One of the first babies born in the new year in Jefferson County took his time getting here. Tyler James Holmes was born at 2:14 a.m. Jan. 14, weighing 6 pounds, 15.6 ounces, after his mother, Ravyn Holmes, underwent 33 hours of labor, 24 of them at Jefferson Healthcare Hospital. “At the time, I was thinking, ‘Why did I do this?’” Ravyn said, laughing. “I was concerned for him because it was taking so long. I actually dropped off to sleep a few times during labor.” Once Tyler was born, though, his mother was content simply to spend time with her family’s new arrival. “Aw, he’s making funny faces,” Ravyn said to James Reid, the uncle of her husband, Morgan James. Because Morgan left for U.S. Army basic training at Fort Benning, Georgia, a week before his son was born, he was unable to be there for the birth, but his uncle James took Ravyn to the hospital, and he even videotaped the birth. “It was pretty incredible,” Reid said. “All my life, I’ve been afraid of being there during a birth, but witnessing a birth for the first time was amazing. I handled it a lot better than I thought I would.” “Probably because, once the delivery finally started happening, it happened too fast for you to freak out,” Ravyn said. Ravyn was gratified to learn from nurses that Tyler is healthy, news she relayed to Morgan via phone. “I told Morgan how much he weighed and how long the labor was,” Ravyn said. “He replied, ‘Damn,’” she added, laughing again. While many moms expect to deal with crying newborns, Ravyn has a slightly different concern. “My baby is very happy and quiet,” Ravyn said. “Even when he cries, it’s very mellow. In fact, the nurses were just outside the door, and he was so quiet they couldn’t even hear him crying. I want to be able to hear him when he’s crying.” After he was born, Tyler fought off going to sleep for most of the day, but he finally dozed off by the afternoon, some squirming aside. “I’m just glad, knowing he’s content,” Ravyn said. “He looks just like his dad. We’ve looked at Morgan’s baby pictures, and you seriously wouldn’t be able to tell them apart.” Like Ravyn, Reid was exhausted by the time the afternoon rolled around, but he remained in high spirits. “Being part of this birth has been one of the most beautiful, serene gifts God has ever given us,” Reid said. “I’ve never felt more blessed than I do at this moment, and I’ve never been more proud of this woman, her husband, and now, their child.”