Secret Mum Club with Sophiena - The Belly Button Peg

Episode Date: May 28, 2026

There’s confusion in the studio as one listener shares the story of keeping their baby’s “belly button peg”. Plus, an uplifting story about a child thriving at their third-choice school and the ladies help a young listener facing a big next step..Emma Spring Bank Holiday Sale is live! Get up to 25% off plus extra 5% using the code SECRETSLEEP at Emma Sleep.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello, this is The Secret Mum Club. I'm Safina and I'm Emma. And welcome to your Thursday's episode. Where we get to squeeze in all the extra bits and bobs from the week. Squeeze your bits, honey. All of your comments, thoughts, questions and fun stories. To get you going through the weekend. Show a jumpon in.

It's time for another. Correspondence Corner! Way better than mine. I didn't even take a breath. Do you suck dick? Oh my God, Everjones. Oh shit. Sorry, I've just filled my walls for everything.

She's just cried out of her vagina. You haven't her Thursday's episode? Go back. This is Thursday. Oh my mug is crying. Go back to Tuesday. I'm so sorry. It's because we're in a smaller studio. Her vagina is crying. I just had an involuntary knee jerk and it knocked my water over on the table.

Sorry. We're in a very smaller. I'm not used to this. They're smaller. Smaller? The studio space has been cut in half basically. So I'm not used to this. We're half and half.

She just need the table. Thank you. Inserting a tea towel to wipe your tears. Dry your eyes, mate. Dry your eyes. You know it's hard to know when your life has been made up. There's plenty more fish in the sea. Who remembers that date in website?

Dry your eyes, mate. Poff. My friend met her hair partner on Puff. I met Chris on Poff. Did you? Yeah, he messaged me on Poff. I've told you this story. Well, and then you took it external?

I didn't reply back to him on there because I didn't like his friends. And then he was in a nightclub. No, I've told you this story a million times. Chris messaged me on plenty of fish. I didn't reply back because I didn't like his friends because they were horrible to me in the nightclub days. Oh, you knew them? Yeah.

Well, knew of them. Yeah. It'd be like being around town. Yeah. And then I said to my friend Sherry, uh, Sherry, there's that lad that messes me off plenty of fish.

Sherry, bless her heart in a drunken state. Turned round. I was just like boogieing on the dance floor, took a sip of me drink, turned around and she was like, Safina, Chris, Chris Safina. I just stood there. Cheers.

Like, fucking hell this man, unless you're on plenty of fish and I didn't reply. Left him on red. Awkward. And then we spoke for a bit, went to the toilet and I said, I don't you ever, ever do that to me ever again. Carried on our night, 6.30 in the morning, Facebook message from Chrissy.

And it said, hello, fellow electrician. Still got the message to this day. Do you remember the conversation or were you off your tits? I wasn't off my tits. Sherry was, bless her up, it was just Thursday night and town. Funny, I said in the car on the way to town I'm meeting my husband tonight as a joke. And then I'm now with Chris. And then that first date, did you kiss him?

Ten years. No. Didn't kiss him for probably a couple of months. date. Wow. Chris is a very, he's very gentleman-like. Yeah. Gentleman like. He's a gentleman. Gentleman. He's a gentle giant. He's a gentle giant. He's a gentle giant. He's actually

a really gentleman on the first night. Did you shag him on the first night? No. That was really crude. Sorry I asked that actually. But I did want to know. But there's no judgment though. If you want to, I mean if you want to. Yeah, if the moment's right, I'm going with it. Why not? Honey, you do you boobos. No, I didn't.

My was quite boring, really. Not the date. Just that we didn't kiss. We didn't hold hands. Nothing. No, we should go for dinners. Well, Matt. Very civilized.

The rest is history. Oh, as they say. You used to take me out into the new forest. It's quite scary. Looking back in the dark depths of the forest. It's very murdery. But there you go. If you ever wanted to know, not very exciting.

but that is how I met Chrissy. I want to bring back dating stories on the main air. Oh, can we bring back? Please. I'd really love to bring dating stories. Yeah. Because they bring me a lot of joy. There is so much.

I just really love love. Yeah. Look, I really love, love how people meet. I love knowing how, like, how people have met. Yeah. It's funny actually. Like, we were talking about Venezuela Fury getting married the other day. She's 16.

So a lot of people have been like, she's 16. that's no age to get married and I was reading in the comments. Also people saying she's breaking the law because you're not allowed to get married at 16. Yeah, with parental consent you can but normally you have to be 18. But I was going deep into the comments and a lot of people were like, a lot of people were against it. But a lot of people were like, well, when you know, you know, I've been with my partner since I was 14 or 15 or 16 and people were saying like 30, 40 years later we're still together. Oh, don't. It absolutely melts my heart.

It's so adorable. I just can't cope, guys. I can't go. Right, we haven't got time for it in this episode, but let's bring it back. Bring it back. Bring it back for the main. Drop us a message. We'll bring it back. Okay.

Anywho, sorry, we've got way late on the correspondence corner. I'm really sorry, Jess. Here is your moment now, my honey. Okay, this says, hi ladies. I was listening to your episode about keeping your baby's belly button umbilical cord and it reminded me of my best friend's reaction to my sons. At the time, she didn't have any children and I'd just had my son. I kept sending her pictures of his peg, as we called it,

because it was so weird watching the process of it coming off. When it finally came off, she was round at my house helping with a nappy change when she asked me why I didn't opt to give him an iny. I had absolutely no idea what she was talking about until she explained that if they cut the umbilical cord shorter, that's how you get an in belly button instead of an outy? What the helly? I couldn't stop laughing at her theory and had to explain that the length they cut it yet has absolutely nothing to do with what type of belly button you end up with. Oh, I was going to say, how do we need fat checking? Oh my God. I'm so fucking gullible.

I was really, I just thought then, can we give them a designer belly button? I said, how does that no one know about this? I was just thinking I've let all three of them down. Oh my life. So overall, she was still disgusted by the whole belly button peg situation and no closer to understanding why we all have different types. Fast forward two and a half years and mine are toddler and her little baby both have any belly buttons while she's been left with a half in, half out one since her pregnancy.

Court, cut it short, that one, that's how you got an end. Cut it short. Cut it short, leave it long. Mine's got a mole inside mine. Oh, do you hate it? I've got a mole inside my belly button and every time I'm pregnant my belly button completely comes out

and all I have is this fucking big mole like a squishy mole you know the big squishy... I've got loads of them all over me and it's one big squishy mole. Could you get it removed? You probably could but you can't get to it now that it's gone back in.

You just get pregnant and then have surgery and then they can't because... But it's just one big and it goes to like a full-on boob I look like I've got one big massive boob because my belly button goes fully out and then I just have this tiny little mole on the end. Oh my God.

My belly button during pregnancy was not the one. And since actually... And again, talking about belly buttons, it's just such an off topic. We don't talk about the baby's clip. Are we talking about whether we're keeping them? There was some people literally were messaging me like, that is, you kept it.

That's disgusting. No, but people messaged into the episode, the one when you weren't here saying they've kept them and they've kept their pregnancy tests. So we're not the only weird eyes. We're not the only ones. Pregnancy and motherhood makes you do crazy things. But it's just no one also talks about the belly button when you are pregnant.

That your whole belly button can disappear. Yeah. Mine just went. Or the only reason I knew where my belly button was was because this big, massive bulgey mold on the end. Well, otherwise it was so stretched. Yeah. It didn't look like a belly button anymore. No, it looked like a bumhole.

You know, like the bit of your bumhole, the skin, the... Like a cat's. Like a full bumhole. Like a cat's bumhole. Now at bum hole and you can see all the little lines around your bum hole. That was stretched out on my belly. Wow. Yeah.

Mine's been fucked ever since, to be honest. I'm thinking of getting belly button surgery. I don't know if there's like a cosmetic procedure that you can have to sort your belly button out, but mine is wrecked. Right. Because my bums were so big. I've got three stretch marks from each baby. Me and you had matching ones. Yeah.

It's like the triangle, isn't it? Mine's like a heart not finished star. I've got one at the bottom, which was Colby. One to the left is dotty and then one to the right is runners. Yeah. And it's just three, three little, three little stretch marks. Yeah, mine's the same. Or they look like scars now though.

Yeah. Not really stretch marks. They're like kind of like silvery. Anyway. Anyway. I think mine got that bad though because it was already. Your bumps were big though and you were only so diddy. Mine came from my piercings.

My skin got stretched within an inch of its life. But I'm convinced the reason why I scarred so much was because that was already pierced skin. It was kind of already like scar tissue. And if I'd only listened to my mum when I was. was 15, I would never have had that done. Listen, if you're 15 and listening and you want your belly button pierce, you do that. Don't listen to your mum and dad. I keep saying to Eden or, should we go and get your belly button pierce?

She's like, no, auntie. I'm like, oh, go on. Is it still trendy to have your belly button pierced? I don't know. Because everyone was getting it done in like 2003. I was 13 when I had mine done. Were you? That's young.

Well, Roxanne had her done at 16 and then I waited a year later and I said to my mum, can I have it done? She went, yeah. And then Roxanne was like, so you made me wait till I was 16, but you let her. But that's the perks of being the young year. You know, you get away with murder. Yeah. Yeah.

Although, did really want my nipples pierced, but I never actually went through with that. I got really ugly tits, if I've never mentioned it before. My big old burger nipples. No one needs. I think it's very edgy to have your nips done. Yeah, I think it's very cool. It's nothing like sexier on a woman when they've got like... Through the t-shirt, you can see the bar.

Oh, that gets the poop on. Whoa, that gets me. Go on. I just think it's so nice. Yeah, it looks good through a t-shirt. Yeah. That on a direct nip. that on my burger nipples.

No, thank you. My nipples would eat them. The bars would, they wouldn't pop out. They would just eat them. Yeah. They'd be like inverted. It'd be literally like putting an ear in and a burger. You've got an inny nipple.

Yeah, yeah. Disgusting boobies, honey. Oh, Jess. Gass bought me an endless amount of joy. Yeah. Yeah. We digress. We did digress.

I do apologise. But I'm glad we're all in this together. Yeah. Because it is the crazy things you do. And it is intriguing to see when that bit of skin does drop off. oh what they're going to have under there. It's amazing how it just turns into a neat little belly button. It just keeps giving, isn't it?

Unbelievable. And I never understood that before I had children. And then one day you're just like, wow. Wow. That's what your belly button's going to look like for your whole life. And that is how you got that belly button. Yeah. And we were connected.

Yeah. Wow. Incredible. Interesting stuff, guys, honestly. Okay. Are you ready for a last message? Yes, I am. It says, hello ladies.

I just wanted to respond to the lady who was upset about getting her third choice school. We were in this exact position two years ago, but we went with it and sent our daughter to that third choice school, and she honestly couldn't be happier. She's now in year one, absolutely adores her school and is flourishing. All the concerns I had ended up being complete non-issues, and honestly, if I knew them what I know now,

we probably would have made it our first choice from the start. I just wanted to reassure those parents who didn't get their first or even second-choice school that it doesn't have to be a disaster and might actually turn out to be for the best. Good luck to everyone, Holly from Kent. That's actually so sweet, isn't it? That's so nice because when the lady messaged it and saying she had her third school, choice. Obviously I was like, you know, sorry for you but can't relate because we got our first choice school. You got your first choice school. But to hear from someone who's been through

it and actually worked out being for the best. I got my first choice school. It wasn't actually my first choice. You got your first choice that you didn't want. Yeah. So slightly different. We still are on there. Where are we out with that now? We're still staying on there. You are. I'm still very much against her going to the school. I have actually thought about keeping her home until there's a space available at a school. Wait, you're against her staying at her current school. Yes. And she still wants to stay there.

She has now, when we last spoke, she's decided that she was going to stay, didn't she? Yeah. But I just think it's just not going to be, it's just not going to work. No. She's really not going to work. And I'm going to keep her on to see if there is a place offered. But I am tempted to keep her home rather than integrate her into a new year. Yeah.

But again, I've got a lot of, I'm packing a lot of shit in my brain at the moment. And then put her into... Wait for a place to come at the other schools. And when there's a... school a place available, then enroll her then. Yeah. But that could be for like a year. It could be for ages.

And in that meantime you're homeschooler. Wow. That's loosely because I bless me. I don't really have the mental capacity to teach. I can teach her to cook. Anyone can do it. But to write a book, spellings. Oh, not for me.

I'm sure it comes of instructions. I'm down for gardening. I'm down for cooking. I mean, look, she'll know how to lay a slab and replace a front door. Yeah, she will. life skills. They are life skills. Use the washing machine, do the dishwasher. Yeah. They're skills they can't teach you at school. Exactly. But yes, it's still, I'm still on the fence about it. But I, I think this is a lovely message because I think there is a lot of, there is a lot of pressure around the school place, isn't there? And we're all sitting waiting for that place. And as much as we really, really want it, sometimes it's out, well, it is out of our hands, isn't it? We can't always have that first choice. But I love that this has been so beneficial to you.

And it's been a positive experience. Because I think you'd spiral and like so easily and be like, oh my God, it's going to be, it's for the next however many years and it's going to be a nightmare and it's going to be the worst thing. But there's nothing to say even if you went in your third choice and you put yourself on the waiting list to get back to your first choice. That if you don't enjoy it, you're already in the waiting list to get back at that school. Yes. So hopefully it's not the end of the world, even though I think it probably feels like that at the start. It does. It's the most heartbreaking thing in the whole entire world. Yeah.

Because again, it's like it's not what you pictured for your child. So to have that taken out of your hands, it's like, so. frustrating. And then you visit the schools and you get yourself even more pumped because you're like, oh my God, I love it so much. So I'm putting an offer down on a house. And then it falls through. Yeah. Yeah. Or the cell pulls out when you've, you know, six months in and it all falls through. Yeah. I can imagine that is. And you had it all mapped out in your mind and then suddenly it's gone. Yeah. Pulled from you. Decision made on your behalf. Yeah. Not because of you. Yeah. Just because of the sister. Just one of the other stressful things in life. Yeah. It really is. So thank you for your

messages. If you have any comments, thoughts or funny stories, why not get in touch? You can email us hello at secretmumpod.com or with secret mum pod on TikTok and Instagram. Next is time for one of your secrets. I tried to do it like that when you were away. But it wasn't the same. It wasn't the same. Oh, Emma. You held the flag for both of us. You were doing great. I was like, oh, little Emma. I was like, oh, I don't know why I called a little. Sorry about that, Emma. Did you see my TikTok? Sadie calls me big one. Big one.

Nice one, big one. She's just like, all the children are little and all the adults are big. So when I say to her, like the other day I was saying to her, what's my real name? Do you know it? And she goes, Big Emma. Big one. And I said about my sister, Katie. Do you know her name, who that is?

And he said, she said, big one. And my sister was like, I think that sounds like a really cool, like chief. Yeah. Like a chief of a village. Oh, big one. Oh, big one. Oh, how big one. Oh, how big one.

Oh, hell, the big one. Yes. Yes. We're just getting into names. I'm really loving the name, the name bit at the moment. She knows it now. She says, Amma. Amma. Amma and Stefan. Oh, nice. Yeah, she's got it down. My brother-in-law, James has gone from jammies to shit. He's just shit. Bash it. Bas shit. Also, at the moment, this is probably really bad. I shouldn't say this. But it makes me really happy. Reddy says, bitches. Does he?

Because I'll say to the children, see you later, bitches. So now he just goes, bitchy. But he really emphasizes, bitches. He does the little, like, the little move. And then he'll go like this, he goes, bitchy. And also, Colby, obviously Michael Jackson, the movie is absolutely phenomenal. It's very much Michael Jackson in our house. And there's a, Redley does, he-hee!

With the little crotch grass. He sits in his cot in the morning and he goes, he-he-he. It really makes me laugh. It brings me a lot of joy in my life. But anyhow, we're off to your secret now. Emma, what have you got for us today? Okay, this comes from an anonymous listener, and it says, hi, Sophie and Emma, I'm 19, and I've been listening since the very first episode back in 2023 when I was 16. Oh, my heart can't cope.

I need some advice because I'm going to uni this September to study children's nursing, and I'm really struggling with the idea of the move. The university I'm going to is two and a half hours away, which I know it isn't actually that far, but the thought of leaving my family is making me not want to go at all. On top of that, I've also been with my boyfriend for two and a half years. and I'm really worried about leaving him too. It's such a horrible feeling and right now the thought of becoming a children's nurse almost doesn't feel worth all the hurt and upheaval of leaving everyone and everything I know.

Am I being dramatic? I genuinely need help from a fellow Welshie. Oh. I would say, just do it. I know it's really hard and I know it seems like everything you know and your whole world is going to end.

But... I'm on the opposite side. Stay home, honey. Don't do it. Don't do it! It'll be so. So worth it. Honestly, I was in the exact same position. I was like July birthday, just 18 going to uni, like so green, so fresh. Like hadn't been anywhere, hadn't done a gap year, nothing like that. I'd

never lived away from home. I had a boyfriend of like, how many years. I had a boyfriend of about four years. Three or four years. This is George. George, not his real name, but that's what we call him. He's in witness protection. But I know, I know how that feels. And I have to. I have to say it's like the best thing I ever did and hopefully it'll be the best thing you ever do too honestly it it will change your life I hope in the most positive ways if one of mine was to come to me and say my mom not I just don't do it then to eat hard let's not do it it's so hard it is hard and I'm not I don't want to diminish it because I know that like I don't I hope this doesn't come across patronising but as like being having been in that position 20 years ago which is mental

to say can you walk out of university then as in if she goes and she doesn't enjoy it, she can... You can leave. Okay. You can leave if you want to. So that's the option. So just give it a go. Yes.

But I do think... I thought you were enrolled in uni then you had to finish it. You maybe have to like pay a proportion of your fees or whatever. I'm not sure how that works. But you definitely can leave. People quit university all the time. They go there and they're like, it's not for me. Fair enough.

But I think if this is what you've got your heart set on, think about your future career. Like if you want to be a children's nurse and that's what you really want to do... And distance makes a heart grow fond. Distance makes the heart refonda. Relationship or family. Yeah, exactly. And you'll get home and when you do see your family, you'll appreciate the time more that you have with them because you're spending more time away. And same goes for your partner as well.

Yeah. You'll appreciate them more because you're not in each other's pocket. And you have got the rest of your life. You know, it sounds condescending because we're old birds over it. But it's, you have got your whole life. You're still so young. You're still so young. Yeah.

I hope that doesn't sound patronising. But I just want to scream it from the rooftops. It's like Stefan's niece recently turned 18, so she'll be going to university in September. And I just wanted to say to her, like, I know nothing I say is going to influence or change your mind. But I was like, you know, she's got a boyfriend at home and all that stuff as well. She's got a job. She's really close to her family. I just wanted to be like, please just go and have the experience.

Like, I really think you'll thrive and you'll flourish and you'll love it. And hopefully it will lead to your dream job. And the relationships that are strong enough will weather the storm. it will be worth it. Yes. And if you can both drive, like two and a half hours is not that much. No. You could drive up to see each other once a week or even twice a week.

That's not, I just don't think, please do it. I'm like itching for you to get out there and do it. I just had no interest in going to university. But it's not for everyone. No. She is saying that she wants to go, but these things are holding her back. And I'm not saying that's not easy. I know it's not.

I was so homesick at the start. Like I was four hours away from my family, four and a half hours away from my boyfriend. Like, I was lonely. but you got through it. And it'll be the best thing you ever do. Oh, I hope. That's really lovely advice. I hope so.

Well, let us know how you get on, sweetheart. We're sending you all of our love. And it is hard. It is hard to make. Because this is it. You now have to make adult decisions. You've got big decisions to make. And yes, you've just got to do what is right for you.

At the end of the day, again, don't know the facts about it. But if it's something you can stop doing or quit, if it doesn't work for you, at least you can say I gave it a try. she can say you try. Yes. Yes. But Emma has said it will be tough at the start, but you just got to stick to it. I'm saying if you don't go, I'm going to be real mad at you.

I'm joking. She will come for you. She will find you. I will find you. And she will. And I will find you. She will tell you. She is a fellow well.

She too. Or maybe even for a cup of tea. I do like to joke about Welsh people as well that they don't like to go very far. All of Stefan's family went to uni like an hour away and they were all like, oh my God, I'm leaving home. I was like, guys, there's only an hour. They live in West Wales and they either went to Aberystwood University or Cardiff University, all of them, every single one of them. None of them left Wales. None of them went further afield. What are you to do you go to?

Cardiff, but I was coming from Essex. Okay. So it was like, quite the schlep. Quite the schlep. But Stefan was like, oh my God, I'm leaving home. And I was like, you're an hour down the road. You can go back for a roast dinner every Sunday. Like, you can go home every night. Yeah. It's only an hour. It's going to be okay. People can meet more to work. Every day. I know. Twice a day.

Yeah. Well, they just love, you know, they love Wales. they love their family. They're just very homely, aren't they? Yeah. I mean, that's a generalisation, but in my experience. Sending you all of our love, honey. You got this.

And also, before we do go, please, please, please, we are begging. Send us your dating stories. Yes. I need to know. Dating stories, relationship timelines. Yes. We want the lot. We want all the gory details.

Tell us everything. Even itchy legs. We'll take the lot. Yeah. Email us. Hello. At secret mumphod.com. or we're Secret Mumpot on TikTok and Instagram.

And we'll be back first thing on Tuesday. We'll have more of your messages on our next Thursday episode. And we'll see you next time on the Secret Mum Club!