MIL had a cold sore near my baby and says she does not get them, what do I do?

I went through almost the same thing with my own mom, and what worked was making it a blanket rule for everyone rather than singling her out. We told all visitors, no kissing the baby on the face at all, and it took the personal sting out of it.

Keep an eye on your little one and call the pediatrician if you notice anything unusual, but try not to spiral, most exposures do not turn into anything. For future visits, ask her to hold off on face contact whenever her lip is flaring, and offer lots of other ways to bond like feeding or reading.

A lot of older folks genuinely believe cold sores are just chapped lips or a reaction to the sun, so she may not be lying so much as uninformed. I printed a short handout from our pediatrician about why newborns need extra caution and left it on the fridge, which did more than any argument.

Oh I feel this, I had almost the exact same thing with my own mother and it turned out she just never realized her "chapped lip that comes back every winter" was actually a cold sore. I'd just gently ask her to skip kisses on the baby's face until it's fully healed, and honestly keep it light because most people truly don't know they get them.

Congrats on the good run, that is a real achievement.

Oh I feel this so much, my mom did the exact same thing and swore up and down she'd never had one in her life. I just gently said the doctor told us no kissing baby's face for anyone with any lip bump at all, made it a blanket rule for everybody so she didn't feel singled out, and honestly it worked way better than I expected.

Oh I've been there and it's such an awkward spot, my mom swore up and down she'd "never had one" while there was literally a scab on her lip. I just made it a blanket rule for everyone, no kissing the baby on the face, period, so nobody feels singled out and you don't have to argue about whether it counts.

Oh I feel this one, my MIL said the exact same thing to me and it turned out she just never knew the tingly spot she got every winter was a cold sore. I'd keep it simple and kind, no kissing the baby for anyone until it's fully healed, and honestly the fact that you're paying attention means you're already doing the right thing.

Ugh, I went through almost the same thing with my mother in law and it turns out a lot of older folks genuinely do not know that "just a little blister" can be dangerous for babies. I found it helped to skip the blame and just set a calm blanket rule, no kisses on the baby from anyone, so nobody feels singled out.

Oh I felt this one in my chest, we had almost the same thing happen and I was shaking when I brought it up. You are not overreacting, herpes can be serious for babies, so I just calmly told her no kisses or close snuggles until it is fully healed and honestly her being annoyed with me was a price I was willing to pay.

Oh I've been there with my own mother in law and it's so hard because you feel like the bad guy for protecting your baby. You're not overreacting, a lot of people genuinely don't realize a visible sore can spread even if they "never get them," so I'd just kindly hold the boundary of no kisses near baby until it's fully healed and try not to let the guilt trip land.

Oh I've been there and it's so stressful, so many people carry the virus without ever getting visible sores so her saying she doesn't get them sadly doesn't mean much. I just told my MIL kindly but firmly no kisses near the baby until it's fully healed, and honestly she got over the awkwardness way faster than I expected.