Emotional Boy Doing Skin-to-Skin With His Rainbow Baby Brother Is Melting Hearts
There is nothing quite like the bond between siblings, especially when one of them has been yearning for the chance to be a big brother. For as long as Jessica Marotta could remember, her little boy has wanted one thing. Mikey was never shy with his request and was actually pretty specific with exactly what he wanted his parents to give him: a baby brother (not sister) of his own. Jessica and her husband, Mike, took their only child's repeated requests into consideration and were devastated when they miscarried a baby boy before Mikey could even learn the exciting news.
But just when the emotionally drained parents gave up trying in 2017, they found out that they were expecting again – but it was another extremely high-risk pregnancy.
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Just before finding out that she was pregnant again, Jessica had told Mikey he might never become a big brother.
"After [the miscarriage], every time Mikey asked for his baby brother, we would explain to him that there may be a chance that he may never get a baby brother," Jessica shared with Love What Matters. "It broke our hearts to say these words to him, but we found a way to settle into a life just the three of us."
But right as Mikey was starting kindergarten, Jessica found out that she was pregnant, and despite multiple rounds of bleeding, she made it past the first trimester. Just as her fears started to fade, she received devastating news.
"The doctor shared with us a grim diagnosis, severe Intrauterine Growth Restriction (IUGR) and there was a high risk of uterine demise (their words, not ours)," she said. "I was 23 weeks pregnant, but our baby was measuring about five weeks behind in size. Legally, the doctor had to give us the option to terminate the pregnancy."
Despite the odds, baby Jake held out and wasn't born until 30 weeks and 6 days.
Mikey was emotional from the moment he found out his mom was pregnant and was incredibly protective of her and his unborn brother. But the funniest part to his parents was that Mikey didn't seem surprised or overly excited when he found out that they were having a boy – Mikey just assumed it from the moment he learned about the pregnancy.
When baby Jake finally arrived, 6-year-old Mikey knew exactly what to expect, thanks to his parents and grandma.
Jessica tells CafeMom that she and Mike were honest with Mikey from the moment that they received the IUGR diagnosis.
"We explained that the baby was going to come early and would be in the hospital when he was born for a long time," she says. "Mikey cried and said he didn't want the baby to stay in the hospital – he wanted him home – but we just kept an open conversation with him. It was January and so we set the expectation that when the baby did come, he wouldn't be home until after Easter and when it was warm outside."
It helped that Jessica's mom is a pediatric nurse and she was able to support their conversations with Mikey by incorporating visuals. "She showed him how small the baby would be with a baby doll and on the baby doll used wires to show how he would look with breathing support," she says.
Because of Jake's condition, Mikey wasn't able to hold his brother after birth.
"Jake was 1 pound, 12 ounces and only 12 inches long. He was the size of a 25-weeker," Jessica said. "Once I recovered a bit, I was wheeled on my stretcher to see him and his smallness took my breath away and my eyes filled with tears."
When it was time for Mikey to finally meet his dream baby brother, Jessica says he was nervous but all smiles. Jake, who is lovingly referred to as a "rainbow baby" because he is the light after the storm of a miscarriage, was born with red hair like his brother, and that's the first thing Mickey noticed.
Mikey struggled during Jake's early days in the NICU because all he wanted was to be able to hold his brother.
Despite "being filled with sadness" that he couldn't hold Jake, Mikey spent his time in the NICU touching him through the porthole or stealing a quick kiss whenever possible.
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But on day 10, everything changed when Mikey held Jake for the first time while doing skin-to-skin.
That morning, Jessica asked one of the nurses if Jake was strong enough for Mikey to do skin-to-skin with his brother. She admits that she fully expected the answer to be no.
"I was beyond thrilled when they agreed! On March 17, 2018, Mikey was the first sibling at the Beth Israel NICU in Boston to do skin-to-skin," she said. "It was amazing and emotional, and I truly believe became the foundation for their brotherly bond."
As Mike helped Mikey, Jessica snapped away to document this major moment.
"My heart was full – it was very emotional to see them together," she tells CafeMom. "Having a NICU baby is such a different experience – to the extreme – from a 'normal' birth (which is what I had with Mikey). I didn't get to hold Jake until 24 hours after he was born and it was not for very long."
Jessica said that because Jake's condition was so delicate, she and Mike weren't allowed to hold Jake in the beginning – only skin-to-skin – and they had to take turns who would get to do it each day.
"So there were many days when I didn't hold him and I could only touch him through the portholes of his isolette. Every time you did care time or took him out, he was burning calories so we really only did skin-to-skin once a day," she says. "After that day, until Jake was in a regular crib, only my husband and I did skin-to-skin with him."
After 62 days of Jake being in the NICU, Mikey was finally able to bring his baby brother home.
"His homecoming was one of the happiest days of our lives," she said.
One of the pair's favorite things to do is snuggle, and Mikey is incredibly hands-on. "I feel honored to witness their love. Their bond is amazing, and my husband and I often say that we wish Jake looked at us the way he looks at Mikey," Jessica said.
'It is as if the two of them were destined to be each other’s brother,' Jessica said.
"There is no question that Mikey was born to be Jake’s big brother and Jake was born to be the baby brother Mikey had always wished for,” she shared.
"Mikey is an amazing big brother and having Jake has brought a calmness to Mikey’s life, and Mikey has a way of calming Jake when he is upset."
It's clear that these brothers have an unbreakable bond and are incredibly lucky to have each other.
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