How to Have a Baby in the Sims 3

Last Updated: October 31, 2022 References

Sims with the Family aspiration would love to have children, and you yourself might want even more little feet to control. The simplest scenario is one male and one female Sim, but any Sim in the young adult stage or older can find a way to get a child.

Method 1

Method 1 of 3:

Giving Birth

1
Improve a male and female Sims' relationship. The female Sim must be in the young adult or adult life stage. The male must be a young adult, adult, or elder. Have them interact with social and romantic options until they have nearly full relationship bars.
- Some non-human Sims can have a baby, which will typically have characteristics from both parent species. Zombies, SimBots, Servos, and Mummies cannot have children.^{[1]
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2
Move them to a location where they can WooHoo. The "Try for a Baby" option only appears if there's an object nearby where the Sims can "WooHoo." Some objects have a higher chance of babies than others, or give special traits. Here are a few of the best options:^{[2]
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- 100% chance: Vibromatic heart bed (High End Loft stuff pack) — baby will have Excitable trait
- 75%: Normal bed
- 75%: Sarcophagus (World Adventures expansion)
- 50%: Hot tub (various expansions) — baby will have either Hydrophobic or Party Animal trait
- 50%: Treehouse (various expansions) — baby traits depend on specific treehouse
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3
Get the Sims in the mood. Have the two Sims interact romantically near the chosen object. As you do, keep an eye on the short term context messages. If the interactions go well, the other Sim will think you're being Flirty, then Alluring, then Extremely Irresistible. You'll need to reach the third stage to have a baby.
- It doesn't matter whether you control the male or female Sim.
4
Try for a baby. Once the interaction has reached "Extremely Irresistible," select the "Try for a baby" option under the Romance menu. The two Sims will move to the nearby object and have some censored fun.
- This option will not appear if your household lot already has 8 Sims living in it.
- There may be a small chance of pregnancy from the "Woohoo" option as well, but that's an unreliable method.^{[3]
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5
Wait for signs of pregnancy. If the female Sim gets morning sickness the day after the attempt, she is almost certainly pregnant. You'll know this happens when she gets the Nauseous moodlet and/or throws up.
- One way to know for certain if a female Sim is pregnant is if you click "Go Here" anywhere on the ground. If you do not have the options "Automatic," 'Run" or "Walk," then you're Sim is definitely pregnant.
- A short song right after the attempt is another sign of success.
- If this doesn't happen, just try for a baby a second time. You can keep trying as many times as you like.
6
Adjust during the pregnancy. A Sims pregnancy is much easier than a real one, since it only lasts three days! Still, it pays to be prepared for the following changes:
- On day two, the mother will be visibly pregnant. She will also get a few days of maternity leave (paid time off work), starting today.
- On day three, meet the mother's needs and address negative moodlets fast. If she is unhappy during this stage, you will not get to select the baby's traits.
- At any point while pregnant, eating 3+ apples makes a boy much more likely. Eating 3+ watermelons makes a girl much more likely.^{[4]
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7
Buy baby supplies. Set up an area for the baby near the parents' bed, as well as a bathroom. A crib and a teddy bear for the baby to sleep with are essential supplies.
8
Give birth. Some Sims will have birth inside the house, while others will call a taxi on their own and visit the hospital. There are no big differences between them, but the home birth usually leads to a higher starting relationship between mother and baby.
- The birth can happen very quickly, or last several game hours. Don't let the noise or the panicking husband worry you — nothing bad can happen.

Method 2

Method 2 of 3:

Adopting a Baby

1
Start with a stable household. You cannot adopt a child if the Social Worker has previously removed someone from the household, or if you've reached the max household size of 8 Sims.^{[5]
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Research source} Assuming neither of those has happened, any Sim at the young adult stage or older can adopt.
2
Phone the adoption services. Interact with any phone and select the "Call Services" option, then select "Adoption Services."
- The Sim must be on his or her home lot to adopt.
3
Choose a child. When adopting, you get to choose between a girl and a boy, and between a baby, toddler, or child. You also get to name the kid, although the last name will always be the same as the Sim who made the phone call.^{[6]
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- The traits and appearance are always random, but you can improve future traits with a good upbringing.
4
Wait for the kid. Within a game hour the kid should arrive at your house. Babies and toddlers are dropped off by a social worker, while children will ride a bike to your house.

Method 3

Method 3 of 3:

Other Methods

1
Get abducted by aliens. Male Sims at the young adult stage or older have a 1 in 3 chance of pregnancy when abducted by aliens. The baby will be completely alien, and unrelated to the father. Here's how to achieve this:
- Install the Seasons expansion.
- Collect Space Rocks if you can. (They appear mostly at random, but a Collection Helper speeds it up.)
- Have a male Sim stargaze outside at night, using a telescope. Repeat each night until abducted.
- If the Sim has the Unexpected Weight Gain moodlet when he returns, he is pregnant. If not, try again.
2
Wish for a child at the wishing well. If you purchase the Lucky Palms world from the Sims Store, you'll have access to a wishing well. You can wish for a child here, but sometimes you'll get an evil one that appears from a black cloud. In other situations, the baby may be a puppy or kitten.

Community Q&A

Question

Do I have to be on a certain level or something to be able to have a kid?

Community Answer

On the tablet, or Sims Freeplay, you have to get to the romance task. On PC or console, no.
Question

How do I cancel the option of being taken to the hospital for birth on the Sims 3?

Community Answer

If this is on the PC, you can just keep left-clicking on the actions. You can also just create a room, make the mom go inside, delete the door, and wait for her to give birth. I've never done a home birth, but I expect the second option would work better.
Question

How do I do the pregnancy test in The Sims 3?

Community Answer

You can only do pregnancy tests in The Sims 4, right after you've completed the Try For Baby option. The only indicator in The Sims 3 that a Sim is pregnant is if they go to vomit for unknown reasons and not because of a trait (such as eating meat when a vegetarian), or when the pregnancy moodlet appears.

Warnings

If a baby is unhappy for too long, he/she will be taken away, and if there are multiple children in the household, there is a chance they'll be taken away as well unless they are teens and older.

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If the mother is not happy during pregnancy, the baby's traits will be randomly chosen, and there's a good chance they won't be good traits.

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Raising a baby is time-consuming and expensive. It will be a significant challenge if the parents are poor or already stressed.

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