The tender moment when a 6-year-old brother embraced his preterm newborn


“Mikey knew in his heart all along this little brother of his was coming…it was just a matter of time.”
For as long as he’s been able to talk, Mikey Marotta has had one persistent request — a baby brother.

But, after years of fertility struggles followed by a miscarriage in early 2017, Mikey’s mother, Jessica Marotta, says she and her husband, Michael, thought 6-year-old Mikey’s wish would never come true.

“We had a heart-to-heart one night and decided we would Be perfectly content as a family of three,” Marotta told TODΑY Parents. “When Mikey would ask when he was going to get his baby brother, we would explain the 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.”