Grafton baby born in front seat of van on way to hospital

MEQUON -- Little Owen Todd Hinze of Grafton didn't quite want to wait until his parents made it to the hospital before he entered the world. Owen was born in the front passenger seat of a van as his parents made their way to the hospital Friday.

Owen is nine pounds, three ounces and 21 inches, and both mom and baby are doing fine. The van's seat is now gone, however, because childbirth can be quite messy!

It all began Friday around 9, when mom, Terra Hinze felt a contraction, but it wasn't like she felt with daughter Ava, or even her other daughter. Her doctor told her to stop by his clinic in Glendale. "They got me in, and he checked and looked at me and said, 'you're at 7 - get in the van and go to the hospital,' because he knows I was fast with my other two," Terra said.

Terra, husband Jim and daughter Ava headed back up I-43 to Columbia St. Mary's in Mequon. When they exited onto Mequon Road, Terra's water broke. "Just as we were turning onto Port Washington Road, I said 'I've got to push!'" Terra said.

Little Owen was ready to come out - now! "I arched myself up, and had my back against the back seat. I had my hand kind of up in the air, and when he came out, he just fell underneath my body, and my whole arm was shaking. My whole body was shaking. I was holding the arm rest, and then my right hand was free to kind of hold his head because I wanted his neck to be free so he could breathe," Terra said.

It was the longest five seconds of Terra's life, and then it happened - Owen cried! That's when Terra knew everything was going to be alright. Hospital staff was waiting when they arrived.

Ava says she remembers this: "I unbuckled my seatbelt and I saw baby Owen, and then I cried. Then the nurses run out, and I runned in. The nurses babysat me."

Now, little Owen and mom are healthy and at home.

Terra didn't have an epidural beforehand, but says she didn't fully realize the pain until after Owen was out. She said her husband was really calm throughout the whole thing and was driving, but was able to see everything as it happened. She says they plan to buy a replacement seat for their van.