Alyce Rotunda, a 32-year-old mother of three from Kalamazoo, Michigan, welcomed her fourth child, Matilda, on August 11. The birth was at her home hospital, Bronson Methodist Hospital, renting her uterus a week before the scheduled induction. Matilda’s unexpected arrival on U.S. shores caught everyone off guard. As a result, some of her family members have jokingly dubbed her “mcTilly,” after the fast-food restaurant where Alyce began to feel contractions while on her way to the hospital.
On the evening of August 10, Alyce experienced a first wave of contractions. Nervous but hopeful, she and her husband, Kevin Rotunda II, sped to the hospital together. However, the situation escalated quickly. As Alyce remembered, “Once I got up I could tell like stuff was going down.”
As labor went by quickly, Alyce soon understood that Matilda was coming much faster than expected. I mean because I went down and I really felt her head like her head was already out at that point. And so I screamed to my husband, I was like, ‘You have to get her immediately,’” she recounted. Kevin was able to catch their newborn “right in the nick of time,” creating a shocking but wonderful memory for the family.
Remarkably, Matilda’s birth took place on Alyce’s birthday, filling the day with even more meaning and symbolism. The fast delivery brought great relief to the couple, particularly given Alyce’s past history of complications after giving birth. It was a complete storm when she was born,” she added.
There must have been danger ahead because we had no intention of calling her Matilda but only Tilly. The “Mc” in McTilly came as a creative reference to the situation of Matilda’s birth. The new addition, now living with her mom and siblings—sister Genesis and brothers Kevin III and Boone—at almost exactly a month old.
Though the birth was unexpected, both baby and mother underwent comprehensive evaluations at Bronson Methodist Hospital shortly after delivery. Fortunately, they all had no significant perioperative complications. “Just so you know, wildly fortunate and grateful that the minute she came out, she was crying immediately. So that was like a big breath of relief on our part,” Alyce reminisced on Matilda’s early health.
The Rotundas are adjusting well to their new life as a family of six. They’re welcoming their new little one with love and excitement — and a whole lot of gratitude. It really should have gone that way,” Alyce wrapped up. She understood just how sudden and surprising Matilda’s entry into the world had been.
