Two and a half - It's the time I was breastfeeding my son.

"Are you exhausted?" I recall being asked numerous times as a new mother. People were inquiring about my well-being, not realizing the extent to which breastfeeding had taken over my life. Even though I wasn’t supposed to stress or exert myself too much, the physical and emotional toll of breastfeeding was often dismissed as just part of motherhood. The very act that was supposed to symbolize the nurturing bond between mother and child came with a host of challenges that were normalized and rarely addressed. Years later, I still encounter individuals who minimize the sacrifices involved in breastfeeding; "that's just natural, every mother goes through it." Breastfeeding mothers can spend up to 1,800 hours in the first year alone feeding their infants. Perceived as a natural duty and often romanticized, the misconceptions across cultures keep women isolated; confused about their struggles; silenced or even ashamed to seek help. In many parts of the world, breastfeeding mothers are expected to prioritize their infants over their own well-being. Two Years and a Half explores these cycles of thought, creating a non-fixed and open-ended narrative that forms part of a larger body of w