I also get swayed by build/buy and the number of lots in the world. That was Growing Together for me. I don't care for the Family Dynamics and I haven't tried to reach all the infant and toddler Milestones since my first LP - it's hard to get them before they age up, even on normal lifespan! That said, Growing Together gave us a new lot type (Recreation Centre), three new types of events (Family Reunion, Baby Shower, Slumber Party), Stay Overs, which I love, additional Self-Discovery Traits, which I love, more child Aspirations, which I use for almost every child, bikes, and a bunch of features available in other DLC that are great if you're just getting started, like walks. To me, Lovestruck is giving Growing Togther - without any features I'd use. It does have 13 lots, and I'll probably want it for that eventually, but other than that it looks like it's just CAS and a bunch of chairs?
I love Growing Together. I also play on Long to maximize my time with my favorite Sim family. I have learned, after sweating over it in the beginning, that infants pretty much can learn their milestones without too much help. I've only had one or two babies crawl, however. But then, I'm a tried-and-true family player. To each their own!
I haven't tried long lifespan! I've only just moved to short because of a glitch to my neighbourhood stories where a household had babies I didn't want them to have. I think it's also the number of sims - the Robles, for example, out of the box are so many sims with complex lives to manage! I take them in small doses. My favourite part of raising sims from babies is the super-talented and -traited teens and young adults you end up with. I like the rich history.
