Mum's the word

Before I had children, I always imagined motherhood would involve lots of swanning around in lovely floaty fabrics and sipping cappuccino at the trendy cafes, while the baby slept peacefully beside me in a shiny new bugaboo.

Well, I managed the trendy café bit... But far from being asleep, my two always spent most of their time leaping up and down on my lap, reaching their surprisingly long baby arms towards my scalding hot decaf coffee, which I'd of course placed in the exact centre of the table. My shiny new bugaboo was caked in mud from using it as some sort of baby ATV crashing through Highgate Woods during my Baby Fit (www.green-fit.co.uk) and Pushy Mothers (www.pushymothers.com) workouts. My floaty fabrics were decorated with little patches of spit-up milk, and the whole 'yummy mummy' look I was going for was marred ever so slightly by me absentmindedly feeling my boobs trying to remember which side to feed from next.

Leaving the house used to fill me with dread at times - meeting a friend for lunch wasn't just, 'Where shall we go?' any more; it became, 'Where can we go with six buggies, two double biggies and 820 lbs of baby paraphernalia?'.

Amici Delicatessen (78 High Road, East Finchley, N2 9PN) is one such place. It feels like a real old fashioned local Italian deli, with lots of delicious cured meats, cheese, pasta and toasted sandwiches, and the shelves piled high with imported biscuits, olive oil and Italian larder specialities. Best of all, like everywhere I went in Italy, the staff love kids. My little girl thinks going to Amici for a 'bambuccino' - an espresso cup of frothed milk with a dusting of chocolate powder on top - is a real adventure. Sure, they don't have highchairs, but my toddler gets her very own teeny tiny chair and table as well as lots of attention, and nobody minds when she gets a bit overexcited and runs around like a nut.

Baby Elliot is a long way off bambuccino, but he likes cooing at all the football shirts hanging from the ceiling and being carried around the café by the owner Maurizio and being shown all the deli produce. Judging by his little face, I suspect he is dying to grow some proper teeth so he can try the marinated artichokes. I also love how the staff always know what I want before I even open my mouth (my current favourite is toasted Olive Ciabatta filled with Mozarella, Pesto, Fresh Tomatoes and Artichoke with decaf coffee - yum). I'm not sure I could survive 48 hours without a visit to Amici - they don't have all the stuff that, on paper, makes a place child friendly, but somehow it doesn't matter!

Pop over to www.reallykidfriendly.com to read more about Amici and some other child friendly spots in London, find the perfect place to meet up with mummy friends, or check out our 'Free - or nearly' section for great family days out that won't break the bank!

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