My wife and I have taken our kids (now 4 and 6) on long hikes, camping, and even kayaking since the youngest has been 2. There is definitely a loss of time to

My wife and I have taken our kids (now 4 and 6) on long hikes, camping, and even kayaking since the youngest has been 2. There is definitely a loss of time to yourself, but it's not total, and often can be made to be enjoyable for you too (e.g. coaching the kids soccer team). You may not be able to do everything you want, but can still do a good bit of it, and other stuff you wouldn't have done without kids. If you have a newborn, the state of near constant need goes away more quickly than you fear. I also think yhat loosing hope it gets better is a bad way of thinking about it. It gets different as kids get older, for the better i think. Hoping to have a child free life is a fools errand. Make the best of what you have.