Two Rio Grande Valley families welcomed babies on July 4 as the United States marked its 250th birthday.

Both babies were born at South Texas Health System facilities in McAllen and Edinburg.

Baby Olivia arrived first, weighing 6 pounds, 12 ounces, and measuring 21.2 inches long. She was delivered at 9:41 a.m. at The Maternity Center at South Texas Health System McAllen, becoming the first baby born at an STHS facility on Independence Day.

Olivia was originally due July 7 but arrived three days early.

"It's wild! We didn't expect her to arrive this early. We had even made plans to attend some of the local Fourth of July festivities," Abril Banda and Johan Patiño said of the arrival of their first child. "But now we're celebrating in the hospital in the most special way. It's beautiful, and we feel very patriotic."

More than an hour later, The Maternity Center at STHS Edinburg welcomed Baby Carlos. He weighed 6 pounds, 1 ounce and measured 19.2 inches long, arriving at 11:09 a.m., about three weeks ahead of schedule.

"It's a beautiful feeling to know that my son arrived on such an important milestone for the country," Brenda Cervantes said of the arrival of her sixth child. "I feel truly blessed and happy!"

July 4 ranks as the fourth least common birthday in the country, according to The Bump, making both arrivals rare despite July being the second most popular birth month in the United States.

Staff at both facilities gave the families holiday-themed keepsakes, including a Baby's First Fourth of July onesie, to mark the occasion.