The introverted parent

[Acornacorn]

My DH and I are talking about starting a family.
He's a bit hesitant still because he's worried about not having any 'me time'.
He's a bit of an introvert and really values his free time for his own wellbeing. I understand and respect that.
Of course, DC do take away a lot of parents' free time, but I'm interested to hear what strategies others (especially other introverts) have found to ensure they still have time to themselves.
Any advice?

The lack of "me time" is much worse in the year or so and it's normally more of a problem for the mother, especially if breastfeeding. With maternity leave, it tends to be that the Mum ends up being the child's prefered carer so Dads get a bit more freedom.

Once a child has a regular bedtime, there's usually free time in the evening, although there has to be someone in the house with them still of course! Also if one parent has the child(ren) the other can do their own thing. A lot of parents I know have alternate weekend days as lie ins while the other takes the child(ren).

A lot of the time that children take away is the extra chores that come with them. That can still be time alone and some people find things like cleaning theraputic (not me, but it's possible!).