It is not every year that Leap Day babies are born, so naturally, Texas Health hospitals showed off photos of the state’s newest residents.
This Thursday, the first and only February 29 of the last four years, Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Plano welcomed Alaia, born at 1:21 a.m. and coming in at six pounds, five ounces. Later that morning, at 4:59 a.m. at Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital Southwest in Fort Worth, another baby girl, weighing just under seven pounds, was welcomed. Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas also joined the party shortly after at 5:19 a.m., with the birth of five pounds, three-ounce baby Dalton, according to WFAA.
If you think it is difficult for children to wait one year between birthdays, imagine if they had to wait four. For some, this is the reality of being born on Leap Day, which occurs only once every quadrennial. In fact, a North Texas grandmother only just celebrated her quinceanera this week, NBC 5 DFW reported. As a reminder, this is a celebration of when a girl passes into womanhood at the age of 15.
Because February 29 occurs so infrequently, considerably fewer people share the date of birth. To appreciate the rarity of a Leap Day birthdate, consider that people born on February 29 make up less than 0.1% of the world’s population.
Still, most people are happy to receive gifts and eat cake regardless of the date, even if the celebration does not technically align with their birthdate. However, when Leap Day does come around, it provides an even greater cause for celebration. And, of course, those who think they are being shortchanged can always celebrate for an entire 12 months at the Leap Year festival in Anthony in West Texas, the self-proclaimed Leap Year Capital of the World.
