Born on world palindrome day, Alex Duncan is one in a million
Most mums think their babies are one in a million, but little Alex Duncan really is, being born on a day that reads the same backwards and forwards right around the world.
North & North East
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Alex Duncan is the baby of the century – literally.
The tiny tot was born on 02/02/2020, a date that is not only a palindrome, meaning it reads the same backwards and forwards, but it is also the only time such a sequence will occur this century in that it works right around the world with dates written as day-month-year or month-day-year.
The last time such a date occurred was 11/11/1111 and the next will be 12/12/2121.
Alex was the first of 11 babies born at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital, and one of 26 babies in total delivered at public metropolitan hospitals, on February 2.
Mum Kasia Duncan, of Clearview, was scheduled to be induced on February 2, so knew it was likely Alex, who was due on January 23, would be born on the special date.
“When it looked likely I would be overdue, my midwife and I discussed that they’d allow me to go 10 days over my due date, which happened to fall on February 2,” Mrs Duncan said.
“That was the only positive going that far over because it’s quite tough towards the end of pregnancy.”
Mrs Duncan went to the hospital on Saturday, February 1 for a check up around 6pm and was given the option of having her waters broken then, or to continue as planned the next day.
“I said ‘let’s stick with the original plan’ and then my waters broke spontaneously while I was there at 9.05pm and it all happened very quickly,” she said.
Alex was born at 12.17am weighing 3.73kg and 49cm long, and joins big sister Jessica, 4, and dad Chris.
“It was a fast labour, I took everyone by surprise, there was no time for an epidural,” Mrs Duncan said.
“Everyone’s saying we should’ve waited three minutes and delivered him at 12.20am. He was definitely worth the wait, and the date is easy to remember.”