A Michigan mother got more than she bargained for when she delivered her fourth child in the most unexpected of places. Alyce Rotunda, 32, from Centreville, had hoped her baby would arrive on her birthday, August 10. Instead, baby Matilda made her grand entrance three hours later in a McDonald’s parking lot in Schoolcraft.
The dramatic birth story began when Rotunda was sent home from the hospital earlier that week with what doctors called a “false alarm.” But on her birthday, contractions returned and didn’t stop. By late that night, she and her husband, Kevin, knew it was time to make the 45-minute drive to Bronson Hospital in Kalamazoo.
“I wanted her on my birthday, but she decided to wait three hours, and she gave me a story regardless,” Rotunda told Fox News. The couple initially planned to stop at a gas station, but when they found it brightly lit and busy at 3 a.m., Kevin made the decision to drive to a closed McDonald’s instead. The pain was intense, and Rotunda knew there was no time left. When they reached the parking lot, baby Matilda wasn’t waiting any longer.
Baby earns perfect nickname after dramatic McDonald’s delivery
The birth happened quickly and without complications. Rotunda stood in the parking lot, refusing to lie down on the asphalt, when she felt the baby’s head emerging. “I reached down to feel what was happening and her head was fully out,” she told reporters. “I just remember yelling, ‘Kevin catch her right now!'” Her husband, who normally gets queasy at the sight of blood, rose to the occasion and caught their daughter as she was born.
Paramedics arrived 10 minutes later and transported the family to the hospital. Baby Matilda weighed 7 pounds, 14 ounces, and her official birthplace is listed on her birth certificate as the Schoolcraft McDonald’s address. Both mother and baby received clean bills of health at the hospital.
The unique birth location quickly earned Matilda a fitting nickname. It was Rotunda’s brother-in-law who came up with “McTilly,” a clever twist on the baby’s intended nickname “Tilly.” “He was talking to my husband, and they were talking about nicknames, and he came up with McTilly, and he just thought it was the best thing ever,” Rotunda explained. “Everyone gets a kick out of it.” The story has since gone viral on social media, with people everywhere loving the adorable nickname and heartwarming tale.
Even the local McDonald’s embraced the story, sharing a post on Facebook celebrating the new arrival. “Alyce and Kevin Rotunda got more than they ordered in the parking lot at the Schoolcraft McDonald’s,” the restaurant wrote. “During the early morning hours of Aug. 11, they welcomed their beautiful baby girl, Matilda, under the Golden Arches!” The post added that baby Matilda is now part of the “McFamily.”
For Rotunda, who has Type 1 diabetes and a history of hemorrhaging, the experience was both terrifying and miraculous. This was her first natural birth, as her previous three children were all induced. “I am just so incredibly thankful and blessed that there were no complications for the baby or for me,” she said. The family now has a story they’ll treasure forever, and little McTilly has already become a beloved internet sensation with her fitting nickname.
Published: Sep 5, 2025 11:10 am