Laurie Wheeler wrote,
<< I agree that many moms expereicne
 short-lived pain upon latch and until the milk "starts to flow", esp. in the
 early days of bf. I used to think this was the initial "stretching" or
 elongating of the nipple/areola into a long teat extending deep into baby's
 mouth. But maybe this is pain due to the relatively "empty" sinuses/low flow
 issues? Therefore it should help to "prime" the system by manually starting
 the milk flow? (which I think is very beneficial to do anyway becoz baby can
 taste, smell, and quickly receive milk in early days). Any comments on this
 latch-on pain? >>

Hmm.  This is interesting to me because -- ready for more info than you ever
wanted on my own personal nipples? -- for me what I always thought of as
"pain with the chomp" came not before but WITH let-down.  I know because I
also reliably  felt a slightly-less-strong version of it when I let down when
my nipples were not hidden in the baby's mouth, that is, either
loose-and-poorly-timed (:D!!) or in the pump flange, and I felt it as I could
see my nipples fill, stretch, elongate, and then spray.

So I figured that the main part of that pain came from the stretching caused
by the milk pushing downward, and that the baby's suckling (maybe the
squeezing into a teat, maybe the suction, maybe a combination) exacerbated it.

But under this theory I'm not sure that expressing ahead of time would
eliminate this discomfort, since it happened not when the sinuses were empty
but as they filled.

Sample of one, but it's one I know well!  (and am eager to refine my
technique & understanding over the next few weeks!)

Elisheva

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