Superstitions.

We've all heard them -- avoid black cats, don't walk under a ladder, breaking a mirror means seven years of bad luck, rabbit's feet and horseshoes are good luck, an apple a day keeps the doctor away, etc. Sometimes we choose to believe in them (often when it's to our benefit), other times we ignore them (I mean, stepping on a crack isn't REALLY going to break your mother's back). So how do we pick and choose what we want to believe?

When it comes to pregnancy, I would say there are several superstitions -- how you're carrying determines the sex of the baby, if you're feeling sicker then it's a girl, don't tell anyone for the first trimester, the heart rate can determine sex. Really, the old wives tales go on and on. Personally, I'd consider myself a logical person but I also will never cross paths with a black cat, I pour salt over my shoulder if it spills, and I hate Friday the 13th. One superstition that I wholeheartedly believe in, especially being pregnant, is warding off the evil eye. I wore a red string bracelet when my niece was in the womb, and now that I am pregnant myself, I wear one (as well as my husband, sister, and mother-in-law).

A protective red string bracelet is said to have come from a Jewish tradition (although I would say most people associate it with Kabbalah) where a red string was laid in the bed where a baby slept and was shown to family and friends for the first time. Why a red string you ask? Well it's said to come from Rachel's (the great matriarch) tomb, as she had red string wound around the tomb and carry protective energies for the mother and the baby in the womb, in this case.

To some it may seem silly and I know it's sort of nuts that I believe in some superstitions and think others are absolutely nutty. But I guess we all have our beliefs to follow, irrational or not. So throughout this pregnancy, I will wear my red bracelet proudly and hope for the best for me and my little Thumper. Along with a prayer I say with my husband say every night, it's the best protection I can offer and just hope that the evil eye is warded off and in six and a half months, we'll be holding a beautiful little baby in our arms.