Sure, “Nugget” would’ve sufficed, but a family in Michigan cooked up a much better moniker for its newest member — who was recently born in a McDonald’s parking lot.
Matilda Rotunda was born at 2:57 a.m. amid the glow of golden arches on Aug. 11, per People, and due to the circumstances of her wild birth, she has received a pretty fitting nickname: “McTilly.”
According to Today, baby Matilda’s parents, Alyce and Kevin Rotunda II, had always intended to call her Tilly. But when Alyce’s brother-in-law met the newborn in the hospital, he quickly came up with the apt nickname for the small fry. And it seems like the whole family is lovin’ it.
“It’s stuck with a few people, and everyone gets a kick out of it,” Alyce said.
Despite Matilda’s extremely cute epithet, the circumstances that led her to being born in a parking lot are anything but.
“Her birth was a STORY,” Alyce wrote on Facebook on Aug. 15, while announcing her birth.
On Aug. 8, Alyce went to a hospital in Kalamazoo after she began to experience contractions, but she was told it was a false alarm and was sent away.
Yet, Alyce told People that “intense irregular contractions” persisted over the next few days, and by 2 a.m. on Aug. 11, she knew it was time.
Being that Alyce’s pregnancy was considered high-risk due to having Type 1 diabetes, getting to the closest hospital that could accommodate her condition was of utmost importance — but it also happened to be 45 minutes away, and the baby was coming fast.
So, once the couple got into their minivan, Kevin literally put the pedal to the metal.
“He later told me at one point he was going 100 mph on a stretch of highway where there was nothing around, as he didn’t want to get stuck being by nothing if the baby decided to come then,” Alyce recalled.
Thankfully, the pair spotted a McDonald’s right as the situation escalated. Alyce poured out of the car, as Kevin, who was on the phone with a 911 dispatcher, tried to help her take off her pants.
“The 911 operator was yelling at me to get back in the car, and then a police officer showed up with his spotlight on us, saying, ‘You need to get back in your vehicle,’” Alyce told Today. “I just screamed, ‘NO!’ There was no way I could do anything other than stand there or squat.”
Alyce said that amid the McFlurry of circumstances occurring in the McDonald’s parking lot, she suddenly felt something between her legs.
“I reached down to feel what was happening and her head was fully out,” Alyce told People. “I just remember yelling, ‘Kevin catch her right now!’ I didn’t know, but at that exact moment, Kevin was already standing behind me, bending down ready to grab her. I didn’t even have to push — she honestly just fell out into Kevin’s arms.”
Alyce told People she let out a “huge sigh of relief” when Matilda immediately started crying.
“She was breathing and alert, so I was at peace,” Alyce told the outlet.
An ambulance showed up five minutes later, and mother and baby were whisked away to the hospital where Alyce and little McTilly were given a clean bill of health. The newborn’s blood sugar tested normal and was weighed in at 7 pounds, 14 ounces.
“We got so lucky,” Alyce told Today.