"I'm a leap year baby - I'm 31 but I've only had seven birthdays"
A woman born on February 29 has only had seven birthdays in her lifetime - but says she loves her rare birthday as it's "unique and special".
Emily Smith, 31, is a 'leap baby' - a child born on February 29 during a leap year - so she only sees her actual birthday roll around once every four years.
The mum-of-two said growing up was hard because kids would tease her when she 'didn't get a birthday' every year.
She confuses people when she reveals she is just 'seven years old' - but says now it's a great icebreaker.
But on years that don't have a February 29th, she makes up for it by celebrating for two days - February 28th AND March 1st.
She said now she "wouldn't change" her unique birthday - because it makes her feel "special".
Emily, a sales assistant, from Boardman, Ohio, US., said: "I was raised with birthdays being a pretty big deal in my family.
"In my teenage years, kids my age didn't really understand it and I would get teased because I didn't get a birthday every year.
"Now I'm an adult it's the most unique thing about me and has turned out to be really cool.
"On non leap years, I celebrate on the 28th and the 1st - I figured if I don't get my birthday I can pick both."
Emily - who has two daughters and two step-daughters - hasn't celebrated on her official birth date since 2020.
On a leap year, she makes an extra special plan such as a trip away, and on every other year, she celebrates on the 28th and the 1st.
She said: "I tell people for two days that it's my birthday, so I can get two dinners in, and two days of celebrations."
She said there are some tricky parts to being a leap baby - such as not getting a 'free birthday drink' on coffee shop apps.
But overall she loves it - because she gets to make the most of the leap year birthdays.
Emily said: "Now my kids are old enough that I can go overnight without them, I'm going to make a new tradition.
"When it's my real birthday, I want a trip away."
On top of that, she said it's a special moment whenever she meets another leap baby, because they're so rare.
And people are always impressed when they learn her birthday - which makes her feel "unique and special".
She added: "I wouldn't change it if I had a choice."
Emily Smith, 31, is a 'leap baby' - a child born on February 29 during a leap year - so she only sees her actual birthday roll around once every four years.
The mum-of-two said growing up was hard because kids would tease her when she 'didn't get a birthday' every year.
She confuses people when she reveals she is just 'seven years old' - but says now it's a great icebreaker.
But on years that don't have a February 29th, she makes up for it by celebrating for two days - February 28th AND March 1st.
She said now she "wouldn't change" her unique birthday - because it makes her feel "special".
Emily, a sales assistant, from Boardman, Ohio, US., said: "I was raised with birthdays being a pretty big deal in my family.
"In my teenage years, kids my age didn't really understand it and I would get teased because I didn't get a birthday every year.
"Now I'm an adult it's the most unique thing about me and has turned out to be really cool.
"On non leap years, I celebrate on the 28th and the 1st - I figured if I don't get my birthday I can pick both."
Emily - who has two daughters and two step-daughters - hasn't celebrated on her official birth date since 2020.
On a leap year, she makes an extra special plan such as a trip away, and on every other year, she celebrates on the 28th and the 1st.
She said: "I tell people for two days that it's my birthday, so I can get two dinners in, and two days of celebrations."
She said there are some tricky parts to being a leap baby - such as not getting a 'free birthday drink' on coffee shop apps.
But overall she loves it - because she gets to make the most of the leap year birthdays.
Emily said: "Now my kids are old enough that I can go overnight without them, I'm going to make a new tradition.
"When it's my real birthday, I want a trip away."
On top of that, she said it's a special moment whenever she meets another leap baby, because they're so rare.
And people are always impressed when they learn her birthday - which makes her feel "unique and special".
She added: "I wouldn't change it if I had a choice."
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FunTranscript
00:00 I am a leap day baby which means my birthday only comes once every four years which was actual
00:05 torture as a child. The older I got I got a little smarter and now I know how to work it.
00:11 And what I mean by work it is that just because that actual physical day doesn't fall on that year
00:19 does not mean I'm getting cheated out of a birthday. I decided I was done picking if I
00:26 wanted to celebrate the 28th or the first. I'm I'm picking both. I pick I want both.
00:31 I literally celebrate my birthday on the 28th and the first every year. Some people tell me on the
00:39 28th and other people tell me on the first. So because of that I just roll with it. I mean who
00:46 am I to say oh no my birthday was yesterday. No it wasn't. You don't have a birthday this year.
00:51 So your birthday is literally whenever you want it to be. Today my grandma and my sister are coming
00:55 over and bringing cake and then tomorrow I'm going out to dinner again for my birthday. So it usually
01:02 ends up just being like a three day celebration and I love it. It does kind of get tricky like
01:07 on my license it'll say it expires March 1st. Alta account for example like I put that my birthday
01:14 was February 29th but I can't get my birthday gift until March because they just like rounded
01:21 it up to the next month basically. And I mean like when I was a little girl it was very frustrating
01:27 and very confusing and people would tease me and say it's not your birthday. And then once I got
01:32 old enough to like finesse the system I was like oh yes it is. It's I'm getting double birthdays
01:37 like I'm not getting cheated out of a birthday. Nope. I've really only ever known one or two other
01:43 girls that have had the same birthday as me. Birthday twins I like to call it because it is
01:49 like a super rare birthday. So it's fun. It's like unique and I kind of love my birthday.
01:54 Clearly I celebrate it for three days straight but um yeah. So happy birthday to me. Kind of.
02:02 Not really. Bye.