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Doctor born on leap day delivers sisters on leap day, 4 years apart

Chloe and Joelle Davidson both share the rare birthday with the man who delivered them.
Dr. Eric Grossman, Chloe Davidson and Joelle Davidson all share the same rare birthday.
Dr. Eric Grossman, Chloe Davidson and Joelle Davidson all share the same rare birthday.

The odds of being born on leap day are just 1 in 1,461.

Jamie and Josh Davidson, from Haddon Heights, New Jersey, have hit the jackpot twice: On Feb. 29, 2012, Jamie gave birth to her sixth child, a daughter named Chloe. Four years later, on Feb. 29, 2016, the Davidsons welcomed their eighth child, a girl named Joelle.

The rare birthdays were compounded by another leap day coincidence: The OB-GYN who delivered both girls, Dr. Eric Grossman, was also born on leap day, in 1972.

When Chloe Davidson was born on Feb. 29, 2012, the hospital she was born at gifted her with a leap day stuffed frog that her mother says she still treasures.
When Chloe Davidson was born on Feb. 29, 2012, the hospital she was born at gifted her with a leap day stuffed frog that her mother says she still treasures. Jamie Davidson

"I've always wanted a leap year baby, ever since I was little," Jamie Davidson, 39, told TODAY Parents. "I had a teacher who was 64 but our whole school celebrated her 16th birthday, and I thought that was super cool."

Even before Joelle and Chloe came along, Davidson had some close brushes with the rare birthday.

"I was due on a leap year with my fourth-born, he was due on the 27th and I was so excited and hoping, but he came on the fourth of March instead, so missed that one," she joked. "And then I was pregnant with my sixth and my due date came out to be Feb. 25, and I had switched doctors and I remember going there for the first appointment and we got the due date and just in passing he was like, 'Oh, maybe she'll have my birthday.' And I was like, 'OK, what's your birthday?' And he's like 'I'm a leap year baby!' And I was like 'Are you kidding?'"

Dr. Eric Grossman posed with mom of eight Jamie Davidson shortly after she gave birth to Joelle, her second daughter born on leap day.
Dr. Eric Grossman posed with mom of eight Jamie Davidson shortly after she gave birth to Joelle, her second daughter born on leap day. Jamie Davidson

Grossman, her doctor, has been an OB-GYN in South Jersey since 2002. "I remember sort of casually joking about how she might have a leap day baby, and I'm a leap day baby, and how fun that would be," he told TODAY Parents.

Grossman and Davidson explained that some unusual circumstances led to both girls' rare birthdays. Chloe, Davidson's sixth daughter, was "in no hurry," and since Davidson had a history of delivering late, the decision was made to induce labor.

Both girls celebrate the rare birthday and were born in the same hospital.
Both girls celebrate the rare birthday and were born in the same hospital. Jamie Davidson

"My babies usually don't come, so we induced, and we just decided to have the baby on leap year," said Davidson. "Four years later, we found ourselves pregnant again and this time my due date was St. Patrick's Day, so I thought 'Wow, it's a leap year but we really missed that one,' because I never have a baby early."

However, Davidson's youngest daughter surprised her; blood pressure spikes and preeclampsia led to the decision to deliver Joelle early.

"We were like, 'Oh my goodness, that falls on leap year,'" said Davidson. "'(Grossman) was like 'Are you sure you want another one on leap year?'... We thought it was just so cool that that fell into a leap year and that would be the second one of my daughters that he delivered on his birthday."

Grossman said that he's always loved working on his birthday, and delivering other leap day babies is a perk.

Four-year-old Chloe welcomed baby sister Joelle into the world on Feb. 29, 2016 with a sweet kiss.
Four-year-old Chloe welcomed baby sister Joelle into the world on Feb. 29, 2016 with a sweet kiss. Jamie Davidson

"Some people get stressed out about having a baby born on leap day but I've never suffered for it,” he said. “I think most of the occassional people I meet who also have a birthday on Feb. 29 are happy to have such a unique day. It's almost like a little club of Leapsters."

This year, to celebrate leap day, Grossman and the girls were reunited at Virtua Voorhees Hospital in New Jersey.

Joelle, Chloe, and Grossman enjoyed cupcakes and presents.

"It's my birthday on Saturday," Grossman told the two girls. "It's my 12th. Do I look 12?"

Davidson said that while 4-year-old Joelle doesn't quite understand the concept of a leap day birthday, 8-year-old Chloe enjoys it.

"She thinks it's really cool," Davidson said. "They're part of a very small group of people who get to have an extra celebration every four years, and the fact that they both get to have it is very cool."