Being born on a leap year is rare enough, but even rarer when it coincides with the parent’s birthday, too.
So rare, in fact, that the odds of it happening is only 1 in 2.1 million times.
Ivan Rebollar Cortez received the perfect birthday present on Feb. 29, welcoming his newborn baby girl Camila.
Mercy San Juan Medical Center in Carmichael, Calif., shared three adorable photos of the new dad and his bundle of joy. Camila wore a sweet hand-knit frog hat and matching diaper cover.
“Happy Birthday and Happy Leap Day! Pictured is baby Camila and dad Ivan Rebollar Cortez sharing their leap day birthday at Mercy San Juan Medical Center today,” the hospital wrote on Facebook. “The odds of a parent sharing a birthday with their child on a leap year is 1 in 2.1 million.”
“We are going to share this amazing bond for the rest of our lives and I am just so happy,” the dad, who the station refers to as Ivan Peñaloza, told KHOU-TV. “I couldn’t have asked for much more than a healthy baby, so this is just a beautiful, unexpected blessing.”
The hospital even gave Camila the “leap frog” outfit, cake, balloons and even sang happy birthday, mom Jennifer Rebollar Cortez told the broadcast station.
What makes this rare occurrence even more special is the fact that Camila wasn’t even due to be born on the same day.
“She was actually due March 3, and so we never could have imagined this,” Jennifer said.
The hospital staff were equally surprised as the new parents, with one nurse telling KVOA-TV: “I’ve worked here 29 years, I’ve never seen it happen.
“It’s the first time.”
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