More notifications between actively played households!

I know there are mods for some of the items you are asking for; I don't use them, but I know they are available. They do have a way to switch families in live mode: visit the household you want, then click the front door; the option should appear.

Not attending work doesn't affect them when they are not the active household; they don't get paid regardless of whether they are active at the end of their workday. You can send them to work if you rotate in and they have not gone. 

Babies are the big ones. You have three options: play the household until the baby is born, mods, or let go of being there for every birth. I have a rotation save that now spans 4-5 generations of family, starting from 4 matriarchs, and includes various scenarios. I've given up on being there for every child's birth, but that is partly because I stick to a reasonably strict one week per family and tend to follow their whims/wishes when it comes to having a baby.

I hope at least some of the above is helpful.