Shannon Radebaugh went into labor Thursday, but not in time to deliver her baby girl until midnight had passed.
"I was hoping at first that it was not going to be a Leap Year baby," she said yesterday as she nursed daughter Heidi in their room at Mercy Medical Center. "I guess the big thing is, when do we celebrate her birthday?"
By the afternoon, however, Mom was seeing things a little differently.
"She knew she was destined to be a star," Radebaugh said. "She wanted to come into this world with a bang."
"If anything, we have a good story to tell."
To many, Feb. 29 might be just another day tacked to the end of a cold winter month that can't end soon enough. But because the date comes along only as often as a presidential election, it is, for the Leap Day babies, reason to celebrate their rare status - and maybe cash in on some freebies.
Papa John's for example, gave away pizza to anyone with a Leap Day birthday. Morton's, the Steakhouse in Baltimore and Annapolis, gave out about 40 steak and seafood dinners to "leaplings" for the first time.
But there are also pitfalls. Some recall childhood teasing. And many Web sites still don't recognize Feb. 29 as a valid birth date, said Peter Brouwer, co-founder of the Honor Society of Leap Year Day Babies. He said the Honor Society has helped develop a software program that Webmasters can use to avoid this problem, but it hasn't gained much popularity.
"It happens all the time," he said. "We call it the `invalid birthday bug.'"
Also, Leap Day babies sometimes encounter suspicion that they are carrying false identification, Brouwer said. He recalled that one Honor Society member was stopped in an airport line because his 2/29 DOB on his passport raised questions.
Leap Day is added to the end of February every four years to balance the standard, or Gregorian, calendar, with the solar year. Adding the extra day makes up for the nearly six hours longer than 365 days that it takes the Earth to orbit the sun.
"It's actually a very significant day," Brouwer said. "It's a way to get back in touch with the Earth."
Only 200,000 Americans can claim the date as their birthday, according to U.S. Census statistics. But they seem to be bonding.
The leap year baby honor society, which started with 40 members in 1997, has grown to more than 7,000, Brouwer said.
The Worldwide Leap Year Birthday Club started with about 30 members in 1992.
