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3 children and not enough arms.....

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familyof5
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3 children and not enough arms.....

Post by familyof5 » Tue, 22 Jan 2008 11:32 am

Not sure if this is the correct place to ask this so mods, feel free to move.

I will be arriving in Singapore this week, with my 2.5 year old, and 10 month old twins. Mum is flying here with me. i was thinking about the practicalities of arriving, passport control, baggage collection, customs etc with children in tow. Mum and I will obviously have a baby each. Hopefully i will be able to coax my daughter to walk :roll: which will leave other things, (like taking bags off the carosel f'rinstance) problematic. I know sydney airport has airport prams that you can borrow. I figure if i can put at least one baby in a pram, then one of us can sit with all 3 kids while the other wrestles with the bags.

Does anyone know if the airport has prams to use in singapore? i know usually you can store the lightweight strollers in the overhead lockers, but our double pram, even though its one of the smallest on the market, is probably too big, so i'm guessing we'll have to check it in.

Matney
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Post by Matney » Tue, 22 Jan 2008 12:21 pm

I don't believe Changi offers prams. Check with your airline as some will let you hang onto the pram until you actually walk on the plane and then it will be loaded by hand. You can request that it be loaded off first and waiting for you to use to get through the airport. Talk with the airline. Good luck.

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Post by micknlea » Tue, 22 Jan 2008 1:46 pm

We flew just recently with a couple with twins, their double stroller was allowed to be taken up to boarding where it was taken for loading and delivered to them again immediately on exiting the plane. Changi is excellent at having it ready and waiting for you when you get offl.

As Matney says, ring the airline and find out, this would leave you with some free hands!
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Post by durain » Tue, 22 Jan 2008 7:57 pm

which airline you are flying with? with SIA you can request to get ground help with carry stuff, etc. if you got infants.

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Post by familyof5 » Wed, 23 Jan 2008 6:19 am

qantas. however in australia the airport itself governs the regulations on whether you can take the pram to the plane. i've flown with the twins a number of times interstate. the check in staff do the "its not me, its airport regulations" response every time. oh well, we'll make do!

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Post by durain » Wed, 23 Jan 2008 8:01 am

is it a big pram? can you collapse it? phil & ted double pushchair?

most airport will allow you to take the pushchair up to the point you board the plane. you would collapse it and leave it with them. they will take it away and put it in the cargo. when you arrive, your pushchair will be at the tunnel or there about.

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Post by cbavasi » Wed, 23 Jan 2008 10:39 am

hiya! will you go to another terminal in australia b/c you're flying int'l? maybe they'll let you take it to the gate. in singapore we've always taken the pram to the gate. also you'll get it after you disembark. make sure you tell that to the quantas people when you check in. also, check out the changi airport website - there is a link for 'meet & greet' - i'm not sure if this applies to your situation - but can never hurt. they may meet you with a trolley. i know when i fly SIA solo with the kids i have an 'escort' - basically through to immigration. when i've traveled solo without the kids (rare!) i've always offered to help moms who were struggling with the kids/luggage - been there, done that. i've also found people have helped me as well. i know the twins are pretty big now - but can you still strap one of em in a bjorn or sling? good luck on your travels - once you get here you'll be fine! :)

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micknlea
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Post by micknlea » Wed, 23 Jan 2008 12:58 pm

Hmmm, I would check again if I was you, it is still part of your "checked in" luggage but is taken away only at boarding. I just checked with friends and they did this in the last 6 months from Sydney.
"My husband said it was him or the cat...I miss him sometimes." - Unknown

familyof5
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Post by familyof5 » Thu, 24 Jan 2008 7:03 am

thanks all. i will be going to a different terminal, so the best i can do is ask eh? i suppose i could turn on the waterworks, or threaten to leave the check in chick with one of the babies (whoever is screaming the loudest). my girl twin gives a new meaning entirely to the term "chubby baby", she is far too heavy for the sling. and if i put my baby boy in the sling, it'll leave mum to carry his sister, which kinda defeats the purpose, as mum can barely carry her now! i'll check out that meet and greet thing on the website now, thats great, thanks.

its not a big pram durain, its a tandem double pram, one of the smallest you can get. but by virtue of the fact that it is designed to carry 2 little ones, its big enough.

micknlea, you are probably rigt....but i've flown from melbourne to sydney and back again with my lot. when i fly TO melbourne from sydney, they let me take the pram to the gate. when i flew TO sydney FROM melbourne, they made me check it in. different airports, different rules. go figure. and you guessed it. i'm flying TO singapore FROM melbourne..... :x

well, this time tomorrow i'll probably be running late for my flight....

singapore.... brace yaself, here we come! :P

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Post by micknlea » Thu, 24 Jan 2008 11:18 am

Well good luck, fingers crossed they will let you take it. Look really stressed out (not that it should be hard to do) and they might feel sorry for you. Oh, and the flight we just made with the couple and the twins, it was Qantas from Mel to Sin...and this was just three weeks ago...so it can be done!
"My husband said it was him or the cat...I miss him sometimes." - Unknown

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Post by durain » Thu, 24 Jan 2008 7:29 pm

fone up the airline and tell them you are travelling with 3 kids and your mum and you need help. tell them your mum cant help because of this and that (just give some lame excuse she cant carry heavy stuff).

one tip for flying with baby, in your case babies! dont let them sleep before flying. get them to walk, crawl, play, etc to waste their energy at the airport (after you have checked in), then hopefully they will sleep longer during the flight.

good luck and welcome to singapore...

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Re: 3 children and not enough arms.....

Post by road.not.taken » Fri, 25 Jan 2008 7:31 am

familyof5 wrote:Not sure if this is the correct place to ask this so mods, feel free to move.

I will be arriving in Singapore this week, with my 2.5 year old, and 10 month old twins. Mum is flying here with me. i was thinking about the practicalities of arriving, passport control, baggage collection, customs etc with children in tow. Mum and I will obviously have a baby each. Hopefully i will be able to coax my daughter to walk :roll: which will leave other things, (like taking bags off the carosel f'rinstance) problematic. I know sydney airport has airport prams that you can borrow. I figure if i can put at least one baby in a pram, then one of us can sit with all 3 kids while the other wrestles with the bags.

Does anyone know if the airport has prams to use in singapore? i know usually you can store the lightweight strollers in the overhead lockers, but our double pram, even though its one of the smallest on the market, is probably too big, so i'm guessing we'll have to check it in.
I made a very similar move F of 5. May I ask, is there a Mr. or Mrs. F of 5 in the picture? If so, shouldn't they be called into action for this momentous occasion? You need a man-on-man defense for this. If my husband put me on that plane with three babies to fend for myself I think I may have killed him. :-|

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durain
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Post by durain » Fri, 25 Jan 2008 8:16 am

there is a mister for familyof5. he is in singapore, hence she is going there! so he better be at changi airport!

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road.not.taken
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Post by road.not.taken » Fri, 25 Jan 2008 8:25 am

durain wrote:there is a mister for familyof5. he is in singapore, hence she is going there! so he better be at changi airport!
Well, let's wait to hear from Familyof5, but ideally he should arrange his schedule to help them move and for the flight itself. If for no other reason than to have a greater allowance for carry-ons and luggage.

familyof5
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Post by familyof5 » Sat, 26 Jan 2008 11:08 am

righto....i'm here.

yes, mister familyof5 was right there and had arranged a porter to help me to get bags on trolley etc. i was flying with my mother also, so wasnt totally alone. my problem was actually getting FROM the plane at changi, with kids in tow, with no pram (which had to be stowed in cabin baggage) through customs and to the baggage carosel... Mr famof5 arranged some help there, so all good. thankfully we were driven most of the way on those motorised carts. Which by the way they wont let you use in australia if you are carrying babies (health and safety doncha know.)

turns out my biggest problem was the bloody plane was delayed by 4 hours! partly because they had to taxi BACK to the stand, and offload a pissed passenger. grrrrrrr. kids were very good though.

hot here innit?

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