ANYA AYOUNG CHEE

Although it's been many (many!) years since I was Miss Trinidad & Tobago, there are some things that I will never shake, and this beauty queen leg pose is one of them! Everytime I bounce into a fellow Miss TnT I have to laugh because I know we are all guilty! Pregnant or not, posing is ingrained in me! 😂 📷: @wyattgallery

So, we have a few names in mind that we have been trying out, saying out loud and sharing with one or two people... But we haven't settled on THE name as yet... Wondering if this is a common occurrence and it's somewhat normal to want to wait and let the baby's energy and spirit guide us when the time comes? Do you have a naming story that you wanna share? I'd love to hear! 📷: @wyattgallery

Taking each day one moment at a time as I prepare for the biggest and most life changing experience of my life. I can't thank you all enough for your messages full of wisdom and support over that last few weeks. I truly feel that I have a global village suporting me every step of the way! Thank you for all the love! 🙏🏼🕊✨#35weeks 📷: @wyattgallery

“Close your eyes. Fall in love. Stay there.” - Rumi 📷: @wyattgallery

I find myself bursting into tears disproportionately or at least not within my usual ability to find reason... The slightest idea that I could affect this new life in any way overwhelms me already. Nothing has ever been so important, nothing has ever matched this level of priority. Mothers (and their partners) are truly blessed to know this complex and magnificent love. #34weeks 📷: @wyattgallery

Throwing back to the best Tuesday of the year on the road for Carnival with #Minshall I was already 5 months pregnant and devastated to be missing the mas as I'm accustomed to playing it... But @wyattgallery was determined to find us a way to enjoy Carnival no matter what! So we ran out when we heard the sound of the steelpan above the Savannah, and arm in arm we chipped down the road... that saved my soul that day! Then these two princesses showed up with their braids and mega style to take a pic with me 💖 I love this moment and will cherish that day as a reminder that there's always a way to find joy, once we are open to receiving it 🙏🏼 📷: @wyattgallery

The thing I was most scared of losing during my pregnancy was the ability to keep working and the freedom to keep pushing forward in my career. I couldn't have been more wrong! In the last five months I've relaunched my clothing line, laid the foundation for two new fashion/technology projects, continued work with the foundation I co-founded and begun working on several other projects in carnival and social impact. (I also got married and went on honeymoon somewhere in there...) This is not to boast but to assuage anyone's worry that may exist that your professional life will stop as a result of this massive life change... I can't speak yet for when the baby arrives (I know that's a whole different ball game!), but I can say that the nine months in preparation have proven to be the most productive, the most focused and the most exhilarating time of my life to date. Anyone else who has shared a similar experience already knows... And for anyone who is about to take it on... Know that you got this! 👊🏼

I've been reading about #Hypnobirthing at the recommendation of several of my closest friends... Everything I've read so far has resonated so deeply with me. Have any of you chosen to use this method in their birthing process? Any books or videos you'd suggest I look into? Thank you in advance for your guidance and positive vibes! ✨🙏🏼✨ 📷: @wyattgallery

Blessed to be shot by the inimitable @ruddyroye while we were running around NY getting baby & apartment ready... His powerful energy grounded us and the moments between the shots where we got to talk life, parenting and camera equipment (not me, them 😆) will linger in my memory for a long time. Big up Ruddy, it's an honour to know you 🙏🏼 #Repost @ruddyroye ・・・ Photo by @ruddyroye // Captured #withgalaxy S9, produced with @samsungmobileusa // Brooklynite photographer Wyatt Gallery and his new bride, fashion designer Anya Ayoung Chee, spend a sunny Saturday shopping for their new apartment. “Of course there is a mix of excitement and nervousness, or uncertainty. But overall it feels like this new journey was chosen for us by a higher power and is a true blessing. Maktub,” Wyatt said. I caught up with both of them while shopping in the Red Hook section of Brooklyn. “We just got married in January, in Trinidad, and just moved into a new apartment. Everything is new, and there is a lot happening all at the same time.”

Some women dream of this all their life, and some of us never imagine it to be a part of our story. Once it happens though, there's no questioning the miracle that is pregnancy! . To all the moms and moms-to-be out there, I hope you continue to be blessed with the feelings of immense joy and awe that I have in this moment! #33weeks & #overwhelminglygrateful . 📷: @wyattgallery

I decided not to share my pregnancy in the earlier months because I was still processing how I felt about this big life change and all that may come with it. Also because it seems that pregnancy is an open invitation for people's many opinions on how best to go about it... But I must say that once I opened up and shared this (still) life changing news, there's been nothing but love and an outpouring of shared joy coming my way! . I am immensely grateful for all your love and excitement as I enter into the last month of this journey. Pictured here at 5 months while in #Curacao with @wyattgallery I was still navigating so many feelings and wondering what was to come... I still am but now at 8 months I can safely say this has been the most exhilarating time of my life. And I know it's only just beginning! ✨🕊✨

Overlooking the #Suriname River on the second stop of @wyattgallery 's Jewish Treasures of the Caribbean tour. Suriname is one of the most fascinating places I've ever visited. We're hoping our baby enjoys these adventures as much as us!

The #HavanaHoneymoon Maxi Dress is available NOW in two prints! Go to www.anyaayoungchee.com to purchase this easy breezy Spring/Summer look! Or consider this for the perfect Mother’s Day gift! Shipping internationally within 5 working days of the ship date. Have any questions or special requests? Email [email protected] Photography by @wyattgallery

The ANYA AYOUNG CHEE LIMITED EDITION #HavanaHoneymoon Maxi Dress is available now at www.anyaayoungchee.com ! I wore this dress on my honeymoon in Cuba and got back to Trinidad excited to produce it for you! There are ONLY 2 Dresses Available in this print so go grab yours now! Check the website for an alternate print that is also on offer for this design 🙌🏼 Shop this look today and the item will be shipped within 2-3 days. Have any questions or special requests? Email [email protected] Photography by @wyattgallery

As I approach #32weeks this weekend, I continue to be in complete awe of this journey. Despite my fears, and despite my anxiety about the vast unknown ahead, the very idea of this new life within me eclipses everything else. And doing it all alongside @wyattgallery has made the journey that much more amazing, that much more joyful and a genuine miracle in itself 🙏🏼🕊✨

I wanted this image to channel all that I've been feeling ever since finding out I am having a child... And although the references to Beyoncé are inevitable, it was really #FridaKahlo who inspired me. . Her strength, her resilience, her unapologetic feminine identity, her honesty, her vulnerability, her willingness to embrace all of her pain and all of her joy. To me she lived FULLY; and in this spirit I hope to honour the role of Mother and Wife and Artist and Woman and Designer and Entrepreneur and Creator and Dreamer and Activist and whatever other roles I am destined to evolve into; to do so with abandon and to embrace the complexity of all that this life entails. . Thank you for immense outpouring of love and genuine celebration for this next chapter of my life. Your messages and comments and pure joy mean more than I can possibly put into words! . Photography by @wyattgallery Bodywear by @laura.narayansingh Headpiece by @losttribecarnival / @shopshari & @trinisheenz Earrings by @trinisheenz Necklaces by @willowandoak_ Makeup by @jo.mercedes_the.artist Lashes by @babecavetnt (at Blanchisseuse)

I have SO much to be grateful for, and yet nothing that I've ever experienced comes close to the level of joy and awe that has engulfed me over the last 7 months. . Give thanks for New Life and the opportunity to experience the miracle that is Motherhood ✨🕊✨ And here's to all the mothers of the world for whom I have immense admiration and respect! . Read more about my journey through my pregnancy so far at @xxthemag and grab a copy of XX in today's Guardian . Photography by @wyattgallery Bodywear by @laura.narayansingh Headpiece by @losttribecarnival /@shopshari & @trinisheenz Earrings by @trinisheenz Necklaces by @willowandoak_ Makeup by @jo.mercedes_the.artist Lashes by @babecavetnt (at Blanchisseuse)