>> Can it be her hormones being a little whacky as her cycle resumes? If it
is hormonal, should it last this long (about 5 days)?  She's called our most
experienced counselors as well as an IBCLC and they are all stumped.<<

Some moms notice transient milk supply drops during menstrual cycles once
they have resumed, and of course a toddler might suck harder in response to a
drop in supply.  Your mom's pain seems to be occuring more at ovulation which
is not identical in timing, but then perhaps her system is different or is
reacting abnormally, and thus affecting supply and/or nipple sensitivity.  If
there is no support for a yeast dx, I do think that hormonal changes could
possibly underlie her symptoms; I have personally noticed that my own cycles
changed in timing and intensity with each new baby.  This may be one of those
cases that takes time and history to determine the cause. I'd be interested
to see if the pain goes away, and then resumes next month.

-Lisa Marasco, BA, LLLL, IBCLC