Baltimore County Family Welcomed Second 'Leapling'

One of 10 Leap Day Babies Born at GBMC in 2020

On February 29, Danielle and Jared Bridge received the most precious of gifts from “the stork” at Greater Baltimore Medical Center (GBMC) – their first child, daughter Harper Drew. The family is no stranger to Leap Day birthdays, though; Harper is the second “leapling” in their clan. Harper shares the same birthday as her paternal grandmother, Elaine Bridge. “I couldn’t have asked for a better birthday gift. I am just thrilled,” said Elaine. “The odds of us sharing this day had to be phenomenal.”




Mom, Danielle, who missed being a “leapling” herself by a few hours, celebrates her birthday on March 1. “Family is very important to me, which is actually why I chose Drew as Harper’s middle name. Jared’s middle name is Andrew, which he shares with his grandfather. To add this to her story just deepens the family ties in my eyes,” said Danielle. “My mother-in-law and I celebrate our birthday’s together already, so now we have another to add to the party and I can’t wait!”




The happy mother was in labor for approximately 13 hrs. Harper, born at 12:57 am, weighed 6 lbs. and 1 oz. and was 20 in. long. Little Harper was delivered by Kimberly K. Kesler-O’Rourke, MD, board-certified obstetrician and gynecologist at GBMC.




“Both mom and the baby are doing great,” said Dr. O’Rourke. “This is my first time delivering a Leap Day baby who is sharing their birthdate with another family member. I think it’s pretty cool.”




Leap Day is the extra day tacked onto the calendar once every four years as a corrective measure to accommodate the time it takes the Earth to complete a single revolution around the sun.




“Months ago, I jokingly circled February 29 on our calendar and wrote “Harper’s birthday,” but to see it actually happen is surreal and knowing she gets to share it with her grandmother, my mom, is really special to me,” said Jared. “I know this coincidence of my mom and now my daughter sharing a Leap Day birthday is certainly rare and absolutely remarkable, but I think it will pale in comparison to what this little girl is going to accomplish in her life.”




According to statistics, the odds of being born on Leap Day are 1 in 1,461. Leaplings share their birthday with about five million other people, with the rest of the population sharing their special day with approximately 21 million people.




Averaging approximately 4,000 baby deliveries annually, GBMC is consistently ranked among the busiest hospitals in Maryland for births.