Since the livestream that teased infants in The Sims 4, fans have been getting excited, and now, they’re finally here. Thanks to another free base game update, infants have arrived as a brand-new life stage in The Sims 4, just two days before the Growing Together Expansion Pack is released. Plus, it’s not just infants that have come with this latest base game patch. There are other notable updates as well. Let’s take a look at everything that’s new with this March 14th 2023 update.
New Life Stage: Infants
There hasn’t been a new life stage in The Sims 4 since toddlers arrived in a free update back in 2017. Before then, babies aged up into children. Now, there’s another life stage to play with: infants! This is not a replacement for the baby life stage (now known as Newborn), but its own life stage. Infants come after babies and before toddlers. They have more freedom and independence as babies, but are not quite as developed as toddlers. Infants, for example, cannot learn to walk or be potty trained, or learn other toddler skills. Infants can, however, use the high chair and some toddler toys.
Create-A-Sim
Infants can be created in Create-A-Sim. As of now, they are the youngest life stage you can make in The Sims 4 (you cannot create babies/newborns). There’s a generous selection of outfits, accessories and hair styles available for infants, carried over from the toddler life stage, but they also have some age-exclusive stuff. One thing to note is that currently, there aren’t many items for infants if you have DLC installed, apart from a few select items available for toddlers, but this may change in future updates.
Infants, like toddlers, do not have aspirations or likes and dislikes, but there are six exclusive traits they can have: Sunny, Cautious, Calm, Wiggly, Intense and Sensitive. Infants can only have one of these traits though. These traits affect how infants interact with others and the world around them, and how they behave.
Infants get some unique CAS items only available for their life stage.
Infant Care
The normal lifespan for an infant in The Sims 4 is 5 days. Infants are incredibly cute, but they demand attention. They have the same six Needs as all Sims: Hunger, Energy, Hygiene, Bladder, Social, and Fun; but they’re more dependent on your Sims than toddlers are.
Infants can be fed by breastfeeding or bottle feeding, just like babies, but you can also get them to try out new foods in the high chair. You can pick the food you want them to try and see if they like it or not. They may need to try a food more than once before they make a final decision.
Infants can try out different foods at the high chair.
Infants cannot be potty trained, so they’ll have to use their diaper to relieve their bladder. Your Sim can change their diaper and also give them a bath to keep them nice and clean.
There are a few activities you can do with infants to keep them happy. You can read them a book, or they can play with toys. Infants also crave attention from other Sims, especially their caregivers. They’ll need lots of socializing.
Science Baby
Having a baby via science is a new way to have a baby in The Sims 4 thanks to this update. This allows your Sim to have a baby, either as a single parent or with another Sim. It’s a very quick and straightforward process, but it’ll cost your Sim 1,200 Simoleons, which is slightly more expensive than adoption.
To initiate the process, you can Have a Science Baby by using the phone or computer. You’ll have two options: to have a science baby as a single parent, or to make one with another Sim (the cost will be the same no matter which option you choose). Your Sim can also approach another Sim and Ask to Make Science Baby.
Once you’ve agreed to go ahead with the process, your Sim will disappear off the lot momentarily. You’ll get a pop-up message telling you your Sim is having a baby, and then you’ll be prompted to name your new baby! Your baby will then appear on the lot in a bassinet. That’s it!
Having a science baby is a new way to have a baby in The Sims 4.
Baby and Toddler Improvements
Along with the arrival of infants, some updates have been made to babies and toddlers.
Newborns
With infants now in the game, babies have been renamed to newborns. They pretty much function the same as babies used to, but with a few differences. You can now choose a feeding preference for newborns: breastfeeding or bottle feeding. Newborns also have a shorter lifespan than babies, now approximately only a day or two from being born to aging up into an infant. Sims also won’t put the newborn back in their bassinet after every interaction, so multiple interactions are now seamless. You cannot walk around with a newborn though. Your Sim will place them back in their bassinet once they are finished interacting with them. Another minor change in detail is that newborns have new voice dialogue, improving on the original cries and other sounds babies made. With the update, newborns also share the same range of skin tones as older Sims.
Babies are now known as newborns in The Sims 4.
Toddlers
There’s not much new for toddlers, except for one significant improvement. One problem originally with toddlers was that when they were placed in high chairs, they would complain and a Sim would autonomously remove them. That’s now a thing of the past, as you can now place toddlers, as well as infants, in high chairs for a period of time and they won’t want to get out.
New Objects
With infants comes new objects to the base game. Some of them are specifically for infants, while others can be used for all Sims.
New objects tailored for infants include cribs and infant-exclusive toys. There’s a decent selection of cribs to choose from in which infants can bunk down in. There’s even a travel crib, which you can drag in and out of your Sim’s inventory, handy if you’re out and about with an infant in tow. Cribs can be upgraded to add a mobile (costs 100 Simoleons), which will help soothe an infant to sleep. If your Sim has at least a level 2 Handiness skill, certain cribs can also be converted into a toddler bed.
The update comes with new objects, many of them for the new infants.
Other new objects include two new rugs aimed at infants, infant-themed clutter items, and a decorative wall shelf.
Another new feature, with infants now present, are play pens. These are essentially fences and gates, but specially infant and toddler proofed to stop them from escaping and wandering off – in theory at least!
Keep infants and toddlers safe with the new play pen.
New Create-A-Sim Content
The new infant life stage is the biggest part of this latest update for The Sims 4, but that’s not all. Sims of all ages, from infants to elders, can now have birthmarks, stretch marks, and scars from C-sections. Birthmarks can be placed on the face, neck, torso, arms, and legs.
Birth marks, stretch marks and C-section scars have been added to The Sims 4.
Improved Social Menu
Interacting with other Sims is a big part of The Sims 4. There are lots of different interactions you can do, whether they’re friendly, mean, funny, or romantic. However, as The Sims 4 has expanded with numerous DLC and updates, the social menu has been starting to get a little cluttered and overwhelming, with players having to scroll through the different options until they find what they’re looking for.
Not anymore, thanks to this update. The social menu has been greatly improved and upgraded, with the many interactions now divided up into sub-categories. The original social categories are Friendly, Funny, Mean, Romantic, and Mischief. These still exist, but now have their own sub-categories to make locating interactions that much easier. For example, under Friendly, you’ll find many sub-categories such as Affection, Compliments, Interests, and much more.
The social menu is now better organized, making interactions easier to find.
That’s everything that came with the infants update for The Sims 4. The Growing Together Expansion Pack will drop in just two days on March 16th, available on PC, Mac, Xbox consoles, and PlayStation consoles.
