CENTREVILLE, Mich. (WOOD) — Early Monday morning, one West Michigan family got more than they ordered in a McDonald’s parking lot.
Instead of a late night snack, they welcomed their new baby girl under the golden arches. It was an experience Alyce and Kevin Rotunda never expected, but an outcome better than any happy meal.
“I’m just really thankful that it went well,” said Alyce Rotunda, a Centreville resident. “If it had to be in a McDonald’s parking lot, then it had to be there.”
Being at high risk and having had complications during her last three births, Alyce planned to deliver her fourth baby at Bronson Hospital in Kalamazoo.
On Saturday, she made the 45 minute drive thinking she was in labor, only to be sent home after doctors determined it was a false alarm. By Sunday night, the contractions were back, and this time, things escalated.
“Things changed very quickly,” she said. “There was a lot going on that I could feel was happening… I genuinely didn’t know how this was going to play out.”
Kevin said he knew they had no time to spare. They got in the car and raced to the hospital at 100 miles per hour, cutting what would be a 30 minute drive to Schoolcraft in half.
“I got really nervous,” Kevin said. “I felt like we weren’t going to make it… I was rushing. Things were happening and I was nervous.”
He pulled into the McDonald’s on N Grand St, entering a parking lot that was quiet around 3 a.m. Kevin called 911 and within minutes and a Schoolcraft officer pulled up and assisted by shining a spotlight on them. Alyce stood in the parking lot, refusing to lie down on the asphalt. That’s when Kevin noticed the baby wasn’t waiting any longer.
“Anybody that knows me knows that I would be the last person who would ever deliver a baby,” he said. “Every time we’ve had one, I was always at my wife’s head… but everything slowed down and I just focused on catching the baby.”
For Kevin, the moment was surreal, but both parents described the entire thing as instinctual.
“He caught her and I had a huge sigh of relief when she honestly just fell out and immediately started crying,” Alyce said.
The ambulance arrived between five to ten minutes later, taking Alyce and newborn baby Matilda to Bronson Hospital. At seven pounds, 14 ounces, her official birthplace is listed on her birth certificate as the Schoolcraft McDonald’s address. The Rotundas told News 8 some family members have already nicknamed her McTilda, McTilly and nugget.
A McDonald’s manager told News 8 they had no idea the birth even took place until they were contacted. By the time the restaurant opened Monday morning, the parking lot was already cleaned up.
For Alyce, the experience was humbling, but the family says they are simply grateful.
“I’m just really thankful and blessed that everything was fine and there were no complications,” Kevin said.
Alyce, who also celebrated her own birthday on Sunday, now has a story to tell for a lifetime. And as for baby Matilda — her parents say they’re lovin’ her.
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