Photos are on People.com

Saturday Night Live alum Rachel Dratch welcomed her first child 10 weeks ago, a little boy named Eli Benjamin. Rachel, 44, kept the father of her baby a mystery until just recently, joking in July that “There’s a whole crazy story there. But that will come out in my book.” Then after her son was born she revealed that her baby’s father is her boyfriend, a natural foods consultant named John Wahl. They were dating just six months when Rachel got pregnant the natural way. She described it as an accident in that she assumed she wasn’t still fertile. Eli was born a month early after Rachel’s doctor discovered her fluids were low during a routine visit. He now lives at home with his mom and dad in New York. People has more details, including some adorable photos that you can see on their website:

Rachel Dratch’s pregnancy was a surprise to her and her boyfriend John Wahl — and her Aug. 24 delivery was no different.

“I went for a routine visit and they said my fluid was low,” the comedienne, 44, recalls. “It was a month in advance, so I didn’t even have a bag packed! I had to go in that night. It was a big shock.”

“I was about to get on a plane!” laughs Wahl, 42, who moved to New York to be close to his new family. “But I was in the room with her when he was born. To be part of the whole process was fantastic.”

Today, 10-week-old Eli Benjamin — “We just liked the name,” Dratch says, adding that her grandfather was called Benjamin — is getting acclimated to life with his new family, in a nursery designed by Nate Berkus.

Because Dratch’s apartment only has one bedroom, Berkus was able to divide the space with a partition so that it appears to be two rooms.

“It came out really well — it doesn’t look like it’s shoved in the corner,” Dratch says. “Eventually I’ll have to move, I guess, but he did a good job.”

The unique set-up also helps with late night feedings.

“It stuns me how tireless she is. He’s up at 3:30 in the morning and she’s up and at ‘em,” marvels Wahl of his girlfriend. “This love for Eli is trumping everything! I’m not exaggerating: she says four to five times a day, ‘He’s so beautiful.’”

Confirms Dratch: “This has taught me [that] you never know. I feel super lucky.”

[From People]

Little Eli is such a cutie and he has his mom’s big blue eyes! Congratulations to Rachel and John. What a nice story they have about having a child unexpectedly.

Rachel is shown pregnant on July 21 below. She is not pregnant in the header photo, which is from October 21.

Saturday Night Live alum Rachel Dratch hasn’t received much attention in the four years since she left the show. She’s been overshadowed by more successful former colleagues Tina Fey and Amy Poehler and was passed up for the Vanity Fair women of comedy issue in April, 2008. (They mentioned her briefly, even covering the fact that she was replaced on 30 Rock by Jane Krasinski, but didn’t ask her to be included in the photoshoot.) Dratch wondered at the time why she wasn’t included, and said “it was a dark day” when she saw the cover. She also lamented her lack of work, saying “I know you’re supposed to come up with fake stuff you’re doing. But honestly, I’m not doing much… I’m starting to go crazy. I’m ready for a job.”

Things are looking up for Dratch since she gave that quote in 2008. She’s earned many guest TV spots and a few movie roles since. She was included on the Saturday Night Live Betty White episode this year and, like Amy Poehler, she’s pregnant! People confirmed the news and her due month but doesn’t have details about the father:

Looks like Amy Poehler’s baby-on-the-way will have a friend from the start: her former Saturday Night Live costar and pal, Rachel Dratch, is expecting her first child, PEOPLE has confirmed.

The actress, 44, is due in September but no other details – including the baby’s father – are available.

The news was first noted by New York, who observed Dratch sporting her own baby bump alongside Poehler at a June 30 movie premiere.

Dratch recently appeared on SNL with Poehler and Tina Fey, and has guest-starred in shows like Ugly Betty, Wizards of Waverly Place and 30 Rock. She’s also starred in films like I Hate Valentine’s Day and Spring Breakdown.

[From People]

Good for her! I wonder if the pregnancy was planned and if she needed help conceiving. Even at 44, accidents happen! Maybe we’ll see more of Dratch now that she’s going to be a mom.

Remember Saturday Night Live’s Rachel Dratch- who played Debbie Downer and did a dead-on impersonation of Harry Potter? Dratch left the show two years ago and has had small roles in a few movies and TV shows since then, including the Tina Fey comedy “30 Rock,” but she hasn’t found the same success as some of the other funny women from SNL. Adding insult to injury, Dratch was saddened by the recent Vanity Fair cover story on the rise of comediennes- the included most of her old co-stars, but not her.

Rachel Dratch is learning it’s not funny being an out-of-work comedian. She left Saturday Night Live two years ago and then was replaced on 30 Rock. What’s she up to now? “Maybe you can tell me,” she said at a Smart People screening on March 31. “I know you’re supposed to come up with fake stuff you’re doing. But honestly, I’m not doing much.” After SNL’s hectic pace, isn’t downtime nice? “It’s starting to get old,” she said. “I’m starting to go crazy. I’m ready for a job.” The low point came, she said, when last month’s Vanity Fair arrived with its cover story on women in comedy, featuring a dozen top comediennes—none of whom was Dratch. “Dude, that was a dark day,” she recalled. “I was like, Oh, there’s everyone I worked with.” She’s not picky about her next gig. “I’d work in a black-box theater company at this point,” she said. “I’d work with George W.”

[From NY Magazine]

I admit- I didn’t even think of Rachel when that story came out. I was so excited to see Amy Sedaris and Tina Fey on the same magazine cover that she slipped my mind. And I think, in a nutshell, that’s Rachel’s problem. She’s talented and funny, but not very memorable. If her greatest claim to fame is Debbie Downer- which was never all that funny and was done to death on the show- then it’s not a huge surprise that her career’s in trouble. But I do think she could be very funny in character roles, if given a chance. Hopefully some Hollywood casting director will read this and give Rachel a call. Because the thought of her working for George W. is very sad to me.

Rachel Dratch is shown at the “There Will Be Blood” premiere on 12/10/07, thanks to PRPhotos.