The Sims 4 Babies Guide

Getting Pregnant, Having a Baby or Twins, and Caring for Them

by Pam Marsden

Close-up picture of a Baby in The Sims 4
A Close-Up shot of a Baby in The Sims 4

Video Guide: Pregnancy and Babies

Learn how to have a baby, how to handle twins and triplets, and how to influence the gender of your offspring after your Sims Try for Baby so you can have the little boy or girl you want.

Pregnancy and Babies Video Guide

Have a Baby by Adopting

Adopting a Baby, Toddler, or Child
In The Sims 4, babies can be produced using Try For Baby or using the computer to adopt. (Choose Household, then Adopt). Adoption costs $1,000 and the player gets to choose between a baby, toddler, and a child. You also get to pick the one you wish to adopt. The computer will show pictures and names of the available babies, toddlers, and children. Click on the one you want. My Sim chose a baby named Savannah. She immediately walked out of the house and disappeared at the street. About an hour later, you'll get a notice that your Sim is bringing home a new family member. You'll also be given the option to change the name of the baby you pick. Your Sim returns with some confetti and the baby is magically in the bassinet. Adopting a toddler or child works the same way.

Have a Baby by Getting Pregnant

Other Guides: Toddlers Guide  |  Children Guide

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To have a baby naturally, a Sim who is able to be pregnant (male or female via CAS options) will have to find a suitable partner/spouse and go through all of the necessary friendly and romantic interactions in order to successfully Try For Baby. My Sim had the Romantic trait and her Aspiration was Soul Mate, which meant that she eagerly sought the Sim who would be the father to her baby. I found that Try For Baby came up sooner than in Sims 3, so less time was needed for the couple to interact romantically. Getting flirty can help boost the success of romance interactions.

The parents were married and had maxed their friendship and romantic bars, and Try for Baby often came up as a first option without having to do any romancing before hand. Sims can also have a male appearance and have the ability to become pregnant, or be female in appearance and able to make others pregnant - see transgender section below for how to do this.

Woohoo in Sims 4 to Try for Baby
Getting ready to Woohoo with Try for Baby to become Pregnant

Video Guide: How to Woohoo & Try for Baby

Video guide for how to Woohoo in The Sims 4 to have a baby

There are no longer pregnancy chimes at the time your Sims Try for Baby. Instead, the mother can do a pregnancy test by clicking on the toilet afterward. The cost is $15 and results are immediate. Either it will say she's eating for two or to try again. She will immediately start to show a little after getting a positive pregnancy test. Otherwise, if you do not do a pregnancy test, the game will inform you after a day that the mother is pregnant. Luckily, the mother will wear her same clothes throughout the pregnancy. There's no spinning into ugly maternity clothes!

CAS Options - Make Sim Transgender
During Create-a-Sim, you can select '...' beneath the gender settings to make your Sim however you desire. Sims can have masculine voice and feminine appearance, and you may also select whether that Sim is capable of becoming pregnant regardless of gender. You must pick one or the other - Sims who can become pregnant can't get others pregnant. You may also choose neither, indicating that Sim can woohoo without any baby being born.

Male Pregnancy (via Alien Abduction)
If you have a male Sim in the household who is from Young Adult to Elder in age and have installed the Get to Work Expansion, Alien Abduction can result in your Sim getting pregnant. You can make this happen by joining the Scientist Career, and working your way up until you can build the satellite. You can use the satellite on your home lot to contact aliens. This makes them more likely to visit, and thus abduct your Sim. Conversely, you can use the satellite to stop alien abductions to prevent your male from getting pregnant. For a full tutorial to abductions, see How to Get Abducted for Alien Babies.

Having Boys or Girls

Explore My Mods! Color Picker for Builders, Seasons Tuner, Dine Out Reloaded and a Gameplay Overhaul! Like other modders, I've been working to make The Sims 4 a better game. Check out my many mods here!

Influence the Baby's Gender: A patch made it so that we can influence the gender of babies, so we can make the chance large that a baby girl or boy is born:

  • To be more likely to have a baby boy: Eat carrots and listen to alternative music on the radio.
  • To be more likely to have a baby girl: Eat strawberries and listen to pop music on the radio.

Doing both of these things during your pregnancy will increase your odds of having a boy or girl.

Having Twins and Triplets: Multiple Births

Though it is possible to influence the game to give you Twins or Triplets, the pregnancy will typically produce a single baby. Twins and triplets can happen naturally, but to increase the chances of twins or triplets, use the Fertile Reward. It's available from the Rewards Store for the price of 3,000 Satisfaction points. You can also cheat to have twins or triplets, see below. If those cheats are too complex, you can use the Sims.give_satisfaction_points X cheat to give yourself enough to afford fertile

Another means of boosting the odds of twins and triplets is to use the Wellness skill on someone other than the Sim who is going to get pregnant, or visit a massage parlor. With the Spa Day Game Pack, Sims can get a Fertility Massage at the Spa or from a Sim who is practiced in the Wellness skill. You must own a massage table to get one at home, but this is reported to increase the rate of twins and triplets as well.

These are at present the only ways known to boost multiple birth rates without cheating.

During the Pregnancy

A pregnancy lasts approximately three Sim days, no matter which lifespan setting the player is using. The mother will have morning sickness and make trips to the bathroom to vomit. It's pretty gross, so beware before you zoom in for a close up! The toilet will need to be cleaned afterward. During her pregnancy, the mother will have backaches that may or may not be helped by a massage from her partner. I didn't notice my Sim getting any whims for a massage. The mother will be able to Share Big News and Invite to Feel Baby. Hover over her pregnancy moodlet to see how far the pregnancy has progressed: first, second, or third trimester. By the third trimester, the mother is HUGE! She's also quite uncomfortable and ready for the baby to come.

A Sim feeling a Pregnant Sim's Baby Kicking
Sim Feeling the Baby Kicking in a Pregnant Mother's Stomach

Preparing the Nursery
In Sims 4, the only baby item is the bassinet. You may purchase one prior to the birth, or one will be provided by Social Services when the baby is born if you don't own one. The bassinet doesn't take up much space and can easily be kept in the mother's bedroom if you don't want to bother with making a separate nursery. Consider building up a bedroom for your baby before it ages up to Toddler. You'll need a high chair, toddler bed, and potty chair.

Giving Birth to a Baby

When the time arrives, the mother will go into labor. It will last about three hours and the mother can do anything she wants during this time. She can eat, have conversations, go to the bathroom, even sleep. She'll have a +40 Uncomfortable moodlet during this time, however, which is too large to really overcome by normal means. If you like, you can avoid long labor by simply clicking the option to deliver at hospital from the Bassinet. The father in my game would sometimes have pre-parental panic and run through the house. He had the Hates Children trait, so that was a possible cause, but other fathers may experience this as well. Nobody else in the house (teens and children) had any reaction.

Sim Fathers may go into Pre-Parental Panic as the baby's arrival draws closer
A Sim Father goes into Pre-Parental Panic, Anxious for the Baby's Birth

When it's Go Time, the mother will go to the bassinet for the actual birth, or you'll be taken to the hospital for surgery with the Get to Work Expansion (if you chose the hospital route). This is when we get to see her faces and listen to her groan. It doesn't last long and before you know it, you've got a brand new baby. The little darling will be dressed in a one-piece jumper: green for boys and yellow for girls. No traits are chosen at the time of birth, so it doesn't matter if the mother has a smooth pregnancy. The first trait is chosen at Toddler and a childhood Aspiration is chosen at the Child stage.

The Sims 4 - a Sim in Labor, ready to give birth to a baby
The Pregnancy comes to an end as the Mother goes into Labor

Caring for the Baby

Baby's Needs
The baby cannot be the active Sim and the player cannot see his/her needs. You have to judge the situation from visual and audio clues. but they have a hidden hunger, fun and hygiene need that must be met. The baby will sleep automatically when well cared for. You can develop the relationship by using the limited socials that are available, while also satisfying the baby's needs for entertainment and socialization. A green cloud means a dirty diaper and crying means the baby needs to be fed and/or you should played with the baby. My Sims were fairly attentive to the baby without being told, but this might not always be the case. All interactions are found by clicking on the bassinet and the baby never leaves that immediate area.

Stinky Baby equals time for Diaper Change
When Babies get Stinky, it's time for a Diaper Change

When feeding, the mother has the option to bottle feed or breast feed. Everyone else can only bottle feed. Males pregnant with an alien baby can breast feed, however. The other interactions besides changing the dirty diaper are: Bounce, Coo At, Make Silly Face, Rock, Talk, Shoosh, Show Off To, and Age Up. Children will be able to Coo At and Talk to the baby. To use the Show Off To interaction, make sure the bassinet is not up against a wall. The person looking at the baby will stand at the head of the bassinet.

The Sims 4 - Showing off a Baby
Showing off the Baby to another Sim

Leaving the House and Neglecting the Baby
Sims can all leave the house when there's a baby, no problem. The baby automatically gets sent to Day Care while the parents and others are away at work, or just out exploring to collect items. If a baby is neglected for a period of time, the baby will be taken away to safety. The baby will simply disappear in a green flash of light. This didn't seem to negatively impact the mother's ability to have more babies later.

Aging Up Babies To Toddler (you can Skip Past Baby)

A baby can be aged up to Toddler at any time after the birth by clicking on the bassinet. However, if you wish to wait until the normal aging time, you may wait it out by caring for them until this happens automatically. The only real benefit to letting the baby age on its own is to increase the relationship between the baby and other Sims in the house, while also giving you time to prepare to care for a toddler properly by giving them their own bedroom. All of the interactions your Sims can make with the baby will increase the relationship bar. When the time comes, the baby will age straight to a toddler who can roam the house and needs to learn Toddler skills. The duration a Sim's baby life stage will vary depending on which lifespan you're playing. On the short lifespan, it's about 1 1/2 days to age up to toddler. On normal lifespan, it's about 3 days.

Learn More: Toddlers Guide  |  Children Guide

Pregnancy Cheats

Mod Required
Only Try for Baby cheats (below) can be done without a mod. For other pregnancy cheats, you need to use a mod to unlock additional commands. Download TwistedMexi's Enable All Cheats Mod to get back the testingcheats that were removed. See instructions for using these cheats in the video below. Follow the link to subscribe to my channel and get notified of new video guides.

I have made a more detailed guide to Using Pregnancy Cheats in The Sims 4 where you can see the below video and then use step by step instructions to attempt to replicate my results.

Pregnancy Cheats in Sims 4

Pregnancy Cheats for The Sims 4

Try for Baby Cheat (By Raising Romantic Relationship Levels)
If you want to cheat to make your Sim have a high romance standing with another in order to try for baby, type modifyrelationship yoursimfirst yoursimlast targetsimfirst targetsimlast 99 romance_main - for example, modifyrelationship alex wilkis christy mooney 99 romance_main will make them have a near-max romance bar, which is capable of trying for baby with or without building friendship first. Use a few romance socials successfully, then hit try for baby and you're good!

Speed up Pregnancy (Requires Mod)
You cannot directly use a cheat to get pregnant, but you can cheat to get it over with faster. This works only when a Sim is pregnant, otherwise it makes them go through the labor without producing a baby. Type testingcheats on, followed by Sims.add_buff buff_pregnancy_inlabor. This works when males are pregnant with alien babies, as well.

Sims 4 Pregnancy Cheats
The multiple births cheat requires you to get a Sim ID number like above. Be sure you type your Sim's exact first and last name when using the cheat.

Forcing Twins, Triplets, and More (Requires Mod)
A cheat is availble to force multiple births as well. These require testingcheats on. First, you need to get your Sim's ID after they've been made pregnant normally (see above to max romance).

Type sims.get_sim_id_by_name firstname lastname to get the ID of the pregnant Sim.

Now you can influence how many births they have at once. It may work up to 7, but keep in mind that the maximum household size is 8. So do a little addition, and save your game first. It may hang quite a bit generating all these babies. Use the Sim's ID you got from the first cheat, for example 1341302010235.

Then type pregnancy.force_offspring_count 1341302010235 5 So pregnancy.force_offspring_count ID (number of babies). My example would produce 5 babies, but you need your Sim's actual ID number (that one's made up). Thankfully, the ID will stay in the box while you work on typing out the cheat! I tested this with the force labor cheat, and it does work. It's best to use the forced labor cheat right away after using this one. Without it, they will have the babies at the normal time, not right after using the cheat, but you'd have to stay home the whole time. Traveling breaks the multiple births cheat, so speeding up via fored labor keeps you from having issues. Save first to give yourself another shot if something goes wrong.

Quadruplet babies in The Sims 4
The quadruplets pictured were forced via the pregnancy cheats, proving they can work on a fully updated game, and when typed perfectly. The alien baby is a result of the male Sim having been pregnant before the save was loaded. He was already set by the game to have twins, but I knocked it back to 1 by cheating. So if your Sim has twins/triplets and you don't want that many, you can go back to a previous save and use the cheats to get only one baby.

Problems with the Cheat
This was possibly added from a patch, so cannot be used on out-of-date games. Players who have a pirate copy are likely left out on this one. Additionally, the cheat will not work if you reload the file after entering it. You are overriding what is already determined when the Sim gets pregnant - the number of babies to be born, so you'll have what the Sim was meant to have. On leaving the game file, you'd have to enter it again, and anything that messes with the status of testingcheats may render the command invalid (such as entering create-a-Sim). So, if you use these, plan to stay home and save during the third trimester, and save just before using them. If the cheat was entered correctly, you can immediately go into labor using the speed up pregnancy cheat, so that nothing can go wrong in the meantime.

In Closing
This should help you get pregnant and care for your baby properly. From here, you can go on to learn about Toddlers and Raising Children and Getting Good Grades in School.

Raising Kids and Parenting in The Sims 4

Babies, Adopting, and Pregnancy
Toddlers and Learning to Walk, Talk, and Potty
Childhood, School and Children's Aspirations
The Sims 4 Parenthood Game Pack
Parenthood - Character Values from Raising Children
Sims 4 Expansion Packs

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Comments (405)

Gravatar
New
Leyahsays...
This might be late...and it might've been just a one time thing, but I used the "forced labor" cheat just to see what would happen on my very non-pregnant guy, and he went into labor. It was pretty hilarious actually.
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New
Sims4rockssays...
Is it possible for two girls to 'Try for a baby' ? If so how?
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Senior
Playalotsays...
With a recent patch update you can now choose settings like this in CAS. Click on a dresser in game and choose 'change sim'. From there you can decide whether or not each sim can become pregnant or make other sims pregnant etc. You need one sim to be able to become pregnant and one sim who can make other sims pregnant regardless of 'gender' to be able to 'try for baby'.
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New
Jacquelinesays...
I get the notification that my baby is about to grow up but then it never does. Has anyone else had this problem? Unsure
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Admin
Playalotsays...
Try clicking on the bassinet and choose to age up the nooboo manually.
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New
Ceciliasays...
Omg my imaginary friend happy face had a baby and she was so cute, that i accidentally aged her up in a child and she was so cute. I aged her up multiple times but stopped when she was an elder. I was new to the game, so i took her to the gym and she died there, but her mother gave the grim reaper a death flower and the elder lana, was took back to life. Sorry about imaginative things here, talk to me by replying.
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New
trololysays...
ScaredScaredScared breast feed makes your sim fat! men! ScaredScaredScared
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New
burger&unknownsays...
Cool ok there is a octopus under the kids bed ...Laugh
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Admin
Playalotsays...
Came free in a recent patch. Wink
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New
Daphnesays...
My sim is pregnant rn :)SmileSmileSmileSmile
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New
Cheysays...
To skip to Trimester 3! I used. testingchests true then entered Sims.add_buff buff_pregnancy_trimester3 . AND IT WORKS! I PROMISE! ☺️Smile
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New
ChloeNeaf18says...
Can you PLZZZZ help me I need twins!!!!!
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Admin
Playalotsays...
It's all random game chance although a fertility massage (Spa Day) or the Fertile reward trait helps to up those chances.
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New
thesims4fansays...
Is there any cheats to make the limit of sims in a house bigger? UnsureUnsureUnsure
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Admin
Playalotsays...
We have a guide to building here that should be of help to you.
A sims house can be made as large as the lot barring one square clear around the edge if that is what you want to do. Lots themselves can not be altered as there are no tools to customize the worlds or neighborhoods in any way.
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New
Viviasays...
The sim id cheat doesn't work for me. I think it might be because she has two firstnames.
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Admin
Playalotsays...
Might be! I would have thought just typing it exactly as she is named would allow you to bring up the sims ID though! I guess you could always rename her in CAS.
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New
Kaileysays...
I cannot get my sims id, I have testing cheats on and I've tried multiple times. Is there some other way I could get my sims id?
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New
Ashsays...
thx for the info i just got sims 4 like a couple weeks ago and the one thing that stresses me out irl is taking care of babiess!!!! lol thxSmile)
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New
JaSminesays...
when i try to use the cheat to make my people have a baby quicker nothing happens PLEASE HELP
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Regular
Michellesays...
Is there a cheat where I can have more kids when the household is maxed out?
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Admin
Playalotsays...
No but there are mods out there that allow you to exceed the maximum of 8 sims per house if you don't mind using mods.
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New
Furosusays...
hey, how can you make the transgender option appear? I cant find it Sad
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Admin
Playalotsays...
If you scroll up on this page to the heading: CAS Options - Make Sim Transgender you'll be able to read about how to do that. Smile
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New
Jaesays...
The speed up pregnancy chest doesn't work UnsureUnsureUnsureUnsure
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Admin
Playalotsays...
Make sure you have no mods that might be conflicting and that you have made no typos.
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New
DeusExArchangelsays...
Hmmm, my pregnant Sim ate strawberries and listened to Pop music everyday during pregnancy, but still gave birth to boy. =(
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Admin
Playalotsays...
Wow, that is unusual. Usually just listening to pop alone is enough to get a girl. I make my sims eat 10 strawberries per trimester and it never fails. You also have to make sure the pregnant sim never eats carrots or accidentally listens to alternative while trying for a girl as then the chances are mixed equally between a boy or a girl nooboo.
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New
DeusExArchangelsays...
Tried for a second baby =O. Also ate strawberries everyday at least every 4 hours. Also listened to Pop music. The first boy sometimes the game glitched alternative music., but this time I made sure it's always pop.

But second baby also boy >.<
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Admin
Playalotsays...
Oh double wow, that is unusual. Might be time for a factory reset!
Factory Reset How-To
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New
Beausays...
Sad my sim won't have twins/triplets
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Admin
Playalotsays...
This has been difficult to create since launch. All you can do is make use of every 'trick' in the game that you have available to you. i.e. the 'Fertility Massage' from Spa day and the reward trait 'Fertile'.
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New
Caitlin Cooksays...
Is it just me or do my sims boobs get bigger? It looks like they do....Has anyone else noticed? WinkSleep
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Admin
Playalotsays...
lol yep been like that since launch. Not sure if they actually do increase in size but it sure looks that way. Pregnant sims really do look pregnant in TS4 Smile
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Regular
Kawaii-yanderesays...
HELP!!! I typed in the remove all buffs cheat and now my sim isn't pregnant and it won't let her try for another one!plz help!SadSadSad
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Admin
Playalotsays...
Unfortunately removing the buffs/moodlets does cause pregnant sims to not be pregnant anymore. Sad
Reset your sim using resetsim firstname last name. If you haven't already travel your sim through a loading screen as that can help clear weird glitches too. You can also quit out of your game and then delete the localthumbcache.package file from your The Sims 4 folder and then hop back into game and try again.
If you are still having issues after a few sim days then you may need to do a factory reset.
Factory Reset Tips
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Regular
Kawaii-yanderesays...
Thank you it worked
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Regular
Kawaii-yanderesays...
Does leaving the game count as a loading screen?
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Admin
Playalotsays...
Yes, saving, quitting, traveling to another lot... anything that makes a loading screen happen.
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Regular
Kawaii-yanderesays...
GREAT!!! Just perfect my sims won't open!Mad
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Admin
Playalotsays...
This is a problem that has started occurring since the last patch. It happened to me to.
Here's a link to a post for some ideas how to fix it. Scroll down, it's the 5th bug on the page.
Forum Post On Patch Bugs
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New
samantha sanchezsays...
Smileit is so fun to play


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