Sandra Celentano spent quality time with baby Angely.

“Just breathing with them. Actually, I think slows their breathing down,” Celentano said as she held the little girl. “Also, they feel your chest rising and going and they sort of connect to that.”

The three-and-a-half-month-old is a patient at the neonatal intensive care unit at Maimonides Medical Center.

Celentano is her volunteer cuddler.

“They’re in the NICU for a reason and a lot of them are in discomfort,” Celentano said. “So the human touch is so important.”

The Bensonhurst resident was born at Maimonides herself and got started with their Women’s Auxiliary Program in 2018.

The following year, Celentano became one of the hospital’s first volunteer cuddlers. She recalled her first shift.

“When the doctors came around to do their rounds, I remember telling him ‘Don’t be afraid. It’s going to be okay,’” Celentano said. “They’re such little, little souls.”

Celentano has cared for 75 babies.

“It helps babies reduce their stress levels, which helps everything. It helps them sleep better,” said Dara Barnett, a lactation consultant in the neonatal intensive care unit. “It helps them grow better. It helps them leave the NICU in fewer days.”

Celetano is a mom of two and a grandmother of three. She takes it all in stride, including the moment during our visit when a diaper got dirty.

“He’s happy when he’s finished,” Celentano said, laughing. “So, it’s a beautiful thing.”

When she isn’t with Brooklyn’s littlest, Celetano helps at Maimonides’ volunteer office.

“I think it’s important for everyone to do something that is — that helps the community,” she said.

It’s a community of neighbors, both big and small.

“I can’t think of a better way to spend my days than cuddling these babies, these little humans that need that kind of physical touch,” she said.

For helping Brooklyn’s youngest residents get off to a good start, Sandra Celentano is our New Yorker of the Week.