This baby was born on 02022020, a once-in-a-century palindrome day
This Kentucky newborn's birthday is one for the history books.
Charlee Rose Masters was born on Feb. 2, 2020 at 20:02 in St. Joseph East Hospital in Lexington, Kentucky.
She arrived on a rare global palindrome day, meaning the date is the same both forward and backward. It's the first palindrome date in 909 years since Nov. 11, 1111.
For new mother Laken Masters, the date was the last thing on her mind.
Masters expected the baby to arrive on Monday or Tuesday, she told "Good Morning America," so when her contractions began on Saturday afternoon, she was surprised and anxious.
"I didn’t really think about [the date] and then all the nurses that were in the room said, 'Oh, this is so cool… it’s better than a New Year’s baby,'" said Masters.
Masters' husband, Scotty Masters, was at her side in the deliver room, along with her mother, Dee Dee Calvert, who was the first to notice that the baby could arrive at 20:02 p.m.
"I don’t know the conversation that was going on in the room. I don’t remember anybody else talking about anything. I just remember my mom, Dee Dee, saying take a picture of the clock," Masters told "GMA."
Adding to the symbolism, a nurse said she pushed for 20 minutes.
"First-time moms usually have to push for a couple hours, but [Masters] only pushed for about 20 minutes," said Nancy Shirey, a certified nurse midwife for two decades, who helped deliver the baby.
Above all, Masters said her daughter's birth was especially sentimental because it coincided with the Super Bowl halftime show. Her sister, Ashley, lost her life in a car accident during the halftime show in 2017, and Masters said the timing felt like a sign she was watching over both her and Charlee Rose from above.
"I heard somebody say that the Super Bowl halftime show was going on, and I thought 'Wow, my sister, Ashley, died tragically in a vehicle accident during the Super Bowl halftime show, around 8 o'clock, in 2017," Masters recalled. "Also, my nurse's name was Ashley, my sister's name was Ashley - it felt like it was set all along."
"She loved babies," Masters said of her late sister.
Most importantly, Charlee Rose, who was named after her late great-grandfather and late great-aunt, is healthy. "We were just over the moon," she added.
