You're doing a good job as a father. Keep it up. For 'me time', I'd suggest you to make short times more frequent. Haha

You got three kids? I'm feeling for you. It must be very hard to find quality time in such a scenario. It must also be hard to balance work and life.

It's great that you and your wife are working together and supporting each other. Think of it as your trial for great things to come, and the continuous rewards of love and happiness are all worth it.

We had our first 2 children very close together, just 1 year and 3 months apart. Then we had our little one 6 years after our second child. Each child is uniquely difficult in their own way and caused their fair share of lack of sleep when they were babies. Now the two older kids are 13 and 12, and even our little one is 6. Not having enough sleep for days and weeks definitely sucks, but it comes and goes without you even realizing. It might seem like an eternity while living in it, but when I look back to those days, I definitely miss the feeling of holding that little delicate baby in my arm while feeding them and having them lean on my body while I brush/tap their backs to try to burp them. Hang in there man, before you know it, they've grown taller than your wife and are on their way to be taller than you.

I just had for the first time in a while focused time with the wife in less than ideal conditions. Over the phone, after my son fell asleep in his hospital bed and I'm doing this night's shift while my wife is at home. Other days last week when i could have spent time with her while both at home after kid's bedtime, i didn't realise the luxury of being able to do so. I worked on a paper and updated my daily puzzle. Me-time should not trump us-time. Really need to set my priorities. Still, tonight was nice, even though it was over the phone.

So much work. And so rewarding. Sounds like you two are working together well.

I think that's a good perspective. Me time is we time doing things you enjoy along with your wife and kids but I do think it is still good to block a bit of time when possible to do something for yourself, even if it is just going out for a walk.

This is exactly why I have come to relish shitposting at the toilet. But nope, it’s not me time for long. My son or daughter will come barging in and demand for attention 😅

This is why I am of the opinion that we need to get back to spending more time living with our extended families. Fortunately or unfortunately, many are getting back to that even now because of the increased cost of living in many places. My wife and I are trying to sell our house to move in with my in-laws. I'm very much looking forward to it.

Not only would we get a chance to go on dates more often, my in-laws will be able to spend more time with their granddaughter. We will all have a decrease in costs. We will do more things as families. We could even build a compound (which I've recently started planning).

It is hard

I miss the old days sometimes

But it's worth it!

Uninterrupted me-time might largely be a thing of the past, but you'll learn how to fit stuff in around watching your kids and spending time with the wife: a few minutes here and there can still add up over the day (especially if you don't get to sleep).

I remember, shortly after our daughter was born, telling a friend of mine that it took me several hours to get through a ten minute YouTube video.

We got really lucky with a baby that slept clear through the night from very early on.