Am I asking for too much after 3 months of dating, or is him asking for “space” my sign to move on?

I’ve been talking to/dating a guy for about 5 months, I’m 30yr old F and he’s 28. We’ve been consistently seeing each other for around 3 months. I really like him, which is probably why this situation is hurting me so much.

For some background, we usually see each other every week, but the amount of time we actually spend together has always felt limited to me. Usually I’ll see him for a few hours on a weekday, and then a few hours on Saturday evening/night. Those are basically the only times we’ve been able to see each other.

The only exception was Fourth of July weekend, when we spent two full days together. That was honestly the only time in these three months where I felt like I was really included and got to spend more than just a few hours with him. I loved having that kind of time together, and I think it made me realize how much I wanted our relationship to eventually grow into more of that.
A lot of his weekends, especially Sundays, are spent with friends or family. There have been things like a boat day in the city that I wasn’t invited to because it was just friends, and now a wedding that I’m not invited to because it’s friends/family.

I completely understand that I don’t need to be invited to everything, especially since we aren’t officially in a relationship. But after 5 months of talking and 3 months of consistently dating, I started wondering when I would actually start becoming more included in his life.
I’ve also brought up Sundays several times because we really don’t spend them together. I’m not asking for some huge date every weekend. I would honestly be happy going to the gym together, getting breakfast, running errands, cooking, watching movies, or just spending a normal day together. I just wanted more intentional time and to feel like things were progressing beyond a few hours here and there.
This became a point of tension between us because he feels like he has been giving me time and effort, and I kept telling him that it didn’t feel like enough. I can understand how hearing that repeatedly could make him feel unappreciated or like nothing he does is enough.
Eventually, he told me that all of this was making him pull back and that he thinks we both need to work on things individually. Now he says he needs “space.”

The confusing part is that he hasn’t really explained what needing space actually means.
He has told me I don’t need to worry about other women, that he isn’t going to talk to anyone else, that I’m special to him, that he really likes me and cares about me, and that this doesn’t mean he wants to stop talking to me.
But at the same time, he has definitely pulled back. His communication feels different. He used to be much more affectionate over text, call me cute names, etc., and lately that sentiment just isn’t really there anymore.
Now I’m left wondering how I’m supposed to act. Do I continue talking to him normally? Do I stop initiating? How much space does he want? How long is this supposed to last? Are we still moving toward something or am I just waiting around?
What makes this even more confusing is that I genuinely believe he cares about me.
This past week I got really sick and ended up in the hospital. He came to see me and stayed there with me for hours, then drove me home around 3 a.m. and drove himself back home afterward. I also had an endoscopy and colonoscopy the next day, and he stayed in touch asking how everything was going and checking on me and visit me for a few hours at home after his job.
I’ve met the sister he lives with, and he has also told his mom about me. According to him, she’s really excited about me.
So that’s why this isn’t as simple as me thinking, “He doesn’t care.”
I think he does care. I just don’t know if caring about me means he’s actually ready to build the type of relationship I want at the age that I’m at.
I can acknowledge my part in this too. Uncertainty makes me anxious, and I probably brought up the issue of time together too often. I can understand why that could make him feel pressured and cause him to pull back.
But I also don’t think I was asking him to spend all of his free time with me. I wanted our relationship to gradually progress. After 5 months of talking and 3 months of dating, I thought we would be getting closer to having clarity about what we are, spending more time together, and becoming more integrated into each other’s lives.
Instead, right when I thought we would be getting closer to a relationship, he pulled back and asked for space.
Now I’m struggling with whether I should give this the benefit of the doubt or whether I’m just waiting around and wasting time.
I care about him a lot, and that’s what scares me. If I give this more time and he never comes back to how things were, or months go by and we still don’t progress toward a relationship, I know I’m going to be really hurt.
I’ve spent years working on myself and trying to heal, and I’m scared that putting myself through months of uncertainty and then losing him in the end will undo a lot of that progress. I’m already hurting from not knowing where I stand.
At the same time, I don’t want to walk away from someone I really care about if this genuinely is just a rough period and giving each other some space could help.

I just don’t know where the line is between giving someone space and giving a relationship a fair chance versus putting my life on hold waiting for someone who isn’t sure about me.
Would you give him the space and see what happens, or would you take the fact that he’s pulling back after 3 months of dating as a sign to move on? And am I expecting too much by wanting more intentional time and clarity at this point?