Despite her young age, 23-year-old Christina had the desire to lead a family of 11 children. But she and her husband still dream of having at least 100! Keep reading for her remarkable journey to motherhood.
Enter Christina
Born and raised in Moscow, Russia, Christina's early life was normal in virtually every way. But after turning 17 years old, the young woman's life took a sudden turn: She was pregnant with her very first baby!
The idea of motherhood was a frightening one, particularly because the baby's father was no longer in Christina's life. Despite this, Christina found herself enamored with being a parent. After welcoming her baby Vika, she embraced the challenge. But little did she know, Vika wouldn't be her only child…
Parenthood Exhausted Her
What a challenge it was. Christina found herself struggling with single parenthood and was completely exhausted by her 23rd birthday. She couldn’t help but dream of having a partner to help her through such struggles; Someone to care for both her and her child.
After working endlessly, Christina realized it was time to take a much-needed break. In the end, she decided to take a short holiday to Georgia, just a few countries away. But as it turned out, the trip was much more than just a little vacation. She and her child’s lives were about to change forever.
Meet Galip
A man named Galip Ozturk was about to enter the picture. Galip was a Turkish millionaire who made his fortune by owning several companies, including the “Turkey Bus Federation.” He had made himself the president of the company in 2005, a propitious step in his career.
Galip was not just a rich and successful businessman. He was also handsome and sophisticated, the kind of man that many women might want to be with. But as charming as he appeared, Galip also had his fair share of secrets. And those secrets would be exposed after a chance encounter with Christina.
He Fled From Turkey
Galip had moved from Turkey to Georgia for a dark reason. He had actually been arrested in 2009 for manipulating the stock exchange in Istanbul. And just three years later, things got worse: He was sentenced to life imprisonment due to a violent offense that had occurred in 1996.
Instead, he chose to flee on the day of his sentencing. Galip took refuge in Georgia, where he has lived ever since. But soon after settling in his new country, Ozturk's life was turned upside down all over again. That's where Christina comes into the picture.
The Start of Their Love Story
While vacationing in Batumi, Georgia - dubbed 'Las Vegas of the Black Sea' - the pair crossed paths. They both said their meeting was love at first sight. "She is so easy to be with; she always has a smile on her lips. And yet, at the same time, she is shy and mysterious," Galip said.
The couple's relationship moved at lightning speed. After a handful of dates, Galip asked Christina and Vika to move to Batumi to live with him. Unfortunately, Christina had no idea that she was going to be tied to Batumi permanently due to her boyfriend's unorthodox past.
A Georgian Romance
The couple became inseparable, though Galip still kept some secrets to himself. But he was a kind and loving man and took Vika under his wing as well. He acknowledged the importance of the bond between mother and child. And they quickly fell into comfortable family life.
In a Daily Mail interview, Christina said that her partner was a "Mentor, guide, and fairytale Prince all rolled into one." She was absolutely smitten, and the two were a perfect match for each other. For one, they both prioritized a happy family life with as many children as possible.
The First Addition
Perhaps it’s no surprise that Galip and Christina soon welcomed their first child together - via a surrogate mother. They had recently gotten married and established their desire for a large family. But they quickly realized having one child a year - something they wanted - wasn’t possible for Christina.
They made a call to a local surrogate agency, desperate to find a solution to Christina's inability to conceive. They finally decided they'd have their enormous family, with the assistance of the local birthing community. But they had to set some ground rules first.
Their Unlikely Dream
There was so much love between Christina and Galip, and they knew they had to share it with a future family. They wanted that family fast, but neither wanted to wait decades to make it a reality. So they got to work, eager to get it started as soon as possible.
First, they had to find surrogate mothers. They wanted the option of having multiple children via one surrogate, but they needed to find the right people for the job. Originally Christina said that she wanted 105 children, but she scaled it back to a “more fitting” number of 100.
Their Striking Age Gap
There was one detail often lost among the other aspects of their relationship. Galip was actually 56, a whopping 33 years older than his young bride. But this did not stop him from wanting a large family. In fact, Galip was already a father. He had 8 of his own children between the ages of 12 and 34.
But this never stopped him from wanting more. It only inspired him to grow his family as much as humanly possible. So together with his wife, Galip began contacting as many willing surrogate mothers as he could find. He even settled on a price - $9,700 per baby.
Surrogacy Rules and Regulations
Now that they had their surrogates and a price tag, it was time to prepare. Surrogacy is illegal in many countries, but it has been legal in Georgia since 1997. However, there are a lot of regulations regarding how surrogacy can be done. For instance, upon birth, the child is always given to its non-surrogate parents first.
This effectively means that the rights of the child entirely preside with the parents rather than the surrogate mother who carried the child. Christina’s surrogates had to undergo extensive counseling to ensure that they were emotionally prepared to accept this reality. Each one even had to sign legal documents.
Careful Surrogacy
The Ozturks had to be particular. They weeded out candidates with bad habits, and a psychologist observed whether they were fit to be parents. Each mother had to have given birth previously. According to Christina, "The clinic in Batumi chooses surrogate mothers for us and takes full responsibility for the process."
The surrogates were asked how they felt about the baby being given to the genetic parents immediately. While discussing her experience with the Russian site Woman.ru, Christina said, "We are not personally acquainted with surrogate mothers and do not have direct contacts with them in order to avoid problems after pregnancy."
Meet the Family
As we know, Viktoria (Vika) is the oldest of the Ozturk family at just 6-years old. Over the last year, she has had to adjust to the sudden arrival of 11 siblings! "I only gave birth to Vika, the others are genetically ours, but they were born from surrogate wombs," Christina told Newsflash.
The next kid is Galip and Christina’s first child, Mustafa, who was born via a surrogate mother in March 2020. His little sister followed soon after, on the 17th of April. Just two days later, they welcomed a set of twins, Alisa and Ayrin. Several more children were set to arrive not long after.
Meet the Rest of the Family
As if one set wasn’t enough, another set of twins named Hasan and Judi were welcomed on May 29, 2020. Anna, Ismail, and Mehmet arrived in the next few months. Finally, their tenth child, Olivia, was born on January 10, 2021. But their parents have no intention of stopping at 11 children.
"I don't know how many [children] there will eventually be, but we certainly don't plan to stop at 10," Christina told woman.ru. Together they've agreed on having 100 children, though they've agreed to take a break before beginning the next round of pregnancies.
Christina Had Tried To Get Pregnant
Originally, Christina had wanted to bear the children herself. But she had extensive research and realized that IVF, unfortunately, was not an option for her. There was a likelihood it would put great strain on her body and make it too difficult for her to carry the child through pregnancy.
She came to the conclusion that IVF was just "not practical" due to all of the children already in the house. She wanted to take care of them herself. Her husband described her as the "wife I always wanted for myself, an uncut diamond where I saw what a pure and kind heart she had." But how did she lead a household so big?
Life With 11
People often assume that Christina and Galip have a cohort of nannies to take care of all the children, but this is incorrect. Christina decided she wants to carry out as much of the day-to-day care as possible. She gives her undivided attention to every child while somehow still making time for her own needs.
According to her, the babies have become accustomed to her strict schedule. She has trained them to fall asleep together from 8 pm to 6 am every night without fail! She even has the help of her eldest child Vika, who apparently loves to look after her siblings at her mother's side.
The Daily Schedule
Christina's Instagram profile details her daily experiences as a mother, as well as the tricks and tips she uses to get through each day successfully. "I spend the maximum amount of time with my children, but when I'm not with them, I control everything," she affirmed. She even trains all of the household nannies herself.
Once the children are in bed, Christina gets to work on the house. She makes sure the house is fully stocked with everything that she, the babies, and the nannies might need. Once that's done, she writes up menus for each day and schedules doctors' appointments. But that's not even her full-time job.
She's a Working Mom
She also has a career outside of being a mother! Christina is an influencer and model, particularly on Instagram. She advertises discounts and promos for many websites, which is how she makes the bulk of her income. By using her name, her 91k followers get significant discounts from eBay, AliExpress, and more.
Much of her social media presence revolves around her daily adventures with her adorable children, both inside and outside of the house. Her page @batumi_mama updates all of her followers with new photos of her and her little ones, while @kris_babies is a page for their daily highlights.
Their Million Dollar Budget
While she's earned her fair share from her two accounts, it certainly wasn't enough to pay for 10 surrogacies - not to mention raising children and hiring staff. Christina couldn't possibly afford it all on her salary alone. She and her Galip have realized that simply birthing their babies is going to cost a small fortune.
If they want to have 100 children by Christina’s 30th birthday, the couple needs to commit to having 12 surrogate children every year for 7 years. This is going to cost exactly $952,240. But for Galip, this is no problem: The millionaire has a high budget to make their dreams come true.
Training the Nannies
When Christina isn't managing the house or posting on social media, she's training the nannies. "I teach each nanny independently when applying for a job… the upbringing of children is strictly according to my instructions," she explained. She even teaches them, "What to read to the children, in what order, and at what time."
She and her husband want each child to be raised the same way, even if they can't do it all themselves. "If the child begins to cry, I forbid you to take him in your arms," she tells her staff. Instead, Christina insists the babies should be "distracted" to "calm down."
Their Family Diaries
Christina is the definition of a hands-on mother, despite not being able to give all of her time to every child. She still wants to be involved in every aspect of their lives. So to make things easier, the young mom has instructed each nanny to keep a diary of each child and their daily experiences.
"Each child has a diary that records ALL the details of his life," said Christina. "What we ate, how much we ate, how I slept, how I walked, how many went to the toilet, how many were crying, what changes happened with the body," she confirmed. But this is only the beginning of what she expects from each nanny.
Documenting Their Dirty Diapers
Christina is so concerned with her children's well-being that she also requires nannies to make detailed records of their food intake and bathroom habits. They even have to take photos of each child's dirty diaper - every time! It is then up for their mother to decide if the content is "of a good color and consistency."
After everything has been recorded, Christina adjusts every child's menu and schedule according to what she observes in the photos. But it isn't just dirty diapers that she keeps a strict eye on. Let's take a look at her children's strict eating regimen.
Their Strict Diet
Christina shares her dietary requirements for her children on her Instagram page. She makes it clear that she only wants her kids eating "homemade meals" and "no purchased ready-made cans of complementary foods." Everything they eat is then documented in every child's diary.
But that's not where the stringent rules end. Christina's high standards even extend to units of measurement. "Food is strictly according to grams," Christina asserted. "Not a gram more, not a gram less." But what exactly is the careful mom feeding her kids?
What’s on the Menu
Christina took to Instagram to share a breakdown of what her children eat for breakfast every day. According to the captions she posted, each child eats "porridge (rice, buckwheat, corn) served with butter. The elders eat porridge in milk formula, and the younger ones on the water."
As for snacks? In case a child gets hungry between breakfast and lunch, Christina has that covered too. Snacks include homemade cottage cheese for the youngest children and yogurt or fruit puree for the elders. But Christina doesn’t just monitor her children’s home life. She keeps a close eye on their surrogacies as well.
Their Surrogacy Experiences
Because of the regulations in Georgia, all communication between surrogate mothers and prospective families is done via surrogacy clinics. Christina and Galip can only measure their surrogates' health, though they have made some requests. "I make up a dietary menu for mothers so that the food is complete," she explained.
For the most part, every surrogacy experience has gone smoothly for Christina and Galip - with one exception. In one case, a mother tried to keep the baby she gave birth to. Because it was genetically the Ozturks' child, it was turned over to them regardless.
11 Kids and More to Come
Their house may seem hectic with 13 people, but Christina insists it's actually "full of relaxation." Thanks to the children's regulated sleep schedule, managing 11 children under 6 years old isn't as chaotic as one might expect. It also helps that the doting parents enjoy their big clan immensely.
Christina also shares her and her husband's favorite pastimes on Instagram. They enjoy "watching movies and cartoons, eating junk food, playing backgammon and walking with [the] children." With enough downtime for board games, it seems the loving parents have everything figured out!
People Questioned Their Parenting Capabilities
But the more that Christina and her family are thrown into the spotlight, the more attention they get - both good and bad. While the Ozturks have their fair share of fans, they also have skeptics. Some onlookers believe there are just too many children in the household to be looked after properly.
Some have even expressed doubt about Christina and Galip's ability to be loving parents to their babies. Perhaps this comes as no surprise, since the young mom has already admitted she struggles to spend time with the 11 kids she has. And yet, she still has plans for 100 surrogate children.
A Strong Support System
Despite their online detractors, Christina and Galip do everything they can to make their children feel appreciated. "I am very grateful to my husband that he completely trusts me in all matters concerning children," she wrote on Instagram. She describes herself as the "tough parent" and Galip as the "Yes man."
But her husband always shared his pride in his wife and her talents as head of the house. In fact, Galip's favorite compliment for Christina is to tell her "what a wonderful mother" she is. This is one of the things that makes Christina feel empowered in her role as a mom.
From 17 To 11
When Christina first gave birth at just 17-years-old, she had no idea what life had in store for her or whether she would find true love. And she certainly didn’t expect to have 11 children to call her own! But now she has a doting husband, an incredible family, and a future she is excited for.
Christina and Galip Ozturk are still chasing their dreams of raising a family of 102 and are well on their way with 11 children. They are still sharing their journey on social media, so we can see what they’re up to. And given their incredible story, who knows what they’ll do next?