TikTok influencer Ariel Tyson loves to feature her large family of boys on her TikTok account. So when she posted a TikTok showing the birth of her seventh child at home — her very first girl — delivered unexpectedly on the toilet, her followers asked for the full story.
Ariel had often joked about having so many boys in the family. But having shared how she tragically lost her first baby to miscarriage and was subsequently told there was a 90% chance she would lose every baby she got pregnant with due to a birth defect, her account focuses on the joys of her many boys and large family.
The dramatic and joyful TikTok which prefaced her daughter’s birth story read, “Caught my 9lb baby by myself over the toilet after a 50 min labor with only my husband there and that’s when we found out it was our 1st girl after 6 boys.” The three-second TikTok shows Ariel’s stunned and ecstatic face, pausing as her expression changes with the realization that she has had a daughter.
@arielctyson Talk about the biggest shock of my life! Pregnant to delivering my own baby, to finding out it was our first girl. #arielctyson #arielandmichael #baby #laboranddelivery #pregnancy #mom #reaction #momdad #birth #parents #fyp ♬ original sound – ❦
In a longer follow-up, Ariel told her followers how she went to bed the night before, only to wake up at 2:30 in the morning to a very strong contraction. She thought her water might have broken as well, which signaled to her the start of her labor. At first, she let her husband Michael sleep so she could wait out the contractions alone. “I love to be alone during the beginning parts of labor and just focus on myself,” she said.
But something was different this time – her contractions got intense quite quickly. “I was like, this does not seem right if it’s already this bad this early on, how bad is it going to be in the end?” As soon as Michael got up, he realized something was different about this labor. “He realized more than me that it was further along, and for me I was like, ‘It can’t be because it’s been 27 minutes since I woke up.’” Michael immediately called their midwife, who lived 40 minutes away from the couple’s house.
He launched into action, but quickly realized he was running out of time. “I realized we weren’t going to have time for [a birthing pool].” Shortly after, Ariel felt as though she had to use the bathroom. “Ariel didn’t really realize that she was ready to push,” Michael said. Ariel continued, “I thought I had to go to the bathroom, and because I thought it was earlier on, I’m like, ‘Well of course I’ll have to go to the bathroom. That’s normal to have in labor.’” But instead, Ariel realized it was delivery time, and caught her baby while sitting on the toilet. “She didn’t go into the toilet, so people can calm down about that,” Michael clarified for commenters who were jokingly concerned about “baby’s first swirlie.”
Baby Mila was born at 3:20am on December 4th of 2021.
But the surprises weren’t yet over for the couple. “Ariel held her for quite a few minutes […] before finding out if it was a girl or a boy.” The original TikTok of the moment showed Ariel’s original words with all their shock and emotion: “Oh my goodness it’s a girl! Oh my goodness it’s a girl!” she cried. Michael was also taken by surprise. “I was surprised for sure. I was pumped up. But I would have been just as excited if it had been another boy,” he said to Today.com. “I’m so happy we caught my reaction on camera,” added Ariel.
Mila joins older brothers Michael “Cale,” 11, Gabriel, 10, Judah, 8, Levi, 7, Zion, 5, and Ari, 2.
