Secret Mum Club with Sophiena - The Delayed Delivery

Episode Date: April 3, 2025

Turns out wild pets are more common than we thought! A listener shares their unexpected house pigeons, while Soph and Emma reminisce about their own run-ins with wildlife at home. Plus, we hear from one mum whose labour took an unexpected turn - thanks to a little divine intervention! 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 Thursdays episode where we get to squeeze in all the extra bits and bobs from the week. Squeeze your bits. All of your comments, thoughts, questions and fun stories to keep you going through the weekend. Shall we jump on in? It's time for another Correspondence Corner. So Emma, let's have number one, please. Hi ladies. Hello.

I was listening to Soph's sausage breakthrough. Oh, shit, that was such a good breakthrough. That sounds dodgy, but it was really just about Dotty eating sausages. Honestly, we haven't had a sausage since. Oh. And I gave her the sausage again, revelation, not a revelation, she didn't eat it. Oh no.

No. So that's it. Okay, well. We had four days of sausages, never to eat another sausage again. All right, okay. Well, so sausage breakthrough. I wanted to share our own breakthrough with eggs.

Oh! I need to know about this because I'm trying to get Joseph on eggs, anyone eat them? Don't say you don't like eggs. My five year old has a very strong sense of smell. Any smell, you name it, she can detect it. When she was a baby, she loved eggs during the weaning stage, but by the time she was around 18 months old, she suddenly went off them and couldn't stand being around them. Fast forward five years and one day after school, she randomly asked, can I try a fried egg mummy? Oh my. I played it cool, made no fuss and said of course. She even asked if she could make it herself and I let her. For about a week she was having fried eggs with

most meals. Now three months on she's obsessed. Stop it. I totally agree there's no need to rush these things sometimes children just have a sudden breakthrough. Now I've got a second little girl who's going through the weaning stage and you guessed it she's not an egg lover. Oh no! Thanks for keeping it real ladies and keeping me company on my daily walks Chloe from Bolton. Oh god bless you Chloe. Well there's me with the negative Nancy. She ate the sausage now she doesn't. Now she doesn't so we'll see how long it lasts with the eggs. But again, this is something that's, again, not we talk about it, but we don't really talk about it. When I say we talk about it, is there is a little bit of information out there

and some people share their experiences, don't they? But it's not something that anybody ever regularly talks about, you know? And it's just that Dottie, she's just very funny with food. She's just very funny with the smell of food, the texture of food. She's just, don't know how to explain it.

And I just think if you rush it or put pressure on them, they're not gonna want it. They're gonna just fear the food. Yeah. And it's just no need. And I just think a fed baby is a happy baby. Yeah. And you just got to follow that.

Gut. Gut. And just roll with something when they like it. Yeah. Like say it is into eggs now, great eggs with every meal. Joseph, he won't go near an egg. Runners loves eggs, he does love an egg. Mel, I wonder if they're in that phase though, where after about 18 months, they'll be like.

Do you know what, I think it's their teeth as well. I think when their teeth start coming through, all the gum feels different. Things are more sensitive on their teeth. And then if they've put something in, they then get a bad association with it. If it's like a hot egg and it feels funny on their new teeth, they change their mind, don't they?

Yeah, they do. But I love that, I love a fried egg. Oh, honestly. Anything better in the world. That levels up most meals. Anything better than a fried egg. Crack a fried egg on it. Crack a fried egg.

Rice, crack a fried egg on it. Toast, put a fried egg on it. Curry. I was trying to think then. Put a fried egg on it. Ramen bowl, put a fried egg on it. Curry. I was trying to think then. Put a fried egg on it. Ramen bowl, put a fried egg on it. Or a boiled egg, soft boiled. Soft boiled.

That's up there with being a boiled and fried, the soft boiled and fried egg. I had that for dinner last night. Two very similar, two different. Poached. How do you like that? That's such a five year old's dinner, isn't it? I had dippy eggs and toast.

Favorite type of egg, probably, probably dippy, yeah. Would you, soft boiled? Yeah, what's yours? Mine's a soft boiled. I love a soft boiled egg. I do like them anyway. I just like egg however it comes, to be honest. Eggs.

Eggs. But thank you so much, Chloe. We appreciate you. All right, this one is from Amy in Wiltshire. She says, hi, Sophie and Emma. I've been listening to the very itchy legs episode where someone wrote about being a stepparent and wanting a baby.

Yes. I am a bonus mom to a beautiful nine-year-old girl. We don't like the term step mom. Oh, that's nice, isn't it? Yes. A bonus mom to a beautiful nine-year-old girl. We have a wonderful relationship and I love her like my own. My partner and I have just started trying for a baby,

something we've wanted for a long time. I completely relate to the longing for your own child while also navigating the feelings that come with being a bonus parent. It's a lot to manage emotionally. I've also felt guilty about my desire for a baby, worrying about how my partner and bonus daughter will feel. But all she talks about is being a big sister.

She even asked me if I'm pregnant yet and says, got any seeds in your tummy yet? I just want to say to the got any seeds in your tummy yet? I just want to say to the listener who wrote in, I totally get it. But remember you've already taken on a beautiful and special role. Your love will only grow for the next babies you have biological or not.

Family is family no matter how it's made. Oh, what a lovely message. That is really lovely. Thank you Amy. Oh my gosh. And I love bonus parent. And bonus daughter sounds nice as well. Yeah, bonus daughter because it is just a bonus. It's just an added addition.

Yeah, it's just added to your already incredible life. Yeah. I love that so much. Yeah and it was nice. Thank you for writing in because that was one of those ones where we were like, we didn't have, I didn't have lived experience of it. So it was quite hard to give any advice. So it was hard to give some advice. So we really appreciate that. So definitely if the lady that was listening, his, then that's comforting. I love sharing experiences. Don't you? Such, it's so wonderful. It's so lovely hearing like people just so open with like their, their lives. And I just love it. I feel very privileged to get to hear these stories. I was about to say exactly the same. What a wonderful job. I feel so privileged that we get to receive this information and for other people to be able to hear it too. So

beautiful, isn't it? And don't you just love how we all live our lives completely differently? Yeah. But then like weirdly, essentially, like we're all just going through the same things. Like little hamsters and hamster cages, aren't we? Yeah. Yeah. Anywho, I digress as I always do. One last message here, it says, hi, Sophie and Emma. I was just on my hour long drive home, listening to the pod as I do every week

when the pigeon pals episode unlocked an absolute core memory. Honestly, that... This is about the little girl putting makeup on the pigeon. The pigeon and the pigeon just sat there and let her do it. I just loved it. She called him Pidge. Yeah. Oh. When my brothers were around four, six and eight, they went downstairs at bedtime to ask for a slice of bread, no butter. I remember my mom saying, just bread, no butter. Okay. And handing it over. And one slice. Yeah. Between us. The boys had gone suspiciously quiet,

never a good sign. When mom went up to check on them, she found the eight-year-old hiding something under the duvet. It was a pigeon. My mum was absolutely mortified. She had no idea how they'd managed to get the bird in as their bedroom only had a small top window. After a chaotic battle to get the bird out, they finally explained how they did it.

They'd thrown little bits of bread closer and closer to the window until they were able to lure the pigeon inside. What? Poor bird. My brothers were heartbroken when they couldn't keep it as a pet. It's something I've completely forgotten about until now. They're in their 20s and 30s now and I'm about to message them to remind them of their pigeon pal days.

Love the pod, Emmy. Do you know what, right, Emmy? This is so friggin' adorable. I hope this happens one day, like they just coax in a pitch. Can you just imagine the three of them like, oh, if we get a slice of bread, we can get them in. And they did. And then mum might let us keep it as a pet.

And then she's like, fuck, what the fuck is that in your bed? Get. Get out. I can't believe it was in his bed. I know, tucking in. Come, Pidge. That reminds me of a story about my sister that's just unlocked a core memory, not voluntary, like not invited in, but just we saw a lump under her duvet once when we were younger. We thought it was like a person hiding in there. I think my parents thought it was like one of us. Pulled back the cover and it was

a massive cat that just nestled into her bed. Wasn't your cat? Wasn't our cat, never had a cat. What? Yeah, we didn't invite it in, it just came uninvited. Through the window. Unannounced, I guess so. And just got into your bed?

Or maybe like through the door and then up the stairs, I'm not sure. Wow. I know. But I've read a few of those on the Daily Mail before about like foxes ending up in like baby's beds and stuff. And it really terrifies me because in London, those foxes are there everywhere. Savage. Yeah. And they've got, no, they've got balls. Zootropolis. Have you ever watched Zootropolis? No. Fox has gone savage.

Is it? Does it come in people's houses? It's such an otter gone savage. Um, no, I don't think they went, I don't think they went into anybody's house. They lived in Zootropolis. So it's a zoo. It's full of all animals. There's no humans to be expecting. Great film though, if you've not seen it. I think JoJo will love it. He will, yeah. All animals, no people. And they're police officers.

It's good. But that is incredible, isn't it? I don't think I've had any animals in the house apart from them bloody stick insects. Stick insects? Yeah, I've told you about the stick insects. What were they doing there? That I got from school.

Oh, when you were younger. Yeah, yeah. But I brought them home. And you had to look after them? Yeah, but my mom lost them around the room, didn't she? It was wild, it's wild. But that is a story for another day. I'm pretty sure we've discussed that.

Have we? The stick insects. Don't know. That I wanted these stick insects from school and then I got them and then the lid was off. And they went loose around the house. And they escaped around the house. I never found them.

I don't think I told anybody. To this day? Yeah, we don't live in that house anymore. They could still be in there. They could. With the new tenants. A fox just walked into my house in London. Yeah.

It's bold as shit. Yeah, bold as brass. Hello. They give zero shit. So I walked for dinner. What are you cooking up? I'll pay you rent. Yeah. I's bold as shit. Yeah, bold as brass. Hello. They give zero shit. So they're like, what's for dinner? What are you cooking up? I'll pay you rent. Yeah. I'll pay you.

Oh, well thank you, Emy, so much. How adorable. That's cute. I would love to know what the boys said now. Yeah. Like you reminded them. Yeah, let us know what they said when you told them. Love that.

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 Mumpod on TikTok and Instagram. Next, it's time for one of your don't, don't, don't secrets. ["Secret Mumpod"]

Welcome back. We love a secret on the secret mum club. And you are all so good at sharing. So what have you got for me today? This comes from another Emma. Oh does it? In Brighton. Oh love Brian.

Yeah me too. So stunning. She says, Hello both. When I was pregnant with my first boy in 2008, my Nan sadly passed away at 69 from cancer. She was so incredibly excited to have a baby in the family and before she died she made sure she bought him some bits which I still actually have. My due date was 29th or so of September and one of the last things she said to me was make sure you do not give birth on your grandad's birthday. His birthday was 23rd of September. However, I started contractions at about 5am on the 23rd of September. Everything was

moving on and I went to the delivery room at 5pm that day. Later that evening, I was very close, also I thought. No one told me how to push properly and I was so spaced out on Pethadine but something was holding me back. Anyway, my mum knew what my nan had said and asked the midwife, will she give birth today? Her reply was, oh god, absolutely, this baby is coming now. But no, something or someone stopped me from giving birth until 10 past 12, making it the 24th of September. We laughed till this day that my nan was dead serious when she told me not to give birth on my granddad's birthday. Oh, Emma. Can you imagine if it was actually... Divine intervention. Someone was holding her back. 10 past 12.

Literally 10 minutes after. 10 minutes after, but she felt like something was holding her back. Yeah. I'd be buzzing with that because you know when Joseph was born on the 9th, it was quarter to midnight and I was like, look, surgeon, I really don't like odd numbers. Can we hold off for 15 minutes so that his birthday can be on the 10th? Obviously they were like, absolutely not. I need to get this baby out right now. I was going to say, obviously the surgeon didn't listen to you.

They were like, this is a safety risk, so shut up, you stupid woman. Because he's born on the 9th. He's born on the 9th. Yeah, still annoyed about it. Are you? I don't like odd numbers really. Don't get a good vibe from them. So 24th of September, great birthday. Not the September bit, but the 24th is a good, I love, I prefer that.

Cause you like the even number. Yeah, I like the even numbers. Love that for you. Mine's still seven, eight, nine. Yeah, yours is good. I love mine. You did a good pattern. Thank you. Yeah. And then somebody the other day didn't realize

obviously Colby's initials are the children's names. So he's CDR and the children are Colby Dottie-Rendley. Oh, is that something you hadn't noticed? No, I planned that. Oh, you did plan it? Yeah, I did plan that. Oh, you did? Yeah, I did plan it.

So the oldest child holds all the initials for each sibling. But how did you know? Because Dottie, if we had a girl, she would have always been Dottie. And Colby's middle name is Dane. Yeah, so you called him that so that you could have Dottie. My grandma was Dorothy Dane.

So he wanted- Well that worked out nicely for you. And then when- And then you didn't know what R was gonna stand for. Or did you? Did you always have that name? I wanted to, if we were to have a third child, I wanted an R name to match Colby's initials.

But you didn't know that it was gonna be Renly until he came. Like you didn't always have it was going to be Renly until he came. You didn't always have that name. My name, I don't think we've ever spoken about my baby names because Renly was going to be Renly or Rudy. We did. Yeah, we did talk about Rudy.

Yeah, but you didn't have Renly like in the bank until he came. No, no. We made that up, didn't we? But it was going to be an R name. Oh, nice. I know. So he is being the eldest,

has all the initials for all three of them. We spoke before about like all the numbers and stuff and like, yeah, how? Mine had a plan. And like when I spoke to my sister about it, obviously when I was pregnant with Renly, but afterwards she was like, you put so much thought into this.

I just went with it. Just named them at random. Cause you never know what's going to happen in the future. And then Renly, I wanted to double R after my brother and my sister. So his initials are RJR, which is Roxanne, James and Richie, which is my sister, her husband and my brother. So Renly holds the initials for all of my siblings.

I mean, it's good that it all worked out for you, you know, because it could have been, that could have been impossible. Do you know what I mean? But even if it was a little girl, she would have been RJR. Cause she would have had James. You know what I'm just saying, like say Chris's surname wasn't Ryder.

Then it wouldn't have matched Roxanne and Richie. Not saying. All the stars aligned. It was all meant to be, the stars aligned. Same for Emma. Yeah. But there was definitely something there. Something going on.

Maybe spirits. A presence. Yeah. Although I don't like the thought of maybe a spirit holding her foo foo. No. Like a... I'd like to think it was less like physical. Or like maybe holding her belly. Yeah, but she didn't have the urge to push the baby out. Because something... Maybe she in her mind was like, I can't... Yeah, maybe you told yourself you can't. Can't ruin my granddad's birthday. Yeah. You know? Well, that was my grandma. My grandma said, whatever happens,

if you have a little girl, will you name her after me? And you did. That was the last time I ever saw my grandma. Yeah. I was pregnant with Joseph at my nan's funeral. So she never even knew. And actually no one there knew I was pregnant. I remember spending the whole day like breathing in.

Cause I couldn't tell anyone yet, but I had like a little bump. I truly do believe though, these things are, you know. There's some like bigger, some greater. Yeah, I do think there's some greater. Greater things at play. I wouldn't obviously like to say too much on it, because I do worry that it's just my opinion, you know.

Well, yeah, because a lot of people don't believe in that. Believe, but yeah. I don't, I'm skeptical about those kinds of things, but I do, I love hearing other people's experiences of like weird things, which I would probably call coincidences, which other people would say are like fate. Yes. Or like divine intervention.

Which I think is you and me, you'd say it's a coincidence. Yeah. I was like, no, it's planned. It's meant to be. It's meant to be. Yeah, but I do, I love hearing those tales though. I do find it interesting. I find it so interesting.

I love it. Yeah. Yeah. Have you experienced the supernatural? Let us know. Even I'll ask hello at secretmumpod.com or with Secret Mum Pod on TikTok and Instagram. And we'll be back first thing on Tuesday.

And we'll have more of your messages on our next Thursday episode. And we'll see you next time on the Secret Mum Club.