This Family Has 3 Members Born On Leap Year

Being born on a leap year seems to run in the Avendaño family as three of its members from different generations were born on Feb. 29. 

According to Connie Avendaño, 55, of Paombong, Bulacan, she was not expecting her first child Mike Angelo to be born on Feb. 29, 1988.

“I was due to give birth during the first week of March so I was surprised when I felt labor pains in the morning of Feb. 29.  At 11:45 that night, I gave birth to Migi,” she recalled, referring to her son.

Connie admitted she was hoping that her son would hold on and come out on March 1 because being born on a leap year could be “complicated.” The uncles of her late husband Noli were both born on Feb. 29.

“I remember there was a time when Mama Mente and Mama Ino did not know when to celebrate their birthdays – on Feb. 28 or March 1.  Sometimes, they preferred not to celebrate it anymore,” she told The Philippine STAR.  “Mama” means uncle to them.

The uncles, who have passed away, would have been in their 80s.

Mike Angelo was ecstatic that he got to celebrate his “real birthday” this year, when he turned 32.

“I was really looking forward to this day,” he said.

He recalled that since childhood, people have been making jokes about his birthdate.  They tease him that he is “kulang-kulang” or abnormal because of something missing. He says he takes the teasing good-naturedly.

 “I just ignore it because I don’t think they mean it in a bad way. I think they are just amazed to meet people who were actually born on Feb. 29. They always ask me what date I celebrate by birthday,” he said.

Maribeth Apita, of Pandacan, Manila, was also born on Feb. 29, 1988. She also gets teased about it, but she says she does not mind.

“Actually, when my friends found out that (2020 is) a leap year, they were excited. They asked me to celebrate my real birthday because it rarely happens,” she said.

But why is there a leap year?

In a leap year, there are 366 days instead of 365.  The extra day is added every four years to realign the calendar with the Earth’s orbit around the sun, which takes approximately 365.24 days, five hours, 48 minutes and 45 seconds.

The discrepancy was first recognized in 45 B.C. by Julius Caesar, who issued a decree to add an extra day every four years.  Those born on a leap year are called leaplings or leapers.

Based on the website of Guinness World Records, a family from Norway holds the record for the “Most Siblings Born on a Leap Day.”  These are Heidi (1960), Olav (1964) and Leif-Martin (1968), who are children of Karin and Henry Henriksen.

For psychiatrist Ivanhoe Escartin, being born on a leap year should not be a cause for concern.

“In the first place, when does a person born on a leap year get to be teased? It usually happens only when February comes.  So I don’t think it’s something to be worried about,” Escartin said. “We are a happy people. If a conversation becomes serious or emotional, for instance, someone will crack a joke to lighten up the mood.”

Extra special

The mothers of babies who were born on Saturday, Feb. 29 say they feel lucky that their children would be celebrating birthdays every four years.

Rejecting the belief that leapers are lacking in intellect, the mothers who gave birth at the Fabella Hospital in Manila consider their children extra special.

Carmela Disalisa, 20, is confident that her daughter Keith will grow up to be a smart girl.

“Some say those born in February have attitude problems, are snooty or are lacking in something. It depends on how we will raise the child,” she pointed out.

 While joking that it will be cheaper for the family to celebrate Keith’s birthday only during leap years, Disalisa says this will not be the case as they will celebrate every March 1.

Marian Atun, 29, said her baby Jason was born just a day before the father’s birthday on March 1 and her second youngest son Prince’s on March 2.

So he can celebrate a birthday every year, Atun has decided that Jason will be celebrating not every four years, but coinciding with the birthdays of his father and brother.

“This makes it even more special for us. He is a special boy to us, born on a special day. I’d rather look at it in a positive light,” Atun said.

Both mothers also vowed to make sure they would celebrate their children’s actual birthday every four years.

“We will hold an extra special celebration every Feb. 29, so that he can feel that his birthday is also an important event for us,” Atun declared.

Dr. Marian Moreno-Alsasua, a member of the Philippine Pediatric Society who supervises the hospital neonatal intensive care unit, stressed there is no scientific basis for the belief that babies born on Feb. 29 are lacking in something.

She said mothers should simply take care of their health during pregnancies to ensure the health of their babies. They need regular check-ups, an ultrasound scan, and vitamin supplements to prevent defects from occurring during the baby’s formative stage.