This heartwarming video shows a boy holding his baby brother for the first time

Mikey and Jake are inseparable, and they’ve been that way ever since Jake was born. Their relationship began when 6-year-old Mikey got the chance to hold his baby brother, Jake, for the first time.

But in a way, Mikey and Jake were close long before that.

According to their mom, Jessica Marotta, Mikey’s been asking for a baby brother since he was 3 years old. She and her husband, Michael Marotta, tried and tried for years to get pregnant, and to give Mikey the sibling he always wanted. But it wasn’t as easy as they had hoped. They got pregnant in December of 2016, but that pregnancy did not go full term, and Jessica ultimately suffered a miscarriage. So eight months later, when they were pregnant again — they were cautious.

Once the pregnancy seemed to be going well, however, they were finally able to share the news with friends and family and, of course, Mikey.

The moment Mikey found out he was going to be a big brother, “he was very teary-eyed and excited. He was very emotional. [He] wanted to know when the baby was going to come,” Jessica told People magazine.

After some complications, Mikey’s baby brother Jake was born on March 6, arriving about 10 weeks early, weighing just 1 pound, 12 ounces.

Meeting Jake

Jake was taken to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, and that’s where Mikey got to meet him for the first time. In an article for Love What Matters, Jessica described the moment Mikey laid eyes on Jake:

“The first time Mikey saw him, he beamed and said, ‘he has red hair just like me,'” she wrote.

Here’s an adorable photo of the first time the two met, posted to the brothers’ joint Instagram account, @themarottabrothers:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BlUAs69nJ4f/?taken-by=themarottabrothers

Holding Jake For The First Time

It wasn’t until 10 days after Jake was born that Mikey got to hold his baby brother for the first time. He was finally allowed to have skin-to-skin time with Jake and, thankfully, their mom caught the incredibly sweet moment on video and posted it to Instagram:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BlfhWRblEXf/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=embed_loading_state_control

Clearly, Mikey is thrilled to get some quality time with his brother.

“It was amazing and emotional, and I truly believe became the foundation for their brotherly bond,” Jessica wrote.

A Bond Like No Other

And since then, Jake and Mikey have been the very best of pals. You can follow along with their brotherly adventures on their joint Instagram account.

The pair share secrets:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Blf5V2bghxQ/?taken-by=themarottabrothers

They also spend much of their time snuggling:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BldbtyFnCfe/?taken-by=themarottabrothers

And Mikey seems more than happy to play with his brother and read to him during floor time:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BlUCKmAn7x7/?taken-by=themarottabrothers

According to Jessica, these brothers were made for each other, which explains why Mikey’s able to perform his brotherly duties so well.

“It is as if the two of them were destined to be each other’s brother,” she wrote. “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.”

We’re so thrilled they have each other!