Mount Nittany Health is pleased to announce the birth of Phinley Lu, its Leap Day baby, or “leapling,” born at Mount Nittany Medical Center on February 29, 2024.
Phinley was born to proud parents Fu-An Lu and Po-Jen Shih at 6:46 pm weighing 7 pounds, 1 ounce, and measuring 20 inches long. Phinley received his very first hug at Mount Nittany Medical Center, and we’re proud to welcome him to Centre County.
“It is a very special honor that Phinley was born on Leap Day,” said his mother Fu-An. “I let the baby decide whether he wanted to be born in February or March. It is unique because now each member of our immediate family has a birthday during one of the first four months of the year. My husband was born in January. I was born in March, and his brother, Harvey, was born in April.”
The odds of being born on Leap Day are extremely slim. Of the approximately eight billion people around the world, an estimated five million share a Leap Day birthday – about 0.07%. Phinley’s mother said the family will likely celebrate his special day every February 28th, although she did not rule out also celebrating on March 1st.
Each year the Joseph V. and Suzanne P. Paterno Women and Children’s Services unit welcomes more than 1,200 new babies. The unit is the largest of its kind in the region, and combines state-of-the-art technology and clinical spaces with modern design and family-centered comforts that match Mount Nittany Health’s reputation for clinical excellence.
In 2023, Newsweek named Mount Nittany Medical Center as one of America’s Best Maternity Hospitals. This recognition underscores the excellent care and support provided to expectant mothers and their families by Mount Nittany Health’s dedicated Women and Children’s Services Unit.
In January, Mount Nittany Health began partnering with Birthly to offer free access to virtual childbirth education classes, allowing patients to access valuable educational resources in the comfort of their own homes at no additional cost. For more information, please visit mountnittany.org/maternity.
Congratulations, Fu-An and Po-Jen on your new addition! Special thanks to the hard-working and dedicated Women and Children’s Services Unit staff at Mount Nittany Medical Center, and welcome Phinley!