Hi. i am kind of new here. used to be a lurker then left for a couple years.
My husband and i are planning to go for Umrah in june/july InShaAllah. We have an 8 month old who will be 10/11 months by than. i want advice on wether we should take her with us or leave her with my mother? Has anyone has experience with taking a kid so young for Umrah? All advice,tips, suggestions are appreciated.
She has not even attempted to crawl yet. so she might or might not be doing it around our planned time.which means she will have to be carried at all times.and that will make the already physically tiring rituals harder to perform.And that is the only reason i have apprehension about taking her.
Re: Taking 10/11 month old to Umrah
I went for Umrah with my 11 month old at the beginning of this year. It is do-able but requires a lot of energy. There is a lot or construction going on and it requires a lot of walking so I would suggest u bring a small size stroller. Depending on how long u r going for, I think if you feed and change the baby on time, it shouldn't be too much of a problem. I managed with my little one, the only thing was that she got diarrhea towards the end of the trip and that made it difficult.
If u and ur husband can take turns in picking her up for the Umrah itself, the rest of the time is manageable. If u have any specific questions, feel free to ask!
Re: Taking 10/11 month old to Umrah
We will be visiting for 2 to 3 weeks. I am worried about LO getting sick, since Saudi Arabia is very hot at that time of year. She is formula fed so there is the problem of sterlizing her bottles? I boil them i don't have a sterlizer. Where do you put them to sleep? Where do you change them? How much time did you spend in Harum? What do you do when its Namaz time and both of you have to say your prayer? How did you manage in Masjid e Nabwi ?
I have so many questions some of them possibly stupid. Please bear with me 😀
Re: Taking 10/11 month old to Umrah
We went for umrah with my 7 month old and 2 year old. It is do able but I didn't get as much ibadath done as much as I wanted to. Strollers are not allowed inside haram and masjid e Nabvi. We rented a wheelchair and put kids on that and it worked out for us. Also I carried my 7 month old in the baby carrier during umrah and tawaf and I had no trouble. We usually did tawaf after isha and stayed there till 3-4. Kids would sleep in a wheelchair / carrier and there were not that many ppl at that time. It starts filling up after Tahajid. good luck
Re: Taking 10/11 month old to Umrah
Since strollers are not allowed in masjid e nabvi I prayed outside and at the time of visiting riaz e Janah. I left both kids with my husband. Women visiting times are after fajar amd isha. he took the kids from me after namaz and I was able to do it alone.
Re: Taking 10/11 month old to Umrah
It is do able but make sure bring everything for the baby with you, clothes, meds, diapers, food etc. I brought a small stroller that I used both in Mecca and Madina but as Fatso mentioned, u can use a wheelchair inside the haram or a carrier.
Make sure u have toys and snacks with you to keep her busy. I would normally change her before I left the hotel and then once or twice during the day and then when I got back to my room. Maybe bring a liner feeder and thermos for her milk?
The biggest part is actually performing the Umrah, where u actually need to carry her, otherwise it is not that hard.
When I prayed, I just put her in front of me and gave something to eat or to distract her.
And for Madina, as the above poster mentioned, u can leave her with ur husband while you go inside, since there are time restrictions for women and its anytime for men.
Hope it helps!
Re: Taking 10/11 month old to Umrah
Please please please keep ur baby hydrated. Water water water. and look after ur child. Just becayse u r in the house of god doesn't mean baby will magically look after itself. I have hears countless times by family who have been hajj or umrah that the parenta are so busy ibadat that they forget their kids. Either theu lose them or they dehydrate and god forbid its fatal. Please look after ur child.