Hannah Grace Mary Pavlik of Yorkville was born 10 days early in the parking lot of an Oswego gas station Saturday — almost 33 years to the day after her father surprised his own parents with an emergency birth in a mall parking lot in Joliet.

Five-day-old Hannah Grace Mary Pavlik of Yorkville may look like her mother, but her arrival style is definitely all dad.

The 6-pound, 3-ounce girl was born 10 days early in the parking lot of an Oswego gas station Saturday — almost 33 years to the day after her father surprised his own parents with an emergency birth in a mall parking lot in Joliet.

"It didn't really hit me until things settled down at the hospital," Frank Pavlik said. "I guess Hannah's sort of got my gene."

Erica Pavlik, who went through 10 hours of labor during the birth of each of her two sons, assumed she was having false labor pains late Friday when she called her husband, who works nights, Frank Pavlik said.

The couple agreed that Erica's mother would take her to the hospital just to be sure; her sister would watch the boys. But five minutes into the ride, Erica's water broke, and Frank Pavlik got another call.

"My mother-in-law called me and said, 'We're at Route 34 and Orchard. If you want to see your baby being born, you better get out there right now,'" he said.

The women also called 911, and minutes later an Oswego police officer helped deliver the healthy, 20-inch girl in the front passenger seat of the car, Frank Pavlik and police said.

Frank Pavlik arrived just in time to ride with his daughter in an ambulance to Rush-Copley Medical Center in Aurora, where the remarkable coincidence sank in.

On Aug. 18, 1980, Frank Pavlik was born in the Joliet mall parking lot where his parents stopped their car while rushing to the hospital. To this day he keeps a worn copy of the local newspaper's account of his birth.

Pavlik, who has been teased about the dramatic arrival his entire life, said he's thrilled to have a special connection with his "little princess."

"I figure when she gets older, since we're both born in parking lots, we're going to have to go to a Sox game and tailgate for our birthdays," he said.

vortiz@tribune.com