What Matters Most to Moms

(ARA) – Thousands of women across the country will be celebrating Mother’s Day for the first time this year. It will be a day filled with presents and congratulations, and a time to reflect.
For Caly Wood,27, of Abington, Mass., it will be a day much like all the others since she brought her daughter, Maria, home from the hospital in the middle of January. “We’ll eat, read books and sleep,” she says.
Tami Battell,25, of Bridgewater, Mass., says she’ll be doing pretty much the same thing with her son, Conor, who is around the same age as Wood’s daughter. “When you have a new baby, all you want to do is spend time with them. That’s what matters most.”
Wood and Battell have never met, but both women are members of The First Years Parents Council, a national, online community — 300,000 members strong — that provides parenting insights and helpful baby product feedback. Through participation in online surveys and in-home testing of products, Parents Council members help to ensure products offered by The First Years are developed with the features they and other parents want.
“The Parents Council is a great place to turn for answers,” says Wood. She logged on to the Web site one day to try and find out if something was wrong when all her daughter wanted to do was nurse for 5 hours straight. “Other moms told me she was probably just going through a growth spurt, and that put my mind at ease.”
“I like the fact that I can get honest feedback about baby products before I bring them into my home,” says Battell.
As Mother’s Day approaches, both new moms say they’re looking forward to reading messages posted by women who, like themselves, are celebrating the holiday for the first time this year. They’re also hoping they’ll be contenders for the The First Years’ New Mom Award. The prize is something every new mom can appreciate: a cleaning service for a year.
“We are asking husbands, friends or relatives of new moms to submit a short narrative — 500 words or less — about what makes the new mom so special,” says Elizabeth Jackson of the First Years. Ten finalists will be chosen from the submissions. These finalists will be asked to share their ideas on “what matters most to them as a new mom.” A panel of judges comprised of five Parents Council members will select the winner. The contest is only open to moms with babies born in 2004. The application deadline is January 3, 2005.
To enter the contest, or become a member of the Parents Council, log on to The First Years Parents Council Web site at http://www.thefirstyears.com.
Courtesy of ARA Content

EDITOR’S NOTES: The First Years’ Parents Council continues to seek members. Membership is free and affords the following benefits:
* Receiving age-specific childcare tips and electronic newsletters;
* Meeting other parents and share information via bulletin boards;
* Sending free e-cards to friends and family to announce those special first moments in a baby’s life, such as baby’s first tooth; and
* Being the first to know about special parenting events hosted by The First Years.
Interested parents and expectant parents can become a member of The First Years’ Parents Council by logging on to www.thefirstyears.com, or calling (800) 533-6708.