Twice lucky: Michigan family welcomes second leap year daughter

MICHIGAN, US: A southeast Michigan couple is twice lucky after the birth of their daughter on Feb. 29, the second time the mother has given birth to a baby girl on that day in a leap year.



Chad and Melissa Croff, from Columbus Michigan, welcomed Evelyn Joy into the world at 3.06 am, the Henry Ford Health System said in a statement. She arrived 10 days after her due date.

Weighing in at 6 pounds, 9 ounces, the little girl shares a birthday with older sister Eliana Adaya, who was born Feb 29, 2012, the last time there was a leap year, the hospital system said.

"It's a little surreal," Melissa Croff told Reuters in an interview. "It's kind of winning the lottery; the baby lottery." She added that labor was not induced. Neither drugs nor a Caesarian section delivery method were used.

Currently, the couple celebrates Eliana's birthday on the closest Saturday relatives can agree on, Croff said. In the future, the girls will pick a celebration day during non-leap years.



The serendipitous timing doesn't happen often. Guinness World Records lists five siblings born on the same day in the United States, Feb 20, from 1952 to 1966, according to the hospital system.