'Surrogate Sophie' reveals how she really feels almost 1 year after giving birth to Toni Street's baby boy

This time last year Sophie Braggins was pregnant with Toni Street’s baby …

Lachie – who is nearly 10 months old - was brought into the world thanks to Sophie being a surrogate for him, as her best friend, Toni was unable to go through with another pregnancy due to her autoimmune disease Churg-Strauss syndrome.

"I do look at Lachie and feel something pretty special," Sophie revealed this morning. "He has a special place in my heart and there’s no denying it."

The mother of two also admitted that Lachie does sort of feel like one of her own kids.

"I do [feel like he’s one of my children], he's absolutely special to me, and I feel like that with all of Toni’s children, but particularly Lachie feels as though he’s part of me."

"And you know what, I feel good about that," Toni added. "I feel good that he has another special person that loves him like I love him."

However, Sophie explained that the process of being a surrogate wasn’t easy and that after giving birth to Lachie via C-section it was "hard" balancing what her hormonal body was feeling verse what she knew logically in her mind.

"I definitely had nights where I’d get a bit teary and feel hollow … you do, you feel a bit empty and in some ways that something’s wrong," she said. "So you rely on your brain and your mind to tell you that everything has happened as it should and it’s a happy time."

With the help of hormone medication, Sophie said that it took her around 10 days to come right and feel more herself again after giving birth to Lachie.

And while Sophie says she doesn’t regret being a surrogate for Toni and her husband Matt, she admits that it isn’t something she would ever do again.

"Absolutely not," she said when asked if she could do a repeat. "Not at all, it was a one-off it was a beautiful experience, but we got the outcome …"

"You can’t top Lachie can you!" Toni joked.

• READ MORE: Toni Street shares sweet Mother's Day tribute to her baby boy's surrogate, Sophie Braggins

Surrogacy is becoming more common in New Zealand, but Kiwis still have a lot of questions about it – watch above to hear all the answers to the nitty-gritty questions Hits listeners had for "Surrogate Sophie".