Barbara, 
You said >I could feel the waves of action from front to back getting progressively larger.
The last "wave" at the back of the mouth, just before swallowing, was very
large and a prominent "bump" in the tongue.  I think that this is what is
compressing mom's nipple.<

I find that this compression stripe often occurs in babies that have sucked their fingers in utero - they hump the tongue up behind the fingers.  If you are getting a good latch otherwise, suck training exercises may be beneficial - (mother puts gentle pressure on the hump in the baby's tongue while it is sucking on her finger).  
Hope this helps, 
Philippa Crossley RN RM IBCLC 

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