Shannon Radebaugh went into labor Thursday, but not in time to deliver her baby girl until midnight had passed.

"I was hoping at first that it was not going to be a Leap Year baby," she said yesterday as she nursed daughter Heidi in their room at Mercy Medical Center. "I guess the big thing is, when do we celebrate her birthday?"

By the afternoon, however, Mom was seeing things a little differently.

"She knew she was destined to be a star," Radebaugh said. "She wanted to come into this world with a bang."

"If anything, we have a good story to tell."

To many, Feb. 29 might be just another day tacked to the end of a cold winter month that can't end soon enough. But because the date comes along only as often as a presidential election, it is, for the Leap Day babies, reason to celebrate their rare status - and maybe cash in on some freebies.

Papa John's for example, gave away pizza to anyone with a Leap Day birthday. Morton's, the Steakhouse in Baltimore and Annapolis, gave out about 40 steak and seafood dinners to "leaplings" for the first time.

But there are also pitfalls. Some recall childhood teasing. And many Web sites still don't recognize Feb. 29 as a valid birth date, said Peter Brouwer, co-founder of the Honor Society of Leap Year Day Babies. He said the Honor Society has helped develop a software program that Webmasters can use to avoid this problem, but it hasn't gained much popularity.

"It happens all the time," he said. "We call it the 'invalid birthday bug.'"

Also, Leap Day babies sometimes encounter suspicion that they are carrying false identification, Brouwer said. He recalled that one Honor Society member was stopped in an airport line because his 2/29 DOB on his passport raised questions.

Leap Day is added to the end of February every four years to balance the standard, or Gregorian, calendar, with the solar year. Adding the extra day makes up for the nearly six hours longer than 365 days that it takes the Earth to orbit the sun.

"It's actually a very significant day," Brouwer said. "It's a way to get back in touch with the Earth."

Only 200,000 Americans can claim the date as their birthday, according to U.S. Census statistics. But they seem to be bonding.

The leap year baby honor society, which started with 40 members in 1997, has grown to more than 7,000, Brouwer said.

The Worldwide Leap Year Birthday Club started with about 30 members in 1992.

Now, more than 100 people from around the world fly in for the organization's birthday party - held in a small town that straddles the Texas- New Mexico border.

Club founder Mary Ann Brown said people born on Leap Day often share an inexplicable connection similar to that of long-lost family members.

"They're friendly with each other," Brown said. "They're glad to see each other. They just seem to get acquainted right away. It's almost like meeting your cousin or something."

Idiat Sanni, who also gave birth to a baby girl yesterday at Mercy, said she did not initially want her child to be born on Feb. 29. But she said as she learned more about Leap Day, her worries have been eased.

"People have been talking to me about it," Sanni said. "I feel good about the date now."
 

"He held out," Kaczorowski said of the couple's first-born.

Jackie Neivel of Odenton said that now that her baby girl has been born, she is pleased with the birthday surprise.

"It's pretty cool, actually - unique for sure," said Neivel, who delivered yesterday at Howard County General Hospital.

Neivel said that eventually she will explain to her daughter why her birthday does not come every year, once she is able to understand.

"We'll let her know she was stubborn, so we didn't have a choice," she said.

For Radebaugh, of New Freedom, Pa., Heidi is the third child for her and her husband, J.D. Radebaugh.

Although she was initially somewhat exasperated about her daughter being born on Leap Day, she said she can see the positive side that comes with the mathematics of it all.

"She can say she's only 10 when she's 40."

tyeesha.dixon@baltsun.com