“Mikey had this innate sense that his little brother was on the way… it was just a waiting game.”
Ever since he could express himself, Mikey Marotta harbored a persistent wish — a baby brother.
Yet, after years of contending with fertility challenges and a miscarriage in early 2017, Mikey’s mother, Jessica Marotta, along with her husband, Michael, believed that 6-year-old Mikey’s dream might remain unfulfilled.
However, in the summer of 2017, Marotta received what she describes as a “happy shock” upon discovering she was pregnant again. The Massachusetts couple couldn’t wait to share the good news with their son.
“When Mikey found out, he teared up and was very happy,” Marotta recounted. “But he was never surprised or overly excited when we found out it was a boy. He just said, ‘Obviously I am having a baby brother; it’s what I asked for.’”
Marotta explains that her son put in effort to prepare for his impending role as a big brother.
“On Halloween, while trick-or-treating, he talked about all the costumes he could wear with his baby brother next year,” Marotta mentioned. “He had so many plans. Whenever he had two of something or got something new, he would say, ‘I’m going to save this other one for my baby brother.’”
Mikey meticulously planned out every detail of life with his soon-to-arrive sibling.
However, Mikey didn’t anticipate his brother arriving nine weeks early and spending over 60 days in the NICU.
Following a diagnosis of intrauterine growth restriction — a pregnancy complication impacting the baby’s growth — Marotta underwent monitoring in the hospital for several weeks before delivering her newest son, Jake, via emergency C-section in March.
“The first time Mikey saw Jake in the NICU, he just stared at him and looked so overwhelmed and nervous,” said Marotta. “The first thing he said was, ‘He has red hair like me!’”
“We told him what every tube and wire meant — every beep and alarm,” Marotta continued. “And Mikey understood how important skin-to-skin contact was for the baby because we talked often about how it was something he and I did when he was a baby.”
The skin-to-skin bonding was a success — Marotta affirms that today Mikey and Jake, now nearly 5 months old, share an incredibly close bond.
“When Jake hears Mikey’s voice, his little head twists and turns to look for him,” Marotta explained. “Mikey was also the first one Jake smiled at, and for a while, he was the only one who could make Jake smile.”
Marotta recently shared her sons’ story on Love What Matters, emphasizing the heartwarming connection the two boys share.
“Mikey tells Jake he loves him all the time and sings him songs he makes up,” said Marotta. “He says things like, ‘You are a part of me and I will never let anything bad happen to you,’ and he keeps a picture of Jake in his little wallet.”
““I feel like Mikey knew in his heart all along that this little brother of his was coming — it was just a matter of time.”
