Belly Painting during Pregnancy in Anguilla

Pregnancy is a beautiful time in the life of many women. The wonders of experiencing the changes in your body (belly) bring so much pleasure. My hands have rested and rubbed my belly perhaps thousands of times over the course of these nine months. My hubby, Nash has been awesome and I thank God for our love and marriage each day. I have enjoyed each kick, punch, squirm and the occasional somersault. Nash teases me and says ‘every time I reach out to touch your belly, your hands are already there.’

I therefore don’t take lightly having other persons touch my belly with my hubby, doctors and midwives of course being exceptions. However, there are persons who are professionals who add value to a pregnancy. A few months ago I had an awesome pregnancy massage done by Joseph Pradel, a trained massage therapist (blog post coming soon) which I wrote about in Design Anguilla magazine. The second professional I allowed to touch my belly was Daryl Ruan of Daryl Ruan Face and Body Art.

Belly Painting

At almost 39 weeks I still feel pretty good so I agreed to get my belly painted. I have known Daryl for over 15 years so I was comfortable with him. A little history – Daryl and his brothers thought it was cute to call me ‘Celery’ instead of ‘Shelly’ in High School.

A true professional Daryl knows his clients for belly painting are pregnant women so of course he wants us to be comfortable. He makes house calls and constantly asks if you need to sit or if you are comfortable. He works with you in terms of the design for your belly. I told him I wanted something to represent the Anguilla Experience, something tranquil and that I wanted footsteps incorporated into the design. I was also supposed to send pictures I liked for him to gain further inspiration.

He arrived ready to work and we chatted and laughed about everything while he painted. I am a naturally curious person and he answered all my questions. He painted with ease while the baby ‘danced’ making some straight lines difficult. It takes some time to get a good belly painting so be patient and let the ‘artist’ work.

My mom and Nash were both present during part of the painting and it was just a jovial atmosphere and a great experience. When we were done and I looked in the mirror, I loved the final result.

The beach scene captured the tranquility of ‘My Anguilla Experience’ and the footsteps, two adult pairs of footprints and one tiny pair of footprints represented Nash and I and God willing our son walking along the beach as a family leaving our ‘footprints in the sand.’ We don’t know what the future holds but we look forward with faith to creating beautiful memories with our son.

Thanks Daryl for creating this memory on my tummy. Long after my belly is gone I will look back at this memory, this picture created on my belly and smile.

When Nash and I went to the beach later in the evening, persons commented on my beautiful belly. One lady initially thought from a distance that I was holding a beach ball in front of me. That brings me to an important point – you can do belly painting at any point of your pregnancy. I am almost ready to pop so my tummy is huge but I love it and I feel beautiful! Our baby will also have Jamaican roots and I added this wrap which Nash brought back from Jamaica for me in the early days of our courtship.

I had a mini photo shoot on the beach later in the day. The belly painting was not as fresh as it was earlier in the day but it was still beautiful. All photos in the blog courtesy of my wonderful hubby Nash.

I then waded into the beautiful waters of Crocus Bay and washed the paint away. I cupped my tummy and looked towards the fading sun and smiled as baby danced happily away in his increasingly temporary home.

Thanks to all our readers for your love, support, well wishes and prayers as we eagerly await the birth of our first child.

In addition to belly painting Daryl does henna tattoos, glitter tattoos, face painting, body painting, birthday parties, holiday themes, special events, sports events, glow paint, corporate functions and much more. He can be contacted at

Tel: 264-235-8337

Email: [email protected]

Instagram: darylpaintsfaces

His motto is ‘Painting Smiles, one brush at a time.’ Thanks Daryl for making me smile.

We (My Anguilla Experience) post regularly to Instagram and Facebook about our Anguilla experience so we hope that you will follow us there.

Have a wonderful week!

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