Daughter Born on Leap Day to Father Who Was Also a Leap Day Baby: It's an 'Amazing Bond,' He Says
A California dad just got an extra-special bonus with his daughter’s arrival.
Not only does Ivan Rebollar Cortez share the same birthday with his newborn baby girl Camila, but that day was Leap Day — a rarity for one person, let alone two in the same family.
“Happy Birthday and Happy Leap Day!” read the caption on a post shared by Mercy San Juan Medical Center in Carmichael, California, where Camila was born last Saturday.
The adorable photos showed Ivan, 32, cradling little Camila, who was dressed in a knit “leapfrog” beanie and bottoms, over her white onesie.
“Pictured is baby Camila and dad Ivan Rebollar Cortez sharing their leap day birthday at Mercy San Juan Medical Center today!” the caption continued, sharing that “the odds of a parent sharing a birthday with their child on a leap year is 1 in 2.1 million.”
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CNN reports that the hospital staff presented the family with a cake and balloons in celebration of the unique occasion for Ivan and Camila, who was originally due March 3.
“I prayed to God for my little baby girl and now we are going to share this amazing bond for the rest of our lives. I am just so happy!” Ivan told the outlet.
Camila’s mom, Jennifer Rebollar Cortez, told CNN that the couple feels “so blessed to have our little Camila here and so incredibly shocked at the coincidence that she now shares her Leap Day birthday with her dad.”
Speaking with KCRA, a CNN affiliate, a staff member at the hospital called the unique event “amazing” and said she had never seen it happen in the 29 years she had been employed there.
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On the other side of the country, a Brooklyn, New York-based family got the surprise of their lives when the newest member of their family, Scout, arrived on Leap Day — four years to the day after her older brother Omri.
“We’re the double Leap Year family!” said the kids’ mom, Lindsay Demchak, according to the New York Post.
“My parents can’t believe it. My brother called and said, ‘You gotta go on Ellen.’ This is unreal,” said Lindsay’s husband, Dane Demchak.
“We joked about it: ‘What if it happens again?’ ” added the new father of two. “And then it did! It’s crazy. It still hasn’t set in. We’re very ecstatic.”
