To get a Sim pregnant in The Sims 2, have an adult couple who are in love relax on a double bed together, click the partner and choose “Try for Baby” instead of the plain WooHoo option. If it works you hear a short lullaby jingle, and the pregnancy runs a little over three Sim days before the baby arrives. This guide covers who can and cannot try for a baby, every object the option appears on, what blocks it, the day-by-day timeline, the alien route for male Sims, and the two expansion tricks (a cheesecake and an aspiration benefit) that the Legacy Collection includes by default.
Who can try for a baby
The base rules have not changed since 2004 and the 2025 Legacy Collection patches did not touch them:
- Adults only. An adult female with an adult or elder male partner. Young adults at university cannot try for a baby (they have to wait until they graduate or move home), and teens cannot at all. Elder women cannot become pregnant.
- Not too close to elderhood. Player documentation reports the option disappears for an adult woman in roughly her last five days before becoming an elder, so plan a late pregnancy early.
- Room in the house. A household already holding eight Sims never sees the option. Move someone out first if you are at the cap (our guide on how to move a household in The Sims 2 covers that).
- At home, or controllable. The woman needs to be on her own lot, or playable on a community lot, for the option to work.
- In love. Try for Baby sits in the same romantic tier as WooHoo, so a couple who can WooHoo can try for a baby; they do not need to be married or engaged.
Without mods only a male and female couple can try for a baby. Same-sex couples grow their family through adoption, which is a phone call to Services.
Where the option appears
The classic method is the bed: send both Sims to “Relax” on a double bed, then, while controlling one, click the other and choose “Try for Baby”. With a cinematic camera enabled, the first WooHoo between two Sims plays a short cutscene. The interaction also appears on several expansion objects, all of which the Legacy Collection includes: the hot tub (both Sims sit next to each other, then “Cuddle” and the option appears), a car from Nightlife, the photo booth and changing booth on community lots, a tent from Bon Voyage, and the walk-in closet and elevator from Apartment Life.
Try for Baby is not guaranteed. Player documentation puts the bed and most objects at high but not certain odds, with the photo booth and hot tub noticeably lower, so if you hear no lullaby, wait a moment for the Sims to finish and try again. The jingle is the only confirmation you get: there is no pregnancy test in this game, and nothing visible changes for the first day.
The pregnancy timeline
Pregnancy in The Sims 2 lasts about 75 Sim hours, which is why everyone calls it three days. The stages advance roughly 25 hours apart from the moment of conception, so a Sim who conceives at 1:00 PM on Monday shows on Tuesday afternoon, grows again Wednesday afternoon and gives birth Thursday afternoon. Day by day:
- First trimester: nothing visible. Morning sickness, random hunger crashes and a tired Sim. High Body skill reduces the vomiting, per player reports.
- Second trimester: the belly appears and the Sim switches to maternity wear. She goes on paid maternity leave, and if she has a car she can still choose to drive to work. New socials appear for the partner such as talking to and feeling the belly.
- Third trimester: bigger again, mood swings, and she can no longer drive or use the swing. The birth happens on the spot with a “new family member on the way” message, and the new parent gets three extra vacation days.
Needs drop faster throughout, so keep the fridge stocked and let her nap. Have a crib in the house before day three: without one, the baby sleeps on the floor, which works but keeps the newborn’s hidden needs lower. Our guide on how to age up a baby in The Sims 2 covers the next three days.
Twins with Open for Business cheesecake
The 2025 text called cheesecake a “chance” of twins. Player testing has long shown it is more reliable than that: a pregnant Sim who eats cheesecake, which needs Cooking skill 7 to make, has twins essentially every time. Cheesecake comes from Open for Business, so it is in the Legacy Collection and the Ultimate Collection alike. Twins are the only multiple birth the game supports without mods, and the household cap still applies, so a family of seven risks the social worker if twins arrive.
Alien pregnancy for male Sims
Adult men cannot try for a baby, but they can be abducted. Stargazing at night through the expensive telescope carries a small chance of abduction, and an adult male who is taken comes back pregnant with an alien-hybrid baby on the same three-day timeline. With FreeTime, a Knowledge Sim who unlocks the Summon Aliens aspiration benefit can use any telescope to force the encounter, which is the reliable way to do it. Our guide on how to get abducted in The Sims 2 walks through both routes. Note the Legacy Collection launched with the alien baby missing from the abduction scene; the March 2025 Patch Notes #7 fixed that, so update the game if an abduction ever returns without a baby.
For everything else about relationships in this game, from first kiss to how to WooHoo in The Sims 2, start at the Sims guides hub.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is there no Try for Baby option? The usual reasons: the household already has eight Sims, one partner is a teen, young adult or elder woman, the couple is not romantic enough yet, or the woman is within a few days of becoming an elder.
How do I know it worked? A short lullaby plays right after the interaction. There is no test or notification; if you heard nothing, it did not take.
How long does pregnancy last in The Sims 2? About 75 Sim hours, so a little over three days, with the belly showing on the second day and the birth on the fourth.
Can a male Sim get pregnant? Only through alien abduction at the telescope. He returns pregnant with an alien-hybrid baby that follows the same timeline.
Does this work the same in the Legacy Collection? Yes. Pregnancy is base-game logic, and the Legacy Collection includes Open for Business (cheesecake twins) and FreeTime (Summon Aliens) by default. The 2025 patches fixed the missing alien baby but changed nothing about ordinary pregnancy.