Summary

  • The Growing Together DLC introduces the new infant life stage in Sims 4, adding more gameplay options for family-oriented Simmers.
  • Mods like Precious Moments & Call A Babysitter enhance the infant care experience for players seeking more depth.
  • Various mods like Toggle Milestones & Slow Infant Needs aim to improve gameplay balance for Simmers raising infants.

The Sims 4 introduced the infant life stage along with a related DLC, Growing Together, in March 2023. Serving as a long-awaited improvement for babies, the infant life stage brings more gameplay for Simmers who enjoy family and legacy gameplay, and the milestones that infants achieve through Growing Togethe r can make raising them feel more rewarding.

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Not long after the update went live, creators were able to create and release mods and CCs that enhance the brand-new life stage. Some additions to the game include objects, accessories, and CAS items. Some modders have even been able to create brand-new gameplay mods since infants have been in The Sims 4.

Updated on August 13, 2024, by Jenna Amore: As the modding community continues to evolve, new enhancements for The Sims 4 have emerged, catering even to the youngest members of virtual households. Infant Sims, often overlooked in base game content, now benefit from a variety of mods designed to enrich their gameplay experience from the moment they enter the world. In addition to The Sims 4: Growing Together pack, these popular mods introduce exciting new possibilities and features to ensure that every stage of a Sim's life, including infancy, is filled with new adventures and capabilities.

Sources for this article and its images include EA.com, various Modders and CC creators for The Sims 4, and promotional images for their content.

16 Science Baby Tweak Mod

Infuse Realism And Choice Into Sims' Parenthood

A pregnant Sim with newborn babies and the option to have a science baby pregnancy from the Science Baby Tweaks mod for The Sims 4

The Science Baby Tweak mod adds a new layer of depth to Sims 4 storytelling and gameplay, particularly for those who want more control over how their Sims start a family. While the base game allows Sims to have a science baby, the process is quite jarring. Sims who choose this route simply disappear off-lot and return with a newborn.

This mod enhances that experience by offering players the choice between an insta-baby or a pregnancy, much like IVF in real life. This flexibility is invaluable for players who want to explore different narratives, such as Sims facing fertility challenges or same-sex couples deciding how to expand their family. It also deepens the connection players can have with their infant Sims, allowing them to be a part of their story right from the earliest stages of life.

15 Precious Moments

Add Realistic, Heartwarming Interactions With Infants

Precious Moments Infant Mod for The Sims 4

Family gameplay in The Sims 4 is adorable and a major aspect for many players. Parents' interactions with their children will also directly affect them as they age. Players with the Parenthood Game Pack will be familiar with specialized social interactions between adult Sims and their offspring.

Precious Moments by Plumlace is a gameplay mod that adds unique interactions between parents, infants, and toddlers. The interactions are mainly social, but they help parents create stronger bonds with their kids. Two examples of the features of the mod include the ability to practice the ABCs and count to ten. With this mod, Simmers can create wholesome family memories.

14 Call A Babysitter

Get Help With Childcare

A Sim holding a baby in The Sims 4

Infants, while somewhat similar to toddlers, are completely dependent on their caregivers. It can be hard for Sims to go to work, socialize, and attend events with an infant at home. While there is a daycare and nannies in the base game, players can also download mods that improve nanny behavior or allow them to call more than one.

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Call a Babysitter allows Sims to call a teen they know with a Friendship of 20 or higher to watch their baby. Babysitters will do everything parents can do other than cook food, and players can have the same Sim hire up to five babysitters at one time without being charged extra. Babysitters will come for up to six hours, costing $15 per hour. They act just like nannies, just with a few restrictions to maintain gameplay balance.

13 Toddlers At Parks

Take Toddlers And Infants To Public Venues

Toddlers At Parks Mod for The Sims 4

Being a parent doesn't mean Sims can't visit venues, and there are tons of family-friendly places to go. If players have the Toddler Stuff Pack, they can host playdates for their toddlers and infants, but they must make friends with other babies to invite them. Luckily, there's a mod that makes it more likely for players to meet other toddlers and infants in public. Flauschtrud's Toddlers at Parks mod includes two new lot traits: Toddler Friendly and Infant Friendly.

The lot traits work similarly to how Cat and Dog Friendly lots do. Players will more likely see other parents and their babies at venues with either of the lot traits and can build new venues or edit any of the existing ones to add the traits. The game will randomly spawn toddlers, infants, and a parent from 8 AM to 4 PM, and players can ensure their child-friendly lots have plenty of toys and play areas for their toddlers to enjoy.

12 Infant Care Tweaks

Balance Infant Attention And Living

A Sim holding a baby in The Sims 4

Taking care of infants is a full-time job. They are entirely dependent on their older caregivers, so Sims must feed them, change them, help them sleep, and teach them how to become human. As such, it can get easy for Sims to forget to focus on themselves without players having to hover over their needs at all times.

Sims4Me has created a small mod that minimizes some of the neediness of infants. It decreases the amount of times Sims will needlessly pick up their infants, and it makes Milestones more efficient by boosting the crawl and pull-up to stand Milestones. Infants will also be able to sleep better further in their development and have fewer diaper blowouts. This gives Sims more chances to do the things they enjoy in tandem with parenthood.

11 Tumbling Tots Co.

Join An Active Daycare Career

Tumbling Tots Co mod for The Sims 4

The Daycare Career isn't a new concept to The Sims franchise, as it was introduced in The Sims 2: Generations, but The Sims 4 has no such thing without a mod. While there is a rabbit hole daycare center that babies, infants, and toddlers get sent to automatically when there isn't a caregiver at home, Tumbling Tots Co. Expands on the concept by making it an active career.

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Tumbling Tots Co. Allows Sims to run a daycare center from their home or public daycare facilities. They will be able to care for children in the infant and primary school age groups. As their career level increases, so too will the number of children they'll be able to watch at one time, allowing for more money to be made. Players must have The Sims 4: Get to Work and Toddler Stuff downloaded to use the mod fully.

10 Toggle Milestones

Unlock All Infant Interactions

The Toggle Milestones mod for The Sims 4

Infant Milestones are a Get Together feature. They heavily affect infant growth and progress by highlighting their accomplishments as they learn and move around. Milestones include things such as an infant's first smile, first time crawling, first time laughing, and more. However, until infants learn certain milestones, their development stays stagnant, and Sims will have limited interaction with them.

TwistedMexi's Toggle Milestones mod makes all infant interactions available, but Sims can still earn the Milestone badges as normal. This way, players don't have to rush to hit all the important Milestones and can enjoy quality time with their infants. Players can easily toggle the mod on and off by entering it into the in-game cheat console.

9 Infant Traits Mods

Nurture Unique Personalities With Custom Traits

Four new Infant Traits in The Sims 4 create-a-sim: observing, snuggly, dreamy, and messy

Players can greatly benefit from using traits to shape their Sims' personalities at infancy to show character development and growth. While infant quirks and base game traits can help, these Infant Trait mods fill in gaps left by The Sims 4. The four new traits from these mods can be assigned to Sims in Create-A-Sim, adding depth to their temperament and behavior.

With traits like observing, snuggly, dreamy, and messy, players can easily tailor their infants' personalities from a young age. These traits not only influence autonomous behaviors but also impact needs and skill gains, making each infant unique and enhancing the overall Sims 4 gameplay experience.

8 Child Birth Mod

Realistic Feeding And Nursing Options For Infants

A Sim using a pump for her breastmilk, part of the lactation and breastfeeding features from the Sims 4 Child Birth Mod
  • Created by PandaSama
  • Requires Get To Work
  • Download Here (PandaSama)

The Child Birth Mod is a comprehensive overhaul for pregnancy and childbirth in The Sims 4, offering new options that transform the experience from conception to early parenthood. This mod introduces realistic pregnancy symptoms, gender reveal parties, ultrasounds, and various childbirth methods. Beyond the pregnancy phase, the mod also enhances infant gameplay by adding features like lactation, breastfeeding, and formula feeding.

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After giving birth using one of the mod's custom birth methods, Sims will automatically start to lactate, enabling them to nurse their newborns directly or use a custom milk pump to create bottles for later use. Additionally, parents can prepare baby formula with a special container found in build/buy mode, giving them flexibility in how they choose to feed their infants. Players can also increase milk yield using lactation cookies or treat symptoms of mastitis with tylenol tablets.

7 Baby Bottle Replacement

Get Custom Baby Bottles

The default baby bottle replacement in The Sims 4 by Sims labs, with a sim holding a baby bottle

Feeding infants in The Sims 4 comes in three main forms: bottle feeding, breastfeeding, and feeding mashed and pureed foods via the high chair. While helping infants discover food likes and dislikes can be fun and good for their development, the mechanic doesn’t totally fill their hunger needs.

Bottle feeding and breastfeeding can be more convenient and efficient for Simmers, but some may want to replace the default bottle used for feeding. Sims Labs has a bottle replacement that includes four swatches to choose from, but Simmers must choose a single default swatch file to import into their game.