Baby

Baby is the first life stage in The Sims, The Sims 2, The Sims 3, and The Sims 4 (excluding pregnancy, in the case of the latter games). It is also present in The Sims Stories series, and The Sims Medieval, which are spin-offs of The Sims 2 and The Sims 3, respectively, and in The Sims FreePlay.

There are no premade babies in any series, although some premade Sims start out pregnant. Babies cannot be made in Create a Sim.

Babies grow up to become toddlers in The Sims 2, The Sims Stories, The Sims 3, and The Sims FreePlay, while they grow up into children in The Sims, The Sims Medieval, and The Sims 4.

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The Sims 2
Babies in The Sims 2 require more planning, since either a successful Try For Baby interaction or the abduction of a male Sim is needed. After 3 days of pregnancy, the baby is born. Again, babies can be adopted, but in this instance it's the player's choice as to when - or whether - that happens, as the adoption agency will not call at random.

Unlike their counterparts in the original, babies in The Sims 2 are actually separate from their cribs (the crib needs to be bought through buy mode). Regular feeding and diaper changes are required, and again social interactions (cuddle and play with) are possible, although, unlike the original, a baby's relationship scores are calculated from the moment it's born. Another difference from the original is one of the new NPCs, the Nanny, who can care for youngsters and will also tidy up as a bonus. Children cannot independently interact with babies - though they can talk to babies that are being held by older Sims - but all teens and older Sims can, and house guests may autonomously hold babies and feed them bottles.

The Sims 2 babies are not controllable or selectable, though a baby will have an icon. The background color of a baby's icon will change to reflect his or her general mood, but it's not possible to view any of a baby's details without using a hack or boolprop testingcheatsenabled, unless the player has the FreeTime expansion pack (see below). However, the player can see if a baby's diaper needs to be changed, as that interaction will not be available unless it's needed. It will also not be available if the baby is asleep, even if the background of the baby's icon is yellow. A baby's diaper can be changed by clicking on the baby, or by using a changing table. Using a changing table is preferable, as it provides a larger boost to the baby's (invisible) hygiene motive, and the dirty diaper is automatically disposed of. While a baby can be bathed in a sink (any type of sink will do), using the changing table when a diaper change is needed should keep the baby's (invisible) hygiene motive satisfied well enough to make this unnecessary.

To feed a baby, click on a refrigerator and get a bottle, or click on a partly-filled bottle and select the "Feed bottle to" option. The baby will drink until the (invisible) hunger motive is filled or the bottle is empty, after which the bottle will be put down. If The Sims 2: University is installed, Sims cannot get bottles from the "MMM" Mini Fridge.

Babies are immobile, and will stay wherever they are put. If they are put on the floor or ground, Sims and pets will either go around them or step over them. Being left on the floor or ground does not harm a baby, but babies will rest better if they are in their cribs. A baby can be placed in a crib by clicking on the crib, and selecting the option to put him or her in it. A baby who is sleeping in a crib can be tucked in, but the option will not appear if the baby is awake.

All babies have the same facial features (i.e. the 2nd face template in Create a Sim, excluding the babies of Pollination Technician), so it is impossible to tell what they will look like later on beyond the basics of skin tone, eye color, and hair color (they are bald, but their eyebrows reveal the color of their hair). Babies also have no aspirations, wants or fears, but can collect memories (even though in reality they would be much too young to understand most of them). Unless a baby is being removed by the social worker, which would happen if its (invisible) hunger or social motive was to become critically low, it can't leave the lot unless a glitch occurs. The social worker will also remove a baby if he or she is left unattended (i.e. there are no Teens, Adults or Elders present on the lot).

The Sims 2: FreeTime introduces the parenting skill, which gives Sim parents the ability to check on the baby. Using this feature, Sim parents study beforehand using a book from a bookcase. Once they master the art of parenting, the parents now have the option of checking on the baby, at which point a thought bubble appears above the baby's head indicating his/her lowest motive.

The DangleMaster Deluxe and The Bouncinator 3000 are The Sims 2 Store objects which are unique for babies. Both of them raise babies' Fun and even Social motive, but they will cry if they are left in them for too long.

At a maximum of three days old, the baby becomes a toddler. Household members can throw a birthday party for the baby and can blow out candles on a cake, triggering a special cutscene to celebrate the baby's age transition. If there is no party or cake, another household member will autonomously pick the baby up when it is ready to age and "help" it with its birthday.

It is possible to raise a baby by feeding and nothing more, however, it is not recommended because building relationships with them is fairly easy.

In The Sims 2, the automation of Teens and older Sims around babies can be rather annoying. They will attempt to meet the baby's needs autonomously, but will not always be intelligent about it. For example, they will always autonomously feed a crying baby, even if it needs its diaper changed instead. So, while the autonomous "Hold Youngster" action may indicate that a baby needs some sort of attention, and crying definitely indicates that, the player may need to intervene and decide whether it needs to be fed, changed, or just held.

Bigfoot will occasionally attempt to perform a prank on the baby (even the joy-buzzer prank!), or to use one of the "Fight" interactions. Mercifully, pranks and fights can only be performed on Teen Sims or older, so the game doesn't allow him to do this.

The Sims 3
Babies are the youngest life stage in The Sims 3, and can be added to existing households through a pregnancy, an adoption, a successful wish for a child using the Wishing Well in Lucky Palms, by performing a cloning experiment using the Science Research Station in The Sims 3: University Life, or by going to the hospital in Oasis Landing and engineering a baby in The Sims 3: Into the Future.

On the normal lifespan setting, a baby will once again take three days to age up into a toddler. This time around, however, babies are much more specifically modeled on newborn infants, and appear to represent a period spanning from birth to the first few months of a Sim 's life. Unlike in The Sims 2, a pregnancy will last for 72 hours rather than 75 hours, and the Sim's belly will expand gradually rather than abruptly growing at the end of the first two trimesters.

Pregnancies in The Sims 3 are somewhat more realistic than in The Sims 2. Pregnant Sims experience vomiting, cravings, back pains, and light mood swings. Pregnant Sims may also have wishes to visit the spa or get a massage when experiencing back pains, or wish to eat certain foods to curb their cravings. Sometimes, both parents will wish for a specific gender of baby, to read pregnancy books, or to buy necessary furniture for their unborn child.

Pregnant Sims can either go to the hospital to have their babies or stay at home to give birth. If the player opts for a home birth, the Sim will spend a period of time visibly suffering from labor pains and then spin around in a cloud of multicolored sparks, after which the baby appears in her hands in a manner resembling births in The Sims 2 when cutscenes are disabled. If twins or triplets are born at home, after the process of naming the babies and assigning traits, the Sim will put the first baby down and repeat the spinning action until all the babies are born. If the player opts for a birth to take place at a hospital, the Sim will disappear into the hospital rabbithole and after some time, emerge carrying their baby or babies once names and traits have been assigned for them. If the father of a baby born at a hospital is part of the pregnant Sim's household, they will enter the hospital with them. Fathers from separate households, however, may or may not be present at a hospital birth. Oddly, babies born in a hospital will have a noticeably lower starting relationship with the Sim that gave birth to them than babies born at home, though the game does not specify any reason for this.

Upon being born, babies now appear with blankets wrapped around them instead of wearing diapers. There are two different colored blankets; the default colors are sky blue for a baby boy and pastel pink for a baby girl, but different colors and styles are available as custom content. The color of baby blankets can also be changed with the use of any mod that allows access to either the "Plan Outfit" mode on the dresser or Create-A-Sim.

Babies are assigned two traits at birth. Depending on how happy a Sim was while pregnant, the player may be able to choose one of their traits, two of their traits or neither of them. Reading pregnancy books and getting massages appears to significantly increase the likelihood of being able to select both traits. If the pregnancy was a particularly unhappy one, the traits will be chosen at random and will often be negative traits (such as Evil, Mean Spirited or Coward). Unlike in The Sims 2, the only visible aspect of babies' genetics is their skin tone, as the generic character model for a baby lacks noticeable colored eyebrows and will always have blue eyes (this is similar to the real world where newborns have blue eyes).

For the first time in The Sims series, it is possible to select babies without the use of cheats or mods, though they remain immobile and cannot be directed to perform any interactions themselves. Regardless, the player can now view babies' traits and motives and keep track of how hungry, tired, dirty or lonely they are. Babies do not have any wishes and cannot learn any skills, but can still gain a few moodlets.

If a baby's motives get low enough, it will start to cry, which causes nearby Sims to get the negative Crying Baby moodlet. However, Evil Sims will get the positive "Fiendishly Delighted" moodlet from crying babies, and may steal candy from them in order to deliberately make them cry. Any Sim in the Teen stage or above may instantly refill a baby's Hygiene motive by changing its diaper at any time and in any location - there is no need for a changing table (although one can be purchased in the Store as premium content), and babies in The Sims 3 can no longer be bathed in the sink. Sims who are not from the same household as a baby will be unable to interact with the baby unless they have a high relationship with its parents or guardians.

A baby may be born as a non-human life state if either of its parents are non-human. However, if two normal Sims Try for Baby with the "Magic in the Air" moodlet, which can be gained by visiting an Arboretum, there is a chance that they will produce a baby with a random occult life state as a mutation.

The Sims 4
Babies are the first life state in The Sims 4. For the first time in the main series, mothers are able to their babies. (Breastfeeding was previously used instead of bottle feeding in The Sims Medieval.) Babies in The Sims 4, unlike The Sims 2 and The Sims 3, age up directly into children and do not go into a toddler life stage. The baby life stage is not combined with the toddler life stage.

Teens and older can interact with babies, i.e. cooing at them, cuddling them, bouncing them, rocking them, and showing them off to other Sims. Children cannot pick up the baby but can coo at them. Unlike The Sims 3, babies in The Sims 4 are tied to their bassinet and cannot be carried around by other Sims.

Babies, when they are born, have an almost half-full friend meter to all other members of the household. Almost all interactions increase a Sim's relationship with a baby, but sometimes an interaction may fail (hinted by that baby's crying), causing the relationship between the baby and said Sim to decrease. Children will get an interaction to "meet new sibling" when the baby is first born and sometimes will get an Angry or Sad moodlet called "Unwanted Sibling".

On normal age settings, the baby stage will age up into a child automatically after three days. However, a baby can be aged up at any time before this by an older Sim with the "Age Up" interaction.

If a baby is left alone in the house with no teens or older to care for it, they will be sent off-lot to daycare (both the baby and bassinet will disappear); the baby will return when a teen Sim or older comes back from work or school.

If babies are not fed for a while, a message pops up saying "[Sim Name] is very hungry! Without a feeding soon, this baby will be taken away!" If the baby is not fed for a while after the message appears, the baby will disappear in a puff of green smoke, and the message "Due to neglect, [Sim Name] has been whisked away to safety. Maybe you should try a goldfish before parenting again" will appear.

The Sims Medieval
Babies in The Sims Medieval resemble babies from The Sims 3 in appearance, but are more like babies from The Sims in that they are born with their own crib, and age into children rather than toddlers. Medieval infancy lasts for only one day. These babies technically do not need care, but will still cry if left alone long enough. A crying baby makes it impossible for Sims to sleep and lowers the focus of all Sims in the room. To get the baby to stop crying both parents may cuddle the child. Alternatively, the mother can breast feed the baby (bottles are not available). Both parents will receive a buff for cuddling the baby and/or feeding it.

The Sims FreePlay
Sims can also have babies in The Sims FreePlay. These can only be gained by placing a cot (bought from the Home Store) in a household where two married, adult Sims live. The player must then click on the baby icon above the cot. If the icon is grey then a baby cannot be attained because either the player has reached their current Sim limit or there are already four Sims in that household. If the icon is blue then a baby can be bought with a number of LP and it will appear in the cot after a day. At this point gender, eye-color, clothing and skin color of the baby can be selected. Players may choose whether or not to have the baby look like it's parents.

The new baby will now show up in the Simtracker and can be selected. This means that the player can see the baby's needs and get other Sims to interact with and care for the baby. Babies can only leave their cot if a teen Sim or older is tending to their needs, and they cannot be carried. Sims FreePlay babies are very easy to look after and can be sent to sleep manually at any time. Babies cannot be left home alone. If the baby's needs get too low, it will start to cry and scream.

Player Tips

 * In The Sims, try using this combination for a content baby whenever it cries: feed, feed, feed, play, play, sing. Repeat until baby sleeps.
 * In The Sims, the Social Worker will come if the baby is allowed to cry for too long. Place a couch, recliner, or bed in the baby's room, and have one parent nap or sleep there. A crying baby will wake every Sim in the room, and this lets at least one of its parents get a good night's sleep.
 * In The Sims, when having a lazy parent sleep in a baby's room, use a couch or recliner, and have the parent nap. That way, they will not waste time complaining about having been woken up before they were fully rested.
 * Since The Sims allows Sims to miss a day of work as long as they don't miss two in a row, the player can have parents take alternate days off. The parent who isn't going to work the next day should be the one to sleep in the baby's room.
 * In The Sims 2, babies' needs can be viewed by using the "boolProp testingCheatsEnabled true" cheat. Once the cheat has been entered, shift click the baby, click Make Unselectable, shift-click the baby again, and click Make Selectable again.
 * A baby bottle may used several times in The Sims 2 if it is placed in a Sim's inventory between feedings. Once the bottle is put down, click on it. If the option to feed the baby appears, back out of the menu, then put the bottle into the Sim's inventory. The next time the baby needs to be fed, take the bottle out of the inventory, click on it, and select the "Feed bottle to" option.
 * Babies in The Sims 2 cannot be woken when asleep on the floor, but can always be picked up with the Hold Baby option when in a crib. If a baby is sleeping on the floor but needs to be woken up, turn on the TV or an audio system in the same room so that the noise will wake them. This also works with toddlers.
 * In The Sims 2 and The Sims 3, after a pregnant Sim gives birth, they will get three days of maternity leave. The baby should normally be ready to age up into a toddler by the end of this period, though this may not be the case in The Sims 3 depending on which lifespan settings the player is using.
 * Always try to keep a crib nearby in The Sims 2 or The Sims 3. Having at least one per floor is easier than carrying babies up and down the stairs all the time.
 * In The Sims 3, the social worker will only come for a baby if its hunger or social motives are critically low and the player continues to ignore them. Warning messages about the social worker will appear a few in-game hours before the point at which a baby will be taken if nothing is done.
 * To get the maximum number of trait choices for a new baby in The Sims 3, complete as many of the pregnant Sim's wishes as possible. A good strategy is to only promise the wishes you're absolutely sure you'll be able to complete by the time the Sim gives birth.
 * In The Sims 3, a baby will usually have a higher relationship with its mother if she gives birth to it at home.
 * In The Sims 3, if the Sim eats three watermelon while pregnant, the baby will be a girl, and if they eat three apples, they will get a boy.