Parents of uncircumcised boys.. question(s) about smegma pearls

Sorry if this may be tmi to some... but anyways my 18month son has a “smegma pearl” by the head of his penis(he’s uncircumcised). It’s been there for a few weeks now. About 3 weeks ago he had a checkup and his pedi said not to worry that it would come out on it own, and not to try to get it out myself.. well it’s still there and today I noticed his foreskin has been a bit retracted a couple times that I’ve changed him, is that normal? Is it possibly because it’s so close to the end? Also, the last time I changed him, near the chunk of smegma is a little bit of redness. I don’t notice any smell or anything though.. Is there anything I can do to help it work it’s way out with out actually extracting it myself?