The term “babymoon” has morphed into a welcomed must-do agenda item for expectant parents. The trend of escaping for a final kid-free getaway presents couples with much needed alone time to embark upon celebratory-inspired romance and relaxation. Preoccupied with a plethora of baby preparations, my husband and I found ourselves planning our babymoon late in my pregnancy for Fourth of July weekend. Oh, the irony… our farewell to “independence” on Independence Day!

Already in the homestretch of my third trimester, we decided that a “staycation” was best rather than traveling to a site hours from our OB and hospital. After a generous invitation to experience the first annual Fourth of July celebration at Omni Orlando Resort, I packed my tankini (which doesn’t quite cover my growing baby bump anymore) and headed to ChampionsGate, just 10 minutes west of Orlando’s theme parks.

The Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate, gorgeously adorned with a marble interior, offers 720 rooms surrounded by 1,200 acres of wetlands, two golf courses and a golf academy, professional-grade sports field complex, full service spa, two heated outdoor pools with an 850-foot lazy river, and five dining spots. Following a stop at the check-in desk and quick application of sunscreen, we followed the DJ’s tunes toward the pools but, apparently, visitors from near and far were equally as excited to celebrate the star-spangled weekend at the Omni as every single lounge chair at both the ‘family’ and ‘formal’ pools was taken. Yikes! Eventually, an extremely kind patron took pity on my very preggo status and offered up the chairs that she was about to vacate (under an umbrella – score!). And, thankfully, the wait was worth it.

A kid-friendly crowd enjoyed frozen treats, limbo, cornhole, other games, and more entertainment at the family pool, but my husband and I opted for a low-key afternoon (remember, it was our babymoon) as we sunbathed on the formal pool deck and snacked on grub (yummy Mahi tacos) and frozen cocktails (alcohol-free for me) with great service by our friendly poolside server, Jennifer. We relished the luxurious experience, realizing that this special adults-alone staycation would be our last for quite some time. Then, we allowed ourselves to playfully daydream about our future family vacations as we splashed with parents and children in the lazy river.

We kicked off the evening with good ole’ BBQ and country music entertainment in the ballroom. Next, from our private balcony, we enjoyed front-row seats to the resort’s dynamite fireworks show. It was amazing to view the colorful galore up-close ─ and forego battling traffic afterward as we simply slipped back into our room.

The next morning, we noshed at the buffet at Trevi’s, the onsite Italy-inspired restaurant. Re-energized from our day of relaxation and power breakfast, we were back home in just 25 minutes and resumed our baby preparations. As the Independence Day weekend wrapped, I packed my hospital bag eager to lose my independence and begin parenthood!

Where did you babymoon? For babymoon tips, click here.