brothers, baby two will not be genetically linked to them. Surrogate mother Bex holds baby boy Phoenix Blue after the birth last month . Mr Harris said: ‘We never set out to become a world first, we just wanted children of our own. But because Bex and Becky are former sisters-in-law they are really close and they both used to live on the same street as Viktoria, so it’s like we are a huge extended family. ‘They’ve been nicknamed the “twiplets” as they will all go to school at the same time together. After sitting down and talking it through we knew in our hearts that we couldn’t turn down the chance to have the family we’d always dreamed of.’ For the birth, Bex’s mother Karen drove her to the NHS hospital and they met Mr Harris and Mr Lee at the entrance. Bex said: ‘I spent hour after hour in the early stages of labour, which was exhausting. Then I started to feel a lot of pressure and I knew the baby was on its way. I just started breathing deeply and focusing on the job in hand but the pain was awful. ‘As soon as I was taken into the delivery suite my mum Karen, who is known as “mamma stork” as she’s my and the two other surrogates’ birthing partner, and the dads encouraged me. ‘Daryl held my hand throughout the whole thing. I had my eyes shut tight as the pain was so intense. It was too late to give me an epidural so I had to do it with gas and air alone. ‘There was a lot of commotion and I started crying with the joy of it all. ‘Daryl cut the cord and the baby was handed straight to Luke for skin on skin [contact]. It was a beautiful moment. I just felt so elated I’d done this for them and had given them the son they’d always dreamed of.’ Mr Lee said: ‘During the birth we could see his little heart racing so we were worried about him. Then, when he popped out, he was so delightful. Ten perfect little fingers and toes and a pretty good pair of lungs. ‘As soon as he was in Luke’s arms he stared up at him and immediately became calm. It was so overwhelming I couldn’t hold back my tears. I felt a rush of love for my son. He grimaced a bit but he was delightful. It was a beautiful, wonderful moment to hold our child in our arms.’ Birth: Bex was introduced to the gay couple after they joined several surrogacy websites and forums . All three women became pregnant within weeks of each other – meaning that two more babies are on the way . Within hours of the birth Mr Lee gave Bex a ‘push present’ – a £200 Swarovski crystal necklace, saying: ‘This is from Luke and I to thank you.’ In law, surrogates are not allowed to be paid but can claim expenses up to £15,000. Mr Harris said: ‘Surrogates always seem to say they don’t form a bond and have no difficulty when the moment comes to hand them over, but we found it hard to say goodbye. ‘Bex obviously feels love for this little mite even though she knows he’s our little boy – she’d even chosen his name, telling us, “As you’re gay you need something really out there”. ‘But she and our other surrogate mums are going to be very much a part of our babies’ lives. We are constantly visiting each other and that’s going to continue.’ Bex, who has spent two weekends with Phoenix and the dads since the birth, said: ‘As I handed him over to say goodbye I just felt physically empty as he wasn’t in my stomach keeping me warm any more. I’d carried him for nine months for Luke and Daryl and I never lost sight of that and I did it as I knew they’d make wonderful dads. ‘Over the past three weeks my initial maternal instinct has cooled. Now when I look at Phoenix I think of him as being my nephew. He doesn’t feel like my child at all. I had nine months to reconcile in my mind that he isn’t mine.’ Once Phoenix is six weeks old, Mr Lee and Mr Harris will apply for a Parental Order through the Family Courts which will give them joint custody . The dads and Bex all went together to register the birth and Mr Lee and Bex’s names are on the birth certificate. Once Phoenix is six weeks old, Mr Lee and Mr Harris will apply for a Parental Order through the Family Courts which will give them joint custody. Once signed, the order means Bex will have no legal responsibility over Phoenix and the dads can apply, if they choose, for a new birth certificate to be issued. They haven’t decided if they will do that yet. For now Mr Harris, a computer programmer and the son of a journalist father and book keeper mother, and Mr Lee are ‘exhausted’ but enjoying every part of fatherhood. They have spent thousands in preparation, including the loft extension, painted in Farrow and Ball paint with Disney-themed blinds featuring the characters from Cars and Bambi. Hand-painted elephants decorate the walls. Their Honda Jazz car has been replaced by a £20,000 Volkswagen Touran people carrier, a custom hand-built wardrobe is half full of blue clothes and half of pink for the impending arrivals, and a £700 iCandy Apple 2 Pear buggy stands in the hall – for now, the dads prefer to use their £100 Babybjorn sling. They continue to work part time, with one dad staying at home on the days the other works. Mr Lee’s parents are going to live with them for the next six months to be on hand while they get the babies into a routine. Mr Harris said: ‘Phoenix is up three times in the night normally and whoever isn’t working the next day does the night-time feeds. He has just slotted into our relationship, he’s another piece in the jigsaw. We were two and now we are three and it feels so natural. ‘Our neighbours have all been over to meet him, and while they are all interested in surrogacy, they have all given us incredible support.’ And for now Bex is delighted to be very much a part of their lives.
nicknamed ‘little master Blue’ by the couple, was Luke Harris, is partner Daryl Lee and third enlisted the help of not one but three biologically Mr Harris’s child, is due to be born possible. ‘Yes, our family is unconventional, but from becoming parents. Our home is a loving, nurturing environment and between us we have try to adopt. But after reading about Sir Elton John and his partner David Furnish becoming decided to follow his example. The mothers were after the birth last month . Mr Harris said: ‘We – meaning that two more babies are on the way .