Marshalltown couple Jessica and Wes Bolen welcomed their son Edward into the world bright and early on Monday, July 11, just 23 weeks and two days into mom’s pregnancy. As she sees it, little Eddie knew just how much they wanted to meet him, so he came early.

The Wednesday before Eddie came into the world, the Bolens visited the Mary Greeley Medical Center in Ames for a checkup because Jessica had been experiencing pain. When they went in, they found nothing out of the ordinary. The discomfort had subsided for the most part, so they returned home. That Saturday, Jessica’s water broke.

They returned to Mary Greeley to confirm that she was in labor, and from there, they immediately headed to MercyOne Hospital in Des Moines, as Mary Greeley can only deliver babies that have reached 34 weeks.

In Des Moines, Jessica was able to get two steroid shots to help with Eddie’s lung development, and the medical staff there were able to stop her contractions. They hoped they would be able to delay his arrival by remaining in the hospital on bed rest for the foreseeable future, but alas, Eddie had other plans. The pains that Jessica had been experiencing started once again around 1 a.m. that Monday.

Around 5 a.m. that same morning, Jessica’s doctor examined her, and they decided to opt for a cesarean section. When Eddie was born, he weighed just one pound, six ounces and was 11¼ inches tall.

It was a bit of a shock because the long-term plan was for Jessica to stay in Des Moines on bed rest. Wes, who works at Emerson in Marshalltown, was planning on going to work that Monday, so he had driven home.

“It was really scary for me, especially because Wes wasn’t there when everything started, you know. They were getting me ready to go to procedure. There’s all these nurses running around and everything,” Jessica said.

Wes felt the same way when he found out Jessica was getting ready for a c-section.

“It was terrifying. She gave me that call to go down there, and I flew,” Wes said.

Even though he was an hour away, Wes was able to make it to Des Moines before Eddie arrived, and Jessica said the nurses at MercyOne were immensely helpful before he got there. Because it was an emotional experience, it was difficult for her to talk on the phone, but Jessica said the nurses were able to help her relay the necessary information to her family members, and they helped her get through the stressful situation in one piece.

“The nurses at Des Moines were great. They were trying to get me pumped because we were just having a birthday party for Eddie a little bit sooner than we wanted. They were really — they helped me,” Jessica said.

The procedure went well, and Wes was able to accompany Eddie up to the neonatal intensive care unit. Jessica recalled seeing Eddie just before he was taken to the NICU for a split second and thinking how small he was. That was the start of what would be a long road for an especially resilient baby.

“He’s been pretty good for the most part. He has ups and downs. He gets really comfy, and then he’ll have what are called Brady Spells. That’s where your oxygen and your pulse drop. It’s kind of like they forget to breathe. So, he just gets too comfy and his body still feels like it’s in utero, so it doesn’t have to work as hard, but he’s doing pretty good,” Jessica said.

Saturday marked what would have been 29 weeks for Eddie, but he’s turning six weeks old on Monday. Aside from the Brady Spells, he also had a heart murmur called patent ductus arteriosus (PDA).

Normally, when a baby is in utero, blood flows from the umbilical cord straight to the heart, and it bypasses the lungs since they aren’t yet needed. This creates an opening between two major blood vessels leading from the heart. Generally, this opening closes after birth, but when it doesn’t, it’s called PDA.

Because that opening didn’t close, Eddie was having problems with blood not circulating to the correct places, and it also caused other issues with his kidneys. Jessica said they needed to get the PDA taken care of, and while they could have gotten surgery at MercyOne in Des Moines, they chose to go to the University of Iowa Hospital in Iowa City for a less invasive procedure that would close the vessel.

That procedure was completed just over a week ago, and Eddie is still recovering at the Iowa City hospital. Aside from those challenges, he has been reasonably healthy, though it’s still early.

“So far, we’ve been really lucky. The PDA was a big thing. We’ve still got a really long way to go. He could get an infection from anything, and he’s still really little,” Jessica said. “We’re focusing on growing. Every uneventful day is a good day.”

For now, Eddie will remain in the hospital and work on getting bigger, but Wes and Jessica are hopeful that they’ll be able to take him home near Thanksgiving. He was originally due Nov. 5, and for babies born as early as Eddie, it’s customary that they stay in the hospital at least until their due date.

Obviously, when they can take him home depends on what happens in the next few months, but Jessica did say Eddie “joined the two-pound club” last week — he’s officially two pounds, four ounces. While he is still on a ventilator, they are hoping that with the PDA fixed, he’ll be breathing on his own next week.

Jessica and Wes are staying in the Ronald McDonald house in Iowa City so they don’t have to make such a long trip to be with Eddie, and they are extremely grateful for the help they have received from the organization, as well as all of the support they’ve received from friends and family.

“We just appreciate all the support that we’ve got from friends and family and co-workers,” Wes said.

While there is still a long road ahead, for now, the couple is taking it one day at a time and rooting for Eddie every step of the way. Those who would like to support Jessica and Wes can visit their GoFundMe page at https://www.gofundme.com/f/baby-eddie-and-parents-jess-wes.

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Contact Susanna Meyer at 641-753-6611 or

smeyer@timesrepublican.com.