Happy birthday, leaplings! 9 babies born on Leap Day at Central Coast hospitals
At least nine newborn babies leaped into the world in Central Coast hospitals on Thursday — all born on a day that only comes around once every four years.
Three “leaplings” were born at French Hospital in San Luis Obispo, while four other newborns were delivered at the Marian Regional Medical Center in Santa Maria as of 4 p.m. Thursday, Dignity Health reported in a news release.
Meanwhile, two babies were born at Tenet Health hospitals on Leap Day: one at Twin Cities Community Hospital and the other at Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center, according to Tenet Heath Central Coast spokesperson Ara Najarian.
The first baby of Leap Day, Sergio, was born at 12:10 a.m. on Thursday at Marian Regional Medical Center, the release said.
According to the release, the odds of being born on a Leap Day are 1 in 1,461, so naturally, the nurses were “leaping for joy” for the new babies.
Nurses gave the babies orange onesies decorated with a leapfrog to celebrate their birthday — a good thing since it will be some time until their next technical one.
The babies’ next official birthdays will be on Feb. 29, 2028.
“Dignity Health Central Coast extends heartfelt congratulations to all the families who welcomed their newborns on this special day,” the release said.
At Twin Cities Community Hospital, Angel was born at 1:26 p.m. on Thursday.
At 7:45 p.m., Elliott was born at Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center.
“Baby Elliott isn’t the only member of the family with a special birthday,” Najarian wrote in an email to The Tribune. “Her sister’s birthday is on Christmas and her father’s birthday is on Halloween.”
This story was originally published February 29, 2024 at 6:22 PM.
