Some people might wish to divide their age by 4, but in the case of leap-day babies, who are also called “leaplings,” that is their reality.
On a day when newborns are often gifted with frog-themed apparel to signify the “leap,” the Henry Mayo Newhall Hospital maternity ward was a “ribbet”-ing place to be on Thursday, welcoming five leaplings with custom onesies saying: “February 29, 2024, Limited Edition Baby.”
Elizabeth Pogue, who welcomed her fifth child, Mila, at 8:24 p.m., wasn’t entirely surprised by her unique birthday, since Pogue came in to have labor induced.
“I’m excited. We’re going to be celebrating on [Feb.] 28th,” Pogue said. “We’re just blessed — she’s perfect. She came out perfect on a special, fun day.”
Pogue is already thinking of birthday festivities down the line.
“For her fourth birthday, we’re going to go all out,” Pogue said. “I guess it would be her first birthday, right?”
According to the BBC, there is about a one in 1,461 chance of having a Feb. 29 birthday.
The leap year, also considered an “intercalary year” or “bissextile” year, according to the Los Angeles Public Library, is meant to keep the calendar year synchronized with the seasonal year, given that a “common” year, which is 365 days, is actually a rounded number.
By adding the extra day, the seasons remain relatively in place; otherwise, summer in Santa Clarita would slowly end up in December, according to the L.A. library.
Why February? Simply because the Romans didn’t like the month, and wanted to shorten the concept of winter by not putting it in writing.
While leap year is based on the Earth’s rotation, the stars aligned to welcome the Pisces into the world.
At Henry Mayo on Thursday, with 45 minutes to spare, after having labor induced starting at 7 a.m. Wednesday, Katrina and Jonathan Skaar welcomed their first child, Kaleb, at 11:15 p.m.
While they weren’t entirely sure if Kaleb was set to arrive on Feb. 29, the Skaars are glad he did.
“We were kind of hoping that was going to be the case. It was quite a long delivery,” Jonathan said.
While the proud parents have yet to decide if Kaleb will celebrate his birthday on Feb. 28 or March 1, they are ready for a multitude of yearly celebrations, regardless.
“He will probably get two birthdays every year and then three birthdays every four years,” Katrina said.
“He’ll get spoiled regardless,” Jonathan said.
The Skaars recognize how special their first bundle of joy’s birthday is.
“This is very special,” Katrina said.
Jonathan added: “We definitely didn’t plan it that way, but the fact that he’s in that unique category of birthdays is really special.”
