Was meeting with an old friend and networking buddy this morning for coffee. It is always great to meet up with the oldie but goodie friends especially when you can pick up right where you left off. Peggy Murriner, Owner of BabysitEase is such a great resource and today was just another day when she did not disappoint.

First, Peg was telling me about this new product that her company is starting to offer to their business clients. Imagine the following scenario: It is winter in Cincinnati and your child attends an elementary school that has called off for snow, again. This begins the day with frantic calling of a babysitter and scrambling around to ensure your child is well taken care of so that you can still make it in to work. OR you call off work or say that you will be working from home knowing that you won’t get near as much done because Junior is running around the house wild for a snow day. Peggy’s company, BabysitEase, is now pitching to business clients to hire BabysitEase as an added benefit to their employees. So your snow day that was completely hectic has now turned into a day where you can bring your child to the office which will have all the other children there too and BabysitEase will supply babysitters to come watch the kiddos at the office all day. Problem solved! And this is only one of the ways that an employer can use BabysitEase to “ease” their employees babysitting issues.

Second awesome thing Peggy told me about today, MealBaby.com. When talking about my pregnancy Peggy told me about this awesome website that allows you to register for meals and dates available in case a relative wants to come over with a meal for the newly exhausted parents. Perfect example, my friend Lauren Hannah just had a beautiful baby girl and George and I would love to pop over to see how the family is doing and to meet Baby Avery. When is a good time to come over? What meals do the Hannah family like to eat? This website would be a great place for Lauren to post meals that she, Mark and Sam would all enjoy. Plus, we would know what dates they were available for George and I to stop over with a meal. The best is that the service is free and it allows you to choose friends and family to email that will help make meals, deliver food or purchase a gift card of your favorite local restaurant. Sign me up!

Last thing I’ll share with you is another one that Peggy posted on Facebook (I told you she was a great resource). Thinking about our upcoming vacation, I couldn’t help but think how much fun it will be when we get to take Baby Herron on vacation. I think our first family vaca will be next April with Grandma and Grandpa Bird in Florida for Spring Break. This website that Peggy shared is a worldwide directory of baby gear rental. FABULOUS! You can go just about anywhere in the world and rent the pack-n-play or high chair versus trying to make-do in your hotel or condo accommodations. Obviously you can’t lug everything with you that Baby will need especially if you plan to fly (and yes Mr. Herron we plan to fly) so I thought this concept was brilliant. Check out Travels With Baby before you head out to your next family destination with your little bundle of joy.

Any other golden gems you know about to help make first time motherhood a cinch? Share them here so we can all enjoy the tips and tools.