Work IT Mommy: Smart Solutions Toolkit for Working Mothers Review & Giveaway

Information is power. As a first-time mom I remember surfing the web for maternity and baby clothing, room décor and those countdown calendars on what to expect in the different stages of the pregnancy. All were helpful but what I didn’t even realize that I was missing was information on how to balance my pregnancy with my professional life.

CEO and mother of two, Danielle Heller, created Smart Solutions Toolkit a box of materials for working moms to use from the point at which the home pregnancy test comes up positive.  The Toolkit is broken into five main areas

I. Health & Safety

• An infant choking and CPR magnet
• Child Immunization Card
• Important Number Flip Card

II. Child Care

• Assessing your child care needs chart
• Child Care/Nanny Interviewing Forms
• Child Care Reference Check Form
• Daily Baby Log Tear-Offs

III. Working Mother Preparation

• Countdown to Maternity Leave Guide
• Countdown to Work Re-Entry Guide
• Post Pregnancy Clothing Crisis Solutions
• Maternity Leave Confirmation Memo Template
• Breast Milk Pumping Space Proposal

IV. Organizational Tools

• Menu Planner with Detachable Shopping Lists
• Weekly Clothing Planner
• “Don’t Leave Without” Door Hanger

V. Alternative Work Schedule

• Alternative Work Schedule Preparation Worksheet
• Alternative Work Schedule Template
• Alternative Work Schedule Agreement Memo

Upon reading all the documents in the toolkit, the one I found most valuable from my own experience of working throughout my pregnancy and then returning to the workplace was the “Countdown to Maternity Leave Guide.” This guide offers monthly reminders on when to alert your supervisor and colleagues, when to nail down your company’s maternity leave policy, checking insurance coverage and disability options and taking care of final office concerns before beginning your leave.

All of the advice in this kit serves to empower working moms and allow them to remain being seen as the organized professionals they are and will continue to be in the workplace.  What really struck me is the power position many of the reminders will put the mom-to-be with the HR department and her supervisors.  The kit includes ready-made memo templates for maternity leave confirmations and proposals for breast milk pumping spaces or alternative work schedules.

I would highly recommend this as a present for a friend or family member that has just announced a pregnancy. This kit is the neatly-packaged advice I would love to pass on to a friend from my own experience but never had the time and focus to capture in one place. The entire kit can be purchase for $39.95 at www.smartsolutionstoolkit.com and they even offer a gift wrap option.

GIVEAWAY: Danielle at Smart Solutions is providing a free kit to two lucky That’s IT Mommy readers. Ends 5/4/11.

REQUIRED MAIN ENTRY – To enter,  let us know where you get your best advice on how to succeed as a working mom? Leave your comment in the reply box below this post. (Remember if this MAIN ENTRY is not followed then no other entries will count)

Optional Bonus Entries – Leave each extra entry in a separate comment. Worth 1 each unless otherwise noted.

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• Enter another one of our current giveaways (3 extra – 3 separate comments #1, #2, #3)
• Leave a message on any non-giveaway post (let us know which one)
• Tweet about this giveaway (Copy – #Win a Smart Solutions Toolkit for Working Mothers @ThatsITmommy http://thatsitmommy.com/?p=11465 2 winners!) come back daily and leave us the link to the tweet (1 extra)

THIS GIVEAWAY WILL RUN THROUGH MIDNIGHT ON MAY 4, 2011 (PST). WINNER WILL BE CHOSEN USING RANDOM.ORG FROM ALL VALID ENTRIES AND NOTIFIED VIA EMAIL. WINNER WILL HAVE 48 HOURS TO CONTACT US BEFORE ANOTHER WINNER IS CHOSEN. GIVEAWAY IS OPEN TO 48 CONTIGUOUS US STATES RESIDENTS ONLY (18+).

* WE DID NOT RECEIVE MONETARY COMPENSATION FOR THIS REVIEW. THAT’S IT MOMMY RECEIVED A KIT TO FACILITATE THIS REVIEW.
 THIS WILL IN NO WAY SWAY OUR OPINION OF THE PRODUCT OR SERVICE.
 THE REVIEW IS IN OUR OWN WORDS AND IS OUR OPINION. YOUR RESULTS AND OPINIONS MAY DIFFER.