Must Have Kid/Baby Item

an appliance cardboard box....hands-down, the winner!

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The Potette Plus 2 in 1 potty! This has served us very well on many outings and road trips. We just buy regular 4 gallon (wastebasket size) plastic bags instead of the refills though.

http://www.amazon.com/Kalencom-2-in-1-Potette-Plus-Red/dp...

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For age 0-3: Ergo! Best investment I have made in a baby item.

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baby items - sleep sacks and our angel care motion monitor. it really gave us piece of mind

kids - they grow in and out of phases so quickly, it seems like they like the cheaper things (i totally get Sue's answer ;) ) better than the expensive toys! haha but so far, our daughter really loves her kid trampoline. its fun exercise and a way to channel extra energy :)

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I couldn't live without our Ergo (infant into toddler)

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bouncy seat was a huge one for both of my kids but esspecially my daughter who had severe acid reflux.

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My Ergo baby carrier. I have a bad back, but can carry my 2 year old in this for hours pain free. My infant can ride in it too. I can accomplish SO much more when I have a good baby carrier :)

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Well, my girls are 7 & 13 but we still can't live w/out our pizza cutter - perfect for cutting the crust off pb & j's & works great on pancakes too!!!!

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Duct tape. To cover all those annoying, loud, electronic toy speakers.

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Lots of good answers here. I'd like to add two.

*Wipes Warmer (wait till you get peed on a few times with those cold wipes). :)

*Bumpkin's bibs (infant through toddler). I remember washing a gazillion bibs a day with our first, then we finally discovered Bumpkins when he was about 15 months old. These bibs are great because you can rinse them under the faucet and hang them up to dry. I'll still throw them in the wash every couple of weeks, or if it is a really messy meal, but it is SO nice to not have to wash a pile of bibs every couple of days!

1. Bath toys
2. heavy duty backpack...we went through diaper bag after diaper bag after cheap backpacks...and now I will spend $$$$ on the better backpacks. Each kid has one and they can pack them up themselves and if it fits they can take it when we go on road trips. Or to grammas and papas...

And I will say Sue H. is right lots of cardboard boxes.

The umbrella stroller kept in the car for tired out kids at a parade or shopping or whatever.

Infant: Boppy
Toddler : Plasmacar
Young Child: starfall.com

baby item - Fisherprice rainforest take along swing. She loved that (and the fisherprice rainforest bouncer).

Toddler item - It's a toss up, little tike giant toy box (she has a lot of toys being the first child/grandchild in the family lol) or the child bike carrier seat that goes behind my seat. She loves to go bike riding with me :o)

Swaddle me blankets! My youngest (now 2) couldn't sleep without one up until he was about 6 months. He was a light sleeper & swaddling him in a normal blanket he could free his arms eventually and would wake himself up and was hard to get him back to sleep. Since the swaddle me blankets velcro that is the one thing he couldn't get out of, after that he slept wonderfully! I never knew about them until I got one as a gift at my shower, my friend said it was a must have and she was right!

Wi-fi! Not being tied to a desk computer in your house when you want to look up something about your kids is really nice!

Boppy and exersaucer.

Electric baby swing. That thing was a life saver! There was a 3 week time span that my son had to be rocked constantly and would wake up immediately if the rocking stopped. Since we couldn't rock him 24/7 I put him in the swing and turned it on low speed. I don't think we would have survived without it!

Once he started walking the best thing was baby gates. I put a gate across his bedroom door so he could safely play when I couldn't keep one eye glued to him. I had another baby gate across the doorway to the kitchen so I didn't have to worry about him getting in there.

My maclarin umbrella stroller it is 8yrs old and still great.. so lightweight u can fold it with one hand.

For little babies, our Baby Bjorn sling. It allowed me to deal with a little baby and have free hands for two toddlers! It was the most secure and back-saving sling I tried. I tried four others. What a waste of money! Also, our Roomba (the sixth member of our family). Three little kids make so much mess and I found I was sweeping four or five times a day. The Roomba has saved me a lot of time and effort.

MOBY (wrap) for me and Bjorn for husband (and me sometimes). Seriously, my arms would fall of without them.

When she was first born her bouncer from bright starts ingenuity due to it had the vibration mode. She loved that. Then at two months it was the razberry teether. She has been teething since then and is the best thing in the world. And now her jumperoo. She loves that thing.

bumbo seat:we used that like crazy. my chicco cortino stroller I walk everywhere so it's definatly a can't live without. It is also the best stroller I have ever owned,full size yet light enough to carry with one hand.

After about 3 months the exersaucer is great! As they get older it's the simple things they enjoy - color books/crayons and books. All of my kids also love to be outside so a bucket and pail or some matchbox cars are perfect. My daughter loves her babies too (she's 4).

Video Monitor.

And the little sponge bath mat--shaped like a bear. Tried all the baby tubs, chairs, etc and you can't beat it for like 2.99, you can replace every few weeks if you need to.

Baby wipes! We have them on the kitchen table and take them everywhere we go!

The push car my MIL bought, my little one loves to ride in it and doesn't fuss like in the stroller. http://www.step2.com/product.cfm?product_id=1155

Dual dvd player for the car! Absolute Godsend!!