I am driving to my old home in London, leaving my new one in the suburbs of Essex behind me. I say 'new' but in reality I have lived there for nearly four years. Before, I lived in a top floor apartment in town with views across the rooftops and a short stroll from Regents Park; now I live in a sprawling family house which could contain the floor space of my previous abode several times over.

When I lived in London I walked everywhere, never ventured out of Zone One without a passport and inoculations and dreamed of upgrading from my two bedroom Baker Street flat to a massive wedding cake of pillared splendour in Holland Park 'when I got married'. I will admit that one of the things that impressed me about my future husband was the prominently displayed Kensington & Chelsea parking permit on his windshield, in addition to the fact that he kept saying, "When I lived in Chelsea Harbour…." Hooray I thought, I have found my soulmate - a man who professes to love London as much as I do! In fact London played a vital part in our courtship, an architectural matchmaker, as we explored neighbourhoods, listened to the opera at Holland Park and went for walks along the river. It was easy to fall in love when surrounded by the beauty and majesty of this wonderful city, with a man who was as enamoured of its charms as I have always been.

However, I should have listened more closely as 'when I lived in Chelsea Harbour' turned out to mean 'I now live in Essex'. I had never been further east than the City of London (and even that was on a school trip when I was 11); in fact when I made the trip to Essex for the first time I was amazed at what lay along the route - Canary Wharf - a shining metropolis that I never knew existed. Shiny skyscrapers and even a Nobu…I squealed as excited as the schoolgirl I had once been. Gants Hill with its salt beef bars and bagel bakeries to rival Brick Lane and of course Ilford with its wonderful Indian food stores, restaurants and shops selling everything from paan to shalwar kameezes. How fabulous! Before you could say, 'I do' I was married and packing up my lovely flat to move to the suburbs and preparing to commute into town. It's really not that far, I reasoned, only a tube ride away. I tried to convince my London friends who all assured me that they would brave the District Line to visit on weekends: "But, you'll still come into town, nah?"

For the next two years we resided in Essex but lived in London. We still went to the latest hip restaurants, partied with our friends at Tramp till all hours and shopped on Bond Street and Jermyn Street for the latest handbag or handmade shirt. Movie nights were at Kensington Odeon and we enjoyed lazy brunches at The Collection and Tartine. On the rare occasions that we were at home we filled the house with family and friends all too eager to escape the city smog and take advantage of the swimming pool and sprawling garden. I imitated Martha Stewart preparing huge meals and long days of 'Fun Things to do in Essex'. Trips to Ilford for kababs and the latest Bollywood movie soundtrack or further into the countryside for the perfect pub lunch - there was no end to our resourcefulness!

Then suddenly with the birth of our daughter Sabrina everything changed. London suddenly seemed so far away and I was forced to turn to the charms of my new home. I felt as if I was cheating on my beloved London with my new local love as I stealthily began to explore the attractions on my doorstep. I refused to admit that I no longer shopped in London but at Bluewater, a huge shopping mall stuffed with London labels, so no one would know that I had bought the new Chloé top in Kent and not in Knightsbridge. I would tell friends that I celebrated giving up breastfeeding by enjoying a grande caffe latte from Starbucks (in Romford not Regent Street) and that I had not seen the latest blockbuster the week it came out as I was too tired, not because films take a week longer to make it to the suburbs! Eventually I came to realise that I now lived in Essex and was happy to admit to buying Krispy Kreme doughnuts in Bluewater and not from Harrods (seriously, no queues!).

But, I could not forget my true love and realised that I had to introduce Sabrina to London so that she could fall in love with the city as her mother had done before her. As a woman unfettered by a baby I could jump on the tube with my trusty one-day travel card; now I would plan the day like a military operation. Beginning the night before, I would pay the day's congestion charge, then fill the car with petrol. The car would then be stuffed to bursting with stroller, baby bag, bulky car seat, toys, £50 in £1 coins to pay for the extortionate parking and of course, the baby and off we would go.

A new London opened up for me; instead of heading to Joseph on Draycott Avenue I now turned sharp left onto Walton Street and lost myself in Marie Chantal baby clothes, smocked dresses in The Monogrammed Linen Shop and hand painted nursery furniture at Dragons. No longer interested in the thread count of Frette sheets I splashed out on a hand-embroidered duvet, pillows and cot bumper by the Gordonsbury Company at Daisy & Tom on Kings Road. I was dressed in GAP while Dior, Burberry and Harrods dressed Sabrina. Thanks to the plethora of upwardly mobile new mothers living in town, London has become a lot more baby friendly. Peter Jones in Sloane Square has the most amazing baby changing and feeding area complete with state of the art rocking chairs and bottle warming facilities. I now know which restaurants are most appropriate - Carluccio's cafes have a stockpile of high chairs as does Cecconi's restaurant near Bond Street, Babes 'n' Burgers in Notting Hill even has a crèche so Mama can use both hands to eat her meal while baby happily plays in safety and comfort.

As the months passed and my little baby grew into a toddler I realised that all our trips in London mimicked all my childhood visits to town with my parents - visiting Harrods to meet Father Christmas or to buy a party dress, afternoon tea at the Georgian Restaurant or Café Richoux, picnics in Hyde Park, even to see a film although now there are special mother-and-baby showings at The Electric Cinema or at Whiteleys. Just as my parents did with my sister, brother and I, we are now sharing the London of our childhoods with our daughter. And one day in the not too distant future, I am looking forward to seeing Sabrina off at the station with her friends, as excited at the prospect of a day in the big city, away from parents and suburbia, as I was many years ago.

Oh yes, I too grew up in the suburbs, west of London...did I forget to mention that?