First-time grandparents of Silas Coady Young marveled Tuesday as they watched news reporters and photographers document Mecklenburg County’s first baby of the year at Presbyterian Hospital.

“This is so incredible. He’s a little star,” said Jodi Henrickson, Silas’ maternal grandmother, from Salem, Va.

“We’re pretty darned excited,” said maternal grandfather Chuck Bamford of Cornelius. “If we can’t get a tax deduction (in 2012), we ought to at least get first baby of the year.”

Silas, who weighed 7 pounds, 4 ounces, and measured 20 inches long, was born 10 minutes after midnight on New Year’s Day.

The county’s second baby of the year followed closely – 23 minutes after midnight at Carolinas Medical Center. Leadro Schulz, who weighed 6 pounds, 14 ounces, will share the New Year’s Day birthday with his mother, Liliana Schulz. She and the baby’s father, Jorge Diaz, live in Charlotte.

Silas’ arrival followed a long day of labor at Presbyterian’s birthing center, but the baby’s parents, Ada and Andrew Young, appeared calm amid the unexpected attention.

“It’s a really good birthday to have,” Ada Young, 28, told reporters. “It’s your day off, and everybody’s happy.”

Andrew Young, 31, an Army veteran who served four tours in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, half-jokingly plotted a similar course for his son: “He’s gonna be graduating from West Point in 2031 and take command of the Delta Force in 2035 or 2036.”

The new parents, who met at Appalachian State University and married almost four years ago, moved to Charlotte in August after finishing graduate school at East Tennessee State University. Ada Young teaches biology, anatomy and physiology at Central Piedmont Community College in Charlotte. Andrew Young teaches pre-calculus and trigonometry at South Piedmont Community College in Monroe.

Silas was four days past his Dec. 27 due date, and Andrew Young said his wife had tried various strategies to get things moving. “She ate a whole pineapple. And all the spices she could find. I think she took advantage of it. She said frozen yogurt helps induce labor.”

Ada Young smiled: “I read that somewhere.”

As is custom, Presbyterian sent gifts to the first baby: A white basket tied with silver ribbon held a cuddly teddy bear wearing a Happy New Year hat, a cute stuffed giraffe and a picture frame with space for an image every month of the first year.

As the first grandchild in either family, Silas already has plenty of clothes, toys and baby paraphernalia. “We have tons of diapers and every ointment known to man,” Ada Young said. “He was well-planned and wanted.”

Grandmothers Henrickson and Nancy Young, Andrew Young’s mother, from Greensboro, admired photos on a cell phone and planned the fun they will have with their new grandson.

“I’ve already bought him a life-jacket,” said Nancy Young, who wants to be called “Nana” instead of grandma. “I’ll be teaching this boy to swim.”

Hendrickson, who wants her grandson to call her “Mammie,” added: “I’m looking forward to not being responsible for raising him, but just being able to enjoy him.

“Silas is going to do good things in the world,” she predicted. “He comes from good parents.”