Dear Sharon,
Everything you've told that Mom sounds good to me, but the position of the
cracking really sounds like positional soreness.
I would really look at positioning. I would really pay attention to angles.
Is the mom's breast and nipple pointing directly into baby's mouth without
the mom positioning the breast? She should position the baby so that the
breast isn't pulling away after latch-on.
Marilee Woodworth, IBCLC