Leap day babies - do you have one? Or are you one yourself?

[RowanMumsnet]

Afternoon all

MNHQ here, on the scrounge for your thoughts and experiences on the topic of leap year birthdays (by which we mean babies born actually on February 29th during a leap year).

We were wondering how you explain the concept of astronomical years to young children, whether leap day babies tend to feel special or a bit deprived, how families tackle birthdays in years that aren't leap years, and whether you tend to have extra-special birthdays in leap years... things like that.

(Yes, we have been checking our Year Ahead calendars, and yes, it is a leap year.)

All thoughts welcome
thanks
MNHQ

[HairyMaclary]

My FIL is a leapling, we are having a huge 20th party for him this year. Him being him means he doesn't celebrate his birthday when it's not a leap year, we all send him cards/presents etc but he doesn't really 'do' birthdays unless it's a real one!

[gobbynorthernbird]

DD celebrates on the 28th, so it is still the same month. She's 20 this year and my dad is still making his 'joke' about her only getting presents once every 4 years. That really goes down well with a child...

[HicDraconis]

DH was born 10-15 mins into Feb 29. The midwife decided to put the time down officially as 11:55 on Feb 28 for some weird reason that she thought it would make his life easier. According to FiL anyway; MiL can't remember as she was exhausted and fogged with the gas.

He celebrates Feb 28th in non leap years (his official birthday) but Feb 29 in leap years because that's his real one. He would have preferred the midwife not to make the decision she did but it's over 40 years ago now.

[PegsPigs]

My DD was born very late on 28th February (although admittedly not in a leap year I was so out of it I did ask if it was a leap year!) I imagine I would have celebrated on 1st March as it's the day after 28th. And legally you turn an age on the 1st date not 28th.

[ProcrastinatorGeneral]

Bike East Coast town, tutor group SM?

[rushandpush]

I'm a leaper - I celebrate on the 28th on non-leap years but it never feels quite right. I love a leap year and a real birthday. People who miss my non- birthdays remember my birthday on a leap year so it's great to have some extra fanfare every 4 years. It's definitely an extra special birthday - more cards, texts and presents.
Apparently the midwife asked my mum what date she preferred for registering my birth - she chose the 28th to keep it in February.
I'm not sure about it being described as a special birthday by everyone though - according to the midwife I was destined to be awkward and contrary on grounds that I held on for a few extra hours (grin)

[newhouseplease]

DD is a leapling and it will be her first real birthday this year, so as previous posters have said at 3 nearly 4 she is a bit young to understand the concept, although we've always told her she's very special as she was born on a day that only happens every 4 years. We celebrate on 1st March as she's not a year older on 28th but she can choose when she understands, if she's anything like me she'll choose to celebrate both days! I'm excited its her real birthday this year and we will definitely make a big thing every leap year with extra special presents. We were also considering a summer half birthday celebration in non birthday years on 29 August so she gets to have some summer birthday parties when she doesn't have a real birthday that year.

[harboromummy]

My daughter was the first leap year baby born at the hospital.
She was born at 12.33am :)

She was due on the 16th Feb but decided to stay put.

On her 4th birthday we went Disney land.

This year she will be 8/2. She finds it funny and plays on the "I'm only one".

[Buxtonstill]

My nephew is extra talented. Doing his exams this year at the age of 4! We celebrate it on 1st March :-)

[AndNowItsSeven]

Surely celebrating on the 1st of March makes more sense as the birthday is the day after the 28th of February.

[Fivegomad]

I am a Leapling......turning 10 this year.
My mum always made me wait till the 1st March as she said I would have been born by then, but not by 28th Feb, if that makes sense. I was always so frustrated, really just wanted my birthday to arrive !!!
As a teen/ twenties I would just have a birthday that covered both dates.
My brother made a point of calling me bang on midnight between the two days( not now though, too old for that shenanigans )
Now a mum, I get a bit forgotten, tricky to explain when the kids were smaller, but I do still get extra excited when I finally get a real one.
( mind you, my DH still cannot understand why I am still cross that on my last real birthday he went out to dinner with his boss!!!!!!!! Fgs, you only have to bother once every four years man!!!!)

[Noodledoodledoo]

Oh and Facebook has no idea when to celebrate it either - my husbands birthday never gets the automatic reminder sent to people on a non leap year! (or it didn't - no doubt its changed again now!)

[WannaBeAMummy16]

I don't understand why anybody would celebrate the birthday on the 28th. If it hadn't been a leap year, they would have been on March 1st...!

[CordeliaFrost]

I celebrate my birthday in February, because I was born in February, I am NOT a March baby.

Legally in the UK, a leap year day baby comes of age on 1 March (although in the U.S., where I'm originally from, 28 February is the legal birthday), but that doesn't mean we have to celebrate on that day.