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 pre-made babies in The Sims series, although some pre-made Sims start out pregnant. Babies cannot be made in Create a Sim.

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

The Sims
In order for a baby to be born in The Sims, one of two things must happen:


 * Two Sims of opposite genders must interact romantically either by kissing or "playing in bed" and then hope for the random chance of a dialogue asking "Should we have a baby?", to which the player can answer "Yes" or "No". The "playing in bed" interaction can only work if a Sim has a Vibromatic Heart Bed or a downloaded bed that's based on it. In Get a Life mode for the console version of The Sims, the player will not be given the option to decline.
 * A phone call is received from an adoption agency asking if the family would like to adopt. This phone call occurs at random, usually at around 4pm. The player has the option to decline.

Either way, a baby arrives immediately in a shower of flowers, at which point all other Sims gather to applaud the newborn. The shower of flowers will resolve into a green crib with white bedding. The baby will arrive near the Sims. It is suggested that the interaction that leads to the "Should we have a baby?" question be performed away from the lot's borders, as it is possible for the crib to appear on the sidewalk or in the street, in which case the player will be unable to move it in buy or build mode unless the move_objects cheat is used.

Babies awaken approximately once every 6 hours and require feeding (although strangely enough they never require diaper changes) and to be sung to sleep. They have no other needs. Playing with the baby is an option, but is not required.

The baby is visible while a Sim is interacting with it, but it will be placed back into the crib once the interaction is finished. While in its crib, the baby is merely a lump covered in its bedding. Once the baby has gone back to sleep, Sims will be unable to interact with it until the next time it awakens for feeding, though Bonehilda, if available, will be able to feed the baby. As long as the baby is in the crib, the crib can be moved in buy mode or build mode.

If the baby is not tended to after several hours of crying, a social worker will call to reprimand the household and warn them that, if the child is not taken care of, the social worker will come to take the baby away. If the baby is left unattended for a second time, the baby will be taken by the social worker.

If looked after sufficiently, a baby becomes a child after 72 game hours. Since there are no genetics in The Sims, the child's body and head skins will be selected at random, and the child may not resemble either parent. The body skin can be changed by using a dresser, but the head skin can only be changed by using a third-party program.

Unlike later games in the series, babies in The Sims are like objects. A player can evict a family from their house while a baby is in it, but the baby will not be there when the family is moved into a new house.

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 separate from their cribs, which need to bought in buy mode. Regular feeding and diaper changes are required, and 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. A partly-filled bottle cannot be stored in a refrigerator, but can be placed in a Sim's inventory.

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,. 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, since building relationships with them is fairly easy, it is best if other members of the household interacted with the baby.

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, or even attempt to fight with them. Since prank and fight interactions can only be performed on Sims who are teens or older, the game will not allow him to do this, so his interactions will simply fail.

The Sims 3
Babies are the youngest life stage in The Sims 3, and can be added to existing households through a pregnancy, 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, by reincarnating a deceased Sim as a baby using the Door of Life And Death from The Sims 3 Store, 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 (similar to morning sickness), 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 a baby 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 rabbit hole 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. If there's one baby born, the mother will carry it. If it's twins, the mother and father will carry one each. If it's triplets or quadruplets or so on, the babies will be carried in a basket on the way home.

Babies are assigned two traits at birth. Depending on how happy the mother Sim was during her pregnancy, 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, a possible nod to the fact that babies briefly have blue eyes after birth.

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. Babies can also visit other community lots for the first time in the series by being carried to other community lots.

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 a 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.

In The Sims 3: Generations, there is a chance that after a baby is born, the parents will be sent an Imaginary Friend doll by a relative. The baby will have the doll in their inventory, however, they cannot interact with it until they age up into a toddler. Babies can also be taken on strolls in the stroller by Sims who are teen and older.

The Sims 4
Babies are the first life stage in The Sims 4. For the first time ever in the main series, new mothers are able to their babies. Breastfeeding was previously used instead of bottle feeding in The Sims Medieval.

Teen Sims 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 babies, but can coo at them. As in The Sims and earlier versions of The Sims FreePlay, babies in The Sims 4 are tied to their bassinet and cannot be carried around by other Sims.

Bassinets are automatically provided free-of-charge if the pregnant Sim gives birth at a hospital. If, however, the player wants to have a pregnant Sim give birth at home, the player will need to purchase the bassinet prior to the birth. If a Sim's labor moodlet expires or is about to expire, the social services will give a free bassinet. A bassinet is non-transferable until its original occupant ages up, but it is possible to change the color using the design tool.

When a baby is born, its friendship meter, relative to all other members of the household, is almost half-full. While almost all interactions with a baby will increase a Sim's relationship with the baby, interactions with babies can fail. A failed interaction with a baby will cause them to cry, and will cause relationship between the baby and the Sim to decrease. Children will get an interaction to "meet new sibling" when the baby is just born, and will sometimes get an angry or sad "Unwanted Sibling" moodlet.

Just like The Sims 3, babies will represent their gender with different-colored clothing, but with rompers instead of blankets. The romper shows one decal and a color for each gender: green with a monkey holding a banana for baby boys, and light yellow with a pink butterfly for baby girls.

On normal age settings, a baby will automatically age up into a toddler after three days. However, older Sims can age a baby up at any time before this by using the "Age Up" interaction.

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

If babies are not fed for a while, a notification appears 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.

When the baby will be born, the player is prompted to decide whether the baby will be born at home or in the hospital. If the baby will be born in the hospital, the parents will go to an off-screen hospital. If Get To Work is installed, the player will also be prompted if it is an off-screen birth or an on-screen birth where the player follows the parents.

If a baby needs a diaper change or has to eat, it will become sad due to its crying, while an older Sim will become uncomfortable instead.

Before the January 12, 2017 update added the toddler stage to The Sims 4, babies would age up into children, as they did in The Sims.

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 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 Simoleons 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 its 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 as of level 10, adult Sims can carry them, place them on the ground and teach them to walk. Sims FreePlay babies are very easy to look after and can be sent to sleep manually any time they are in their cot. Unlike other Sims games, babies can be left home alone. If the baby's needs get too low, it will start to cry and scream. Babies also cry if they want an adult to pick them up.

Player tips

 * In The Sims, try using this combination for a content baby whenever it cries: feed, feed, sing. Repeat until baby sleeps.
 * In The Sims, the social worker will appear 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, players who have the Superstar expansion pack can hire a butler ($500/day) who will automatically tend to the baby whenever it cries. The baby will go back to sleep after just one interaction from the butler, although they may start crying again at shorter intervals. Nonetheless, as long as the butler is around (normal shift is from 7 am to 11 pm), he will tend to the child.
 * 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 trick also works with toddlers.
 * When playing with a baby in The Sims 2, it is possible that the baby will vomit on the poor Sim playing with them. This will abort the "play with" interaction and reduce said Sim's hygiene motive. The Sim and the baby will not lose relationship points, however.
 * 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 aging 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 appear for a baby if it's 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 female Sim eats three watermelons whilst pregnant, the baby will be a girl, and if they eat three apples, they will have a boy.
 * In The Sims 4, a parent who takes family leave can continue to enjoy what is left of it if a player manually ages up a baby shortly after birth.
 * In The Sims 4, unlike previous versions, a family who neglects a baby (or a toddler) does not become ineligible to adopt or give birth to another baby in the immediate future.