Having a Family

As time marches on, it is important to keep a family going. There are two ways to have a child: pregnancy or adoption.

Adoption

To adopt a baby, all you need to do is pick up the phone and Call Services. Select Adoption Service from the menu and you start the adoption process.

As long as there are fewer than eight Sims living on the lot, you can adopt a baby. In just a few hours, the Social Worker Service Sim shows up at your front door.

You are asked what age of youth you want to adopt (baby, toddler, child) and what gender. You then name the baby. After selecting all of these factors, the Social Worker hands over the bundle of joy and you can immediately start playing with it and feeding it.

Pregnancy

“When two people love each other very much...” A zillion birds-and-bees talks have started out like this—and now it’s going to be a zillion and one.

In order to get pregnant, two Sims of the opposite sex must enter a high amorous STC to unlock the Try for Baby social. When this social is selected, the two Sims report directly to the bedroom and jump between the sheets for a little WooHoo. Not every session of WooHoo results in a pregnancy.

When Try for Baby is successful, you hear a musical chime directly after WooHoo. Congrats—the female Sim will be pregnant starting the very next day.

Pregnancy lasts just three days in Sunset Valley. The mood of the pregnant Sim is extremely important. Keeping the pregnant Sim happy is a benefit just for general LTR, but if you really work on keeping spirits high, it will have a positive effect on the baby when it is born.

Day One

When your Sim first becomes pregnant, her body shape changes only a little. What makes the pregnancy far more notable on this day is the Nauseous moodlet and the constant need to go to the bathroom, coupled with throwing up in the toilet.

The Nauseous moodlet does not occur until eight hours after the start of the pregnancy and will occur intermittently throughout the day.

During the first day of pregnancy, not only will more time be spent in the bathroom, but more time will also be spent with your head inside the fridge. Being pregnant increases Hunger, so be sure to keep the pregnant Sim fed.

Day Two

On the second day of the pregnancy, you can see signs of the baby growing inside the Sim. The pregnant Sim’s belly sticks on a little bit and she walks a bit differently to compensate for the extra weight in the front.

The Nauseous moodlet is now replaced by the Pregnant moodlet, which is a net positive. We say net positive, because carrying the baby puts strain on the mother’s back and initiates the Aching Back moodlet, which is a negative.

A trip to the day spa will take care for that Aching Back moodlet for a little while.

A massage from a husband does the trick, too.

The Aching Back moodlet can be dealt with in two ways. The pregnant Sim’s partner can use the Massage social to relieve the moodlet or the pregnant Sim can report to the day spa for a little pampering.

Getting a massage at the day spa will remove the Aching Back moodlet, but it will return over the course of the day.

The second day of pregnancy starts to affect the parents’ wishes. The father will have wishes the involve buying toys and Kids Room objects for the baby.

The mother will have these wishes, too, but she will also get food-related wishes, such as wanting to eat a grilled cheese sandwich. Fulfill these wishes to keep the mother happy.

Day Three

The final day of the pregnancy unfolds much like the second day with continued backaches from carrying around the baby and more wishes that involve kids’ objects and cravings.

However, late in this day, the baby will be born. Look for the The Baby Is Coming moodlet two hours before it is time to give birth. When you get this signal, cancel everything.

Clear the action queue. Go to the hospital and use the Have Baby interaction. Any family member who takes the pregnant Sim to the hospital will go inside with her and not come out until the baby has been born.

The baby is almost here! Better make a special room in your house for the little one.

The baby will have a mixture of its parents’ physical traits, like hair color, eye color, and skin tone. There is always a slight chance for a physical trait that does not match either parent. Don’t take it personally—and don’t start looking at the physical make-up of the Mail Carrier.