A boy who has always wanted a brother or sister finally gets one.
“He says things like, ‘You are a part of me, and I will never let anything bad happen to you,'” the mom said.
Having a brother or sister is exciting for any kid.
Even though some kids might be a little envious of all the attention, most kids are happy to take on the responsibility of being older guardians.
Sometimes, wanting a little brother or sister makes other parents want to have more children. But what if they can’t?
Mikey Marotta already knows what he wants Santa to bring him if he is asked.
And no, it’s not a video game console, a cell phone, or a small car. Mikey’s parents think that he would ask for a baby brother.
Mikey was so excited to be an older brother that he planned what they would wear as siblings for Halloween a long time in advance. Whenever he got something new or extra, he would put it aside and “save” it for his brother.
At one point, he told his mom to eat buffalo wings because he thought that was why he had ginger hair, and now he wants his brother to have the same color.
But it wasn’t easy to get pregnant.
Jessica and Michael Marotta did everything they could to make Mikey’s dreams come true, but they had trouble getting pregnant. The hardest part was when Jessica miscarried in 2007.
When they realized that their efforts were going nowhere, they sat down with Mikey and had a heart-to-heart talk with him. During one of these talks, they told Mikey that it’s okay for them to be a family of three.
“When Mikey asked when he was going to get a baby brother, we told him that he might not get one because some families only have one child, and that’s OK,” Jessica told TODAY. “He would cry and say, ‘That’s OK if I don’t get a human brother; I have Dillinger,'” she added.
But everything changed in the summer of 2017.
Jessica noticed out she was pregnant, but Mikey was much happier than either Jessica or Michael. According to Jessica, Mikey “tear[ed] up and was very happy.” However, the family had more problems.
The baby had intrauterine growth restriction, so he had to be born by C-section. After that, Mikey spent his days in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).
There, they were able to explain why skin-to-skin contact is so important.
Jessica held Mikey against her skin when he was young, so she knows how powerful this can be. When Mikey was given permission to hug his brother, he felt a lot of different emotions.
Mikey would hold Jake close to his heart every once in a while. He knew he could be a big brother, and now that he had to, he was more than ready to show that side of himself.
Since then, they’ve only grown closer.
Jessica said that whenever his little brother heard his voice, he would turn his head toward Mikey and look for him. Mikey was also the first person Jake ever smiled at.
And Mikey is never embarrassed to talk about how much Jake means to him. Jake is the best thing Mikey could have ever asked for.
Mikey keeps a picture of Jake in his wallet and says things like, “You are a part of me and I will never let anything bad happen to you.”