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Like Father, Like Daughter; Baby Girl Born In Parking Lot

Baby Hannah
Hannah Grace Mary Pavlik (Family Photo)

OSWEGO, Ill. (CBS) -- It was déjà vu for a Yorkville family last weekend, when Erica Pavlik went into labor and gave birth in a gas station parking lot.

WBBM Newsradio's Regine Schlesinger reports little Hannah Grace Mary Pavlik's father had been born in a parking lot too, almost 33 years to the day before his daughter's birth.

Frank Pavlik was born in the parking lot of the Louis Joliet Mall, unable to wait for his parents to make it to the hospital.

baby_frank_news story
The Joliet Herald-News headline after Frank Pavlik was born in the parking lot of the Joliet Mall in 1980. (Credit: Herald-News)

Baby Born In Parking Lot, Just Like Daddy

His daughter was just as eager to enter the world; as one day before Frank's 33rd birthday, Hannah was born in the parking lot of a gas station in southwest suburban Oswego, while Erica's mother was driving her to the hospital on Saturday.

Having given birth to two sons – and gone through a false labor during her second pregnancy – Erica figured she had plenty of time.

"I'm thinking the baby's not coming for another eight hours," she said.

When she first felt labor pains, Erica thought it was another false labor, and decided to wait things out for a while, rather than call Frank at work. But when the contractions started getting stronger and more frequent, she called her mom to rush her to the hospital.

"I call up Frank, and I say 'If you want to see your child born, you'd better get there," Erica said.

Ten minutes away from home, she and her mother had to pull over and call 911 when Erica's water broke. They stopped at a BP gas station in Oswego.

"By that time, it was too really too late, and she decided to join us in the car," Erica said.

Baby Hannah was born before paramedics arrived, with Erica's mom performing the delivery.

"Every one of my friends has had emergency C-sections, foreceps. So many things can go wrong, which weren't going through my mind at the time," she said. "I mean, she just came out … I won't to say easy, but easier than I thought."

Pavlik Family
The Pavlik family at the hospital after baby Hannah Grace Mary Pavlik was born in a parking lot, just like her dad. (Family Photo)

Frank got there just in time to ride with his daughter to the hospital – an early birthday gift for dad.

"He's got his two boys. He wanted his two enforcers, and now he's got his Hannah that pretty much shares his birthday," Erica said.

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