A Florida mom received the best present for her 33rd birthday this January: the arrival of her newborn son Eden!
The coincidence is particularly special since it has been eight years since Marianna de la Cruz welcomed her daughter Jailyn on the same day.
Now, all three of them share the same Jan. 4 birthday, and de la Cruz told "Good Morning America" the coincidence couldn't have been any more surprising.
"It was really shocking," she said. "My family was just in shock. They said they were betting and some family members said he'll come Jan. 3 and others were saying, 'No, he'll come Jan. 4."
Back in 2016, de la Cruz was expecting Jailyn on Jan. 12, but her daughter arrived eight days early. This time around, baby Eden, whose due date was Jan. 16, came 12 days early.
De la Cruz said her pregnancy with Eden was "really good," and on Jan. 3, she went in for a doctor's appointment.
"I actually was at work and I left. I told my boss, 'Hey, I'll be right back. It only takes about 15, 20 minutes to get checked,'" de la Cruz, a bookkeeper, recalled. "I left all my work on my desk. I left my computer unlocked, everything, and I just never came back."
De la Cruz said that she had noticed less movement from her baby at the time and so her doctor recommended she head to the hospital to get monitored. De la Cruz said she then went to HCA Florida Northwest Hospital in Margate, Florida, where she had previously given birth twice already.
"I went to the hospital. I got evaluated. I don't know what was seen or what was discussed, but the doctor did call me and said, 'We're not sending you home today. You're being induced today,'" she recounted.
By the next morning, baby Eden had arrived. Eden was born at 10:39 a.m. on Jan. 4, weighing in at 6 pounds, 15 ounces. He is the third child for de la Cruz, who is also mom to 12-year-old Crystian.
"Eden is doing really good," de la Cruz told "GMA." "I got lucky so far. He's a good baby, only cries when he is cold, not really when he's hungry."
Jailyn said she was also "shocked" when she heard her new baby brother had arrived early, but added that she loves sharing a birthday with both her mom and younger brother.
"It's a miracle that he [was] born on our birthday," the 8-year-old said.
De la Cruz said she's "excited" to share the "cool story" with Eden someday, and even though she, Jailyn and Eden all share the same birthday, she said she plans to make sure the day still feels special for each of her kids.
"I do want to make each individual's birthday a special one, make it about them," she said.
