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Parents Surprised With Baby Boy On April Fool's Day

SALIDA, Colo. (CBS4) - A Salida couple expecting their second child got an April Fool's surprise on Sunday.

The family of three learned they were expecting a girl in November, 2017.

The couple was told the entire time of their pregnancy, they were having a girl.

salida baby (credit)
Amber Linza (credit: Amber Linza)

The doctors, the ultrasound and all indications pointed to a bundle of pink joy.

salida baby surprise2
(credit: Amber Linza)

The parents got everything ready for a little girl ahead of her arrival.

"My family was so excited for a little girl," Amber Linza said. "We completely repainted the room, and we put one wall of pink polka dots. We got rid of all of our boy stuff we had."

salida baby surprise
(credit: Amber Linza)

The couple went to the hospital on April 1, 2018, expecting to meet their daughter. They had already named her Cheyenne, and had blankets and decorations that reflected her name everywhere. Amber even picked out an outfit to bring her daughter home in.

"It said little sister on it," Amber Linza said. "I was just so excited to bring home this little girl. (I wanted to) put head bands on her, and to have that special relationship with her I have with my mom."

When the baby arrived on Sunday, it had the umbilical cord rapped around its neck. Doctors were so focused on making sure the baby would survive, that they didn't immediately notice the gender was predicted incorrectly.

"We've been expecting a girl for so long, I think everyone in the room just assumed it was a girl," John Linza said.

However, after sarcastically asking if it was a girl, the doctor decided to check.

"Her face went blank. My husband's face went blank. And, I was like, 'what is going on?'" Amber Linza said. "And, they said it was a boy. And the room went silent. I just kept saying, 'No, no, that is not right'. And, then I saw for myself."

salida baby surprise3
(credit: Amber Linza)

Doctors say 15 percent of children born are of the opposite sex that's predicted.

Born at six pounds, three ounces, the baby boy was healthy. Fortunately, the couple already had a name selected for their next boy. They called friends, and family, to let them know Penn Linza, a boy, had arrived.

"No one believed us. No one. They were like, 'Oh, good one. April fools.' I was like, 'No, it's not April fools. It's really a boy,'" Amber Linza said.

"They thought we were the pranksters, when it was really (Penn)," John Linza said.

The couple said, with Penn being born on Easter and April Fools Day, this is the second baby they've had on a holiday. Their first child was born on New Year morning, and was the first child born in their county.

 

 

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