Syncere Nakhiyé Jackson, all of about four hours old, wrinkled his nose, made a few tiny sounds and curled his tiny hand into a gentle clasp of his mother’s finger.

He’s already a star, entrancing a group of admirers with his dark hair, peaceful demeanor and plump little cheeks.

Born at 1:45 p.m. Tuesday at Virginia Baptist Hospital in Lynchburg, the 7-pound, 9.5-ounce baby boy is the first at the hospital to be part of the new generation of Americans arriving on the other side of the 300 million mark for the U.S. population.

According to the U.S. Census, babies born after 7:46 a.m. Oct. 17, 2006, entered a world set apart from a more leisurely past in which it took more than 50 years for the population to go from 100 million to 200 million, but less than 40 years to reach 300 million.

When Syncere is in middle age, he’s likely to be part of a lively nation of 400 million people.

But for now, wrapped in a newborn’s blanket, he’s resting quietly on his mother’s chest.

Schawanda Carter, 19, is his amazing mom. Her firstborn’s nine-month journey was completed in a labor that began at about 2 a.m., with a 5 a.m. arrival at the hospital and a delivery at 1:45 p.m.

By a little after 5 p.m. she was really holding her son for the first time and sharing the moment with his dad, Ronald Jackson, by her side. Her mom, Tammie Watkins, and sister, Dionna, 11, were with her in the mother-baby unit, as well.

Being a dad “is exciting,” Jackson said. People who’ve seen Syncere say he looks like his dad - and his mom. “He has my nose,” Jackson said.

Seeing her baby for the first time was an emotional moment for Carter - he was an active baby during her pregnancy and she knew she was carrying a son.

When he grows up she wants him to go to school, maybe play some football. Carter, class of 2004, Appomattox County High School, spent much of her early life in Lynchburg and now lives in Spout Spring.

Jackson did the driving Tuesday morning to Lynchburg. But this was no sitcom moment. “It was calm,” he said.

She knew the population was moving into 300 million, Carter said, but not that her son would be born on the day it happened. “I knew it was October,” she said.

His world is likely to be a little more crowded than his mom’s was.

When Carter was born in 1986, Tammie Watkins thought that the Lynchburg area would be a nice place to raise a family. Not a lot of crime, a good place to raise children without having to worry too much.

Being a grandmother, “it’s been a wonderful experience - exciting,” she said.

And Syncere’s birth also makes Dionna Watkins an aunt, something she’s pretty pleased about. “I’m happy,” she said, standing in the room waiting for the baby to be brought in.

Next to the new mother’s bed was a huge balloon in the shape of a blue foot, emblazoned with “It’s a boy.” It floated on a streamer, surrounded by smaller star-shaped balloons tied to weight.

After her son’s birth, Carter had seen him briefly before nurses spirited him away to the newborn intensive care to monitor his rapid breathing, which slowed to its normal pace shortly thereafter.

So, when the nurse rolled the baby into the room and placed his tiny form on her chest, mother and baby were together again - and happy about it.

It’s good to be close to your mom in a crowd of 300 million people.