Baby

$$ Baby is the first life stage in The Sims and The Sims 2 (excluding pregnancy, in the case of the latter).

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" (in the Livin' Large expansion) 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.


 * A phone call is received (completely at random) from an adoption agency asking if the family would like to adopt. This can be declined.

Either way, a baby arrives immediately in a shower of flowers, at which point all other Sims gather to applaud the newborn. Babies awake approximately once every 6 hours and require to be fed (although strangely enough they never require diaper changes) and sung to sleep. Playing with the baby is an option, but by no means compulsory. If looked after sufficiently, a baby becomes a child after 72 game hours. If not, it is removed by a social worker.

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 prerogative when that happens - the adoption agency will not call at random.

Unlike their counterparts in the original, TS2 babies are actually separate from their cribs (the crib needs to be bought). 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 NPC's, the Nanny, who can care for youngsters and will also tidy up as a bonus.

The Sims 2 babies are not controllable and it's not possible to view any of the baby's details without using a hack or boolprop testingcheatsenabled, unless the player has Sims 2: FreeTime (see below). 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 it's (invisible) hunger or social motive was to become critically low, it can't leave the lot unless a glitch occurs.

Introduced in The Sims 2 Expansion Pack: FreeTime Sim Parents can now 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.

At a maximum 3 days old, the baby becomes a toddler.

The Care and Keeping of Twins
Naturally, twins require more work from the parents than just one baby. I don't recommend feeding the twins at the same time, as you'll end up with two screaming babies needing a diaper change at the same time. Feed them a few real time minutes apart, than at least you'll have time to change twin 1's diaper and put them in the crib before twin 2's thumbnail goes yellow. Speaking of diaper changes, if one parent fears diaper changing, too bad. Tell them to suck it up and order them to change that stinky, screaming baby's diaper! Of course, you could always enlist the help of a nanny or other family members, but this isn't recommended, as I personally like it when my babies are handled by the parents from day 1, in order to have a close bond with the parents.

Toddler twins are even harder to deal with, as they are so dependent on you. If there is a possibility of you having twins, make sure to have the working parent accumulate vacation time.