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Original poster

How was I born on the wrong day?

370 replies

PossiblyDreaming · 06/03/2022 23:54

I’ve always thought I was born on a Sunday which always made me feel very smug as a child whenever I saw that nursery rhyme that goes “Monday’s child is fair of face” etc until it gets to Sunday’s child and says how much better kids born on a Sunday are.

Anyway, I was recently filling out some online form where I had to put in my date of birth and it came up on a calendar showing that actually I was born on a Monday. I double checked it with another calendar and, yes, I was definitely born on a Monday. I didn’t think much of it but text my mum to tell her as I thought it was mildly amusing that she’s forgotten when I was born.

Except my mum is 100% adamant that I was born on a Sunday. She remembers it specifically as she made my dad run to the church to drag my grandparents out so that they could watch my brother while he drove her to hospital. My grandparents only ever went to church on a Sunday and my dad was a teacher so if it had been a weekday he wouldn’t have been at home when my mum went into labour. It was mid October so wouldn’t have been a bank holiday. It wasn’t a long labour, I was born a couple of hours later so it wasn’t like my mum was labouring overnight and I was born the next day or anything.

My mum is 70 and fully compos mentis but she can’t get my dad or her parents to corroborate as they’re dead. She is absolutely adamant that I was born on Sunday and now thinks that my birthday was recorded incorrectly and it’s actually the day before the day that I’ve celebrated all my life 😂. I’ve got the original copy of my birth certificate and it says the date that I’ve always thought it was.

I know it doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things but it’s really odd. Is there any really obvious way that I’m missing that might confirm either way? Do I now celebrate my birthday the day before even though all my public records show it as being the next day?

OP posts:
playmelikeasymphony · 07/03/2022 09:12

I was born end of Dec 1981. According to my birth certificate, my birth was registered in Jan 1981. I imagine it’s a similar mistake.

MimiDaisy11 · 07/03/2022 09:14

You probably were born on the sunday but when the date was registered the wrong number was written down. Registration sometimes happens when the baby is several weeks old and it's easy enough to get muddled and for noone to notice what's on the paper

To me it’s weird no family members would think to recall the date of birth until it came to registering.

Frazzled2207 · 07/03/2022 09:14

@BoredBoredBoredB

How does it all work re registering a birth? I thought you just went to the office and gave the details with no questions asked as far as corroborating it. Just asking.
No. Someone at the hospital makes a note of what day you were born and enters it into a portal and the registrar checks you were indeed born on that day.

But that is these days. In the past I imagine the process was a lot less bullet proof

Frazzled2207 · 07/03/2022 09:15

(Obviously not all babies have an nhs record of when they were born - I asked registrar what happens in this case and she said “it gives us a headache”)

diddl · 07/03/2022 09:18

"But if the date was registered incorrectly it would mean that every single family member remembered the date OP was born incorrectly."

Well yes-and neither parent noticing that the birth certificate was wrong!

Is that likely?

loislovesstewie · 07/03/2022 09:18

@BoredBoredBoredB

How does it all work re registering a birth? I thought you just went to the office and gave the details with no questions asked as far as corroborating it. Just asking.
No, I had to take paperwork from the hospital which said when/where the birth took place, also the sex of the baby and who the mother was. I can't remember what the paperwork was called, but it was important to take it.
WisherWood · 07/03/2022 09:20

Old newspaper from the day of birth would have Sunday or Monday edition.

Yes. I'd check that so at least you can see if the online calendars are right. Newspapers usually have the day of the week as well as the date. I have a newspaper from the day I was born and the online calendar someone linked to above is showing the correct day of the week for my dob. Doesn't mean it will be right for all of them.

loislovesstewie · 07/03/2022 09:20

BTW, the parents have 42 days to register the birth, so that will explain any delay.

MayorMargeret · 07/03/2022 09:25

I'm glad someone else on here can't remember the days of the week their children were born! I've just asked my 30 year old, she doesn't know and she said she's never really thought about it.

On the other hand I always knew I was full of woe, looking back it was quite sad to take a stupid rhyme so seriously.

ancientgran · 07/03/2022 09:26

I always thought Friday's child sounded the best, loving and giving sounds so nice. Unfortunately I was born on a Thursday - far to go and my kids were a Saturday 2 on a Wednesday and a Monday so we are a mixture and I'm sorry for the woe and working hard.

Cocomarine · 07/03/2022 09:28

@Cookerhood

It was still early October, folks. Not the end of October, not Easter & not Whitsun Grin
I’m loving this thread, and all the batshit date suggestions.

Can I try…

OP, it was Xmas! Explains why they were in church.

sodastreamer · 07/03/2022 09:29

What we need is someone who knows the process of registering births at the time the OP was born. She said her mum is 70 (therefore born 1951/2) so I'm assuming the OP was born during the 1970s or 1980s. She also confirmed it wasn't a home birth. It's really not that long ago... it's hard to believe the process of birth registration would have been that primitive!

I can understand how errors happened more frequently much further back but it seems harder to believe in the OPs case that all the documentation is incorrect rather than that her mum has simply misremembered

The Sunday thing is clearly a huge thing for her mum so I guess once this was imprinted on her memory she's never questioned it.

I also agree with the PP who said it's perhaps best that the OP doesn't query this with her mum as if someone has an absolutely unshakeable belief it's going to be upsetting for her to be questioned over it.

I would love there to be a conclusive outcome for this thread! It's intriguing! But as it comes down to one person's memory I don't think we'll know for sure

Calennig · 07/03/2022 09:31

@BoredBoredBoredB

How does it all work re registering a birth? I thought you just went to the office and gave the details with no questions asked as far as corroborating it. Just asking.
www.gov.uk/register-birth - lists the documents needed

With the hospiatl birth the register was expecting the birth to be registered - so were aware someone was going to be doing it so someone gave details to them on a list.

With home births - we did get some document DH took along - as he went and did them all.

I think it can depend on area and who you see - I got thrid degree with registar I saw about marriage and I'm born and bred in UK as far back as anyone can get as was DH - and no-one else I know had that.

But you do need some documents as cousin over here working for a few years was upset when registering her first child that they couldn't get father on certificate as his birth certificate was back home in Australia and they hadn't yet married.

Clarefromwork · 07/03/2022 09:31

It’s more likely your mum has got the day wrong then the date surly?!

BoredBoredBoredB · 07/03/2022 09:34

Thanks @loislovesstewie
“No, I had to take paperwork from the hospital which said when/where the birth took place, also the sex of the baby and who the mother was. I can't remember what the paperwork was called, but it was important to take it.”

We just need to know when this became the rule and it might settle it.
I think online calendars are very very unlikely to be wrong. Also, the calendar repeats every 28 years. It’s not random, so the day of OPs 28th birthday would confirm it.

SpinningTheSeedsOfLove · 07/03/2022 09:34

[quote Bionicname]It’s not inconceivable that online calendars aren’t all correct. They will be based on algorithms and the developer may have got the formula for leap days wrong for example, eg www.hermetic.ch/y2k/feb29.htm[/quote]
I've just tested all the main ones using a historical figure's diary where they refer to a specific date and talk about it being Easter Sunday.

The website calculators are all accurate.

ancientgran · 07/03/2022 09:37

My eldest was born in 1971, I'm pretty sure the hospital had notified the registrar of the birth, I don't think I had to take anything but they already had details of the birth. I didn't have to make an appointment to register the birth, just went along and joined a queue which I think is different now.

1971 was a census year so I had to answer additional questions, well that is what the registrar said maybe she was just nosy?

lljkk · 07/03/2022 09:38

My Tuesday children are so not full of grace...

TwoShades1 · 07/03/2022 09:42

Obviously a mistake could have been made but isn’t it more likely that she went into labour on the Sunday but you were actually born on the Monday. I went into labour on a Friday at midday but my DD wasn’t born until early Sunday morning.

Branleuse · 07/03/2022 09:44

I think theres a stronger chance that your mum is right, and that it was a mix up with the date when registering. It is much more likely that your mum would remember that its a sunday , rather than remembering the specific date numbers

cdba88 · 07/03/2022 09:44

I wonder if her labour notes are in her buff notes? Maybe she should request them.

Everydaydayisaschoolday · 07/03/2022 09:51

My first labour started late on a Saturday night and DS was born on Monday morning. The 30 odd hours in between are an absolute haze so I can quite see how your mum could have been confused. Even quick labours can be overwhelming.

The details re your dad being at home and your GPS being at church are easily explained. It was mid October so it could easily have been half term or an inset day on a Monday. And I generally only go to church in Sundays but there have been times when I was there on a Monday to help out with some admin or cleaning up, so I'm in the church but not at a service. Again in the adrenaline haze of labour it can be easy to get confused.

Runnerduck34 · 07/03/2022 09:51

Well could be worse, I was born on a Wednesday!
Is it just the day of the week that's incorrect? I can't imagine your parents wouldnt realise the wrong date of birth was registered. I thought being born just after midnight was most obvious explanation but Iooks like that's been discounted. Have you checked other calendars to double check the day of week that year? You did enter the year correctly?? (just asking!) Maybe memory has played tricks and your mums misremembering?

Calennig · 07/03/2022 09:52

I'm glad someone else on here can't remember the days of the week their children were born! I've just asked my 30 year old, she doesn't know and she said she's never really thought about it.
I think there has to be a reason or and assoicated bit of data to remember.

DD1 was weekend so DH was around cooking it was very hot and taxi to hospital was very hard to get so more likely Saturday . Next one don't remember day at all though DH toook DD1 into work so we could sleep so must have been weekday. Third it was Sunday as road were very quiet clear weather was good but took them over an hour and half to get five miles to us so they missed the birth - which made no sense.

MIL remember being in the pub and not telling anyone for ages - massive denial as was very realy and wanting to stay with everyone having fun. So would only be Firday - Sun and no-one let her forget how reluctant she was to leave the pub and get checked.

Shortpoet · 07/03/2022 09:54

I can see an error happening easily. Someone is doing the follow up paperwork at the hospital and writes down 6th instead of 5th. That error gets copied into the birth certificate at a later date and so on.

On the other hand I was told I was born on Friday 13th. I never questioned it, until I started secondary school and there was a girl with the exact same birthday who said it was Thursday 13th the year we were born not a Friday.

I checked at home and we worked out it was a Thursday. Somehow my mum had got mixed up or assumed it was a Friday. She’d said it for years in a “you might have been born on Friday 13th but you’re still lucky” kind of way and my dad and Nan who were there at the time never corrected her. I think they assumed it was true too.

So fictions do get baked into the family story.

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