For any new mother having their baby start crying when feeding, especially breastfeeding, is a bit disconcerting. You feel like you are doing everything perfectly, then suddenly they begin fussing, pulling away, and crying right in the middle of eating.
You are not alone. This is a very common occurrence at about 5 to 7 weeks for many newborn babies. It can be associated to a growth spurt, or their developing ability to see and notice things happening around them.
With a growth spurt your baby may be experiencing mild pain or discomfort which has your baby crying when feeding. If it is due to a growth spurt the problem will pass quickly, and in another week or so, the problem will just as mysteriously disappear.
If the crying is the result of their new ability to take notice, then be forewarned, this could happen several times over the coming months. Developmental milestones often lead to lack of attention as they explore their new abilities. The good news, they grow accustomed to their new abilities and begin to refocus on feeding again in a week or two.
Another common cause of a baby beginning to cry during breastfeeding is physiological. Watch closely to determine if this is happening on both breasts or only one. Your breast are different on the rate milk expressed. If your baby is only reacting negatively on one breast it may be due to either an over abundant milk spray, or the exact opposite which is a lack of milk flow. They are either becoming agitated due to a gagging response, or frustrated due to lack of milk flow. You should be able to discover the problem by using a breast pump or hand expressing milk to check the flow on both sides.
If you discover the problem is with too fast of milk flow on one, or both sides, then you may want to try pumping excess milk shortly before feeding. You can use the milk later in a bottle, while eliminating many of the complaints of your baby.
Sometimes our baby crying when feeding is due to our expectations and not a real problem with the baby. Your baby may feel finished and you are still continuing the feeding process. They are getting mad due to being finished. If you suspect this might be the case, stop feeding for now. You may need to feed again a little more frequently, but this is probably preferable to you over listening to their cries.
As you are beginning to see a baby crying during feeding is caused by many different things. This is just a few of the items which can cause this behavior. You will need to take a little extra time to discover the cause, and then learn to modify your feeding method. If you are lucky it is just a simple case which is outgrown in a few days of time.