Jinxes?

Several years ago, when my sister and her husband first decided to start TTC, I remember her telling me that he told her not to buy anything for their (future) baby lest she would jinx them.  My sister disregarded this edict and bought many things that my nephew eventually used, including, but not limited to, a stroller, a crib set and a bajillion stuffed black labs.  Out of respect for her husband's feelings, she hid the items from him until after they found out she was pregnant.

As it turned out, getting pregnant took them a lot longer than they thought it would.  Coincidence?  My BIL would say no.

MM gave me a similar directive when we first started TTC, and unlike my sister, I have actually abided by it, for the most part.  OK, I've had two lapses: an adorable onesie that says "My brother is a Golden Retriever," and this adorable hat-and-onesie set.  But they are tucked away in the back of a lingerie drawer, and MM didn't even know about them until recently, as I'll explain below.

The idea that buying items for an as-yet-unborn (or, in our case, unconceived) child can bring bad luck is not an uncommon concept.  Years ago, I was a nurse at a small hospital which bordered the Navajo reservation.  I recall working with a nursing assistant who had grown up on the reservation and still followed her culture's traditional practices.  She was horrified when someone suggested to her during her pregnancy that we throw her a baby shower: in Navajo culture, it is considered bad luck to buy gifts for a baby who isn't born yet. . . such bad luck that it can even bring about the baby's death.  (There are many pregnancy- and baby-related taboos in Navajo culture.  Another I remember is that, in direct contradiction of other cultures' traditions, Navajos never name a baby after a deceased relative.)  We ended up having a shower for her after her baby was born.

I've pointed out to MM that I think it's somewhat contradictory that someone like him, who eschews organized religion and is not-at-all-spiritual, should believe in something like a "jinx" or "bad luck."  He countered that his belief in jinxes makes perfect sense because he is a worrier who always thinks something bad is going to happen.

As I've mentioned here before, two dear friends of mine are currently pregnant.  Each friend is having her second baby, and I bought each friend a (different) gift from Uncommon Goods for baby #1.  Uncommon Goods has some really cool gifts, including some very cute and unique baby items.  I receive their monthly catalog, and MM was browsing that catalog last week.

Wouldn't you know, MM pointed out the very hat-and-onesie set I mentioned above and suggested I buy it for one of my friends.  Not so surprising, I suppose; we have similar tastes, which is probably one reason we're married.  Imagine my surprise, though, when he said "You should buy an extra one for our baby, too."

[--record scratch--]

In three years of TTC, MM has never once suggested I buy something for "Future Baby M."  Not one time.  In fact, on a few occasions when I have been tempted to buy an item while in a store with him, like a stuffed golden retriever or something similar, he has asked me not to buy it, even when I've said I will just give it to someone else if we never have a baby of our own.

Well, at that point, I had to come clean.  I went into our bedroom and pulled out both onesies and confessed I'd had them for over two years.  This revelation was met with a look of mild disapproval and a heavy sigh from my husband.

So what say you?  Did I jinx us by buying two onesies over two years ago? 

Do you have superstitions about these sort of things?