Any kid would be excited to find out that he or she is going to get a sibling.
Most younger children are excited to take on the responsibilities that come with being an older guardian, even though some of them might feel jealous of the attention they get.
It’s not unusual for an older sibling to want a younger sibling to be the reason why another couple decides to start a family. The question is what will happen if they can’t?
Mikey Marotta already knows what he would like to get from Santa if he were to ask him what kind of gift he would like.
And before you ask, no, it’s not a video game console, a cell phone, or a toy car. Mikey’s parents thought he would want a sibling someday.
Mikey was so excited about becoming an older brother that he started planning months in advance what they would dress up as for Halloween if they celebrated the holiday together. Whenever he got something new or had a lot of something, he would “save” it for his brother by putting it away in a different place.
At one point, he told his mother that she should eat buffalo wings because he thought that was what gave him his distinctive ginger hair. He is very sure that his brother should have the same color this time.
On the other hand, it wasn’t easy to get pregnant.
Mikey Marotta was helped a lot by the fact that his parents, Jessica and Michael Marotta, did everything they could to make his dreams come true. But his mother couldn’t have children because she had trouble getting pregnant. Jessica had a miscarriage in 2007 and had to say goodbye to her unborn child. This was the hardest part.
They decided that their efforts were going to waste, so they decided to talk to Mikey. They had one of those heart-to-heart talks with him, and during one of those talks, they told him that it was fine for their family to be just the three of them.
When Mikey would ask when he was going to get his baby brother, we would explain he may not get one — that some families only have one child and that is OK. He would tear up and say, ‘That’s OK if I don’t get a human brother; I have Dillinger,’ our dog.”
Jessica said.
The turning point was the summer of 2017, and after that, everything changed.
Jessica was both surprised and happy when she found out she was going to be a mom. But there is one person who is happier than both Jessica and Michael put together. Jessica said that Mikey “cried and was very happy” when she told him the news. But the family faced problems more than once.
It was found that the baby had something called intrauterine growth restriction. The mother had to have a C-section so that the baby could come out. After that, Mikey was taken to the NICU, where he stayed for the rest of his stay.
There, they were able to talk about how important it was for them to touch each other directly.
Because she did the same thing with Mikey when he was younger and held him against her skin, Jessica knows how powerful this could be. So, Mikey felt a lot of different things when he was given permission to hug his brother.
Mikey did it once in a while, but he was always very careful. He would care a lot about Jake but he was always very careful. He would care a lot about Jake. Mikey was ready to act like the older sibling when he had to. He had always known that he could be a good big brother.
Since then, they have grown even closer to each other.
Jessica said that when his younger brother heard his voice, he would immediately look for Mikey and turn his head in that direction. Jake also smiled at Mikey for the first time when he saw him. Jake never smiled at anyone else.
Mikey is never embarrassed to talk about how much he loves Jake, the best gift he could have asked for. Jake is the best thing that could ever happen to Mikey.
He says things like, ‘You are a part of me and I will never let anything bad happen to you,’
Jessica shared. Mikey also has a photo of Jake that he took with him and keeps in his wallet.
