Supermom: Ashley Dobbs
SuperMom: Ashley Dobbs
-Liesel Schmidt
The road to parenthood is not always an easy path to navigate, and that struggle was one faced by Ashley Dobbs and her husband, Justin, when they decided to grow their family and have children in 2017. “Little did we know that we would run into major trouble in that area,” says Dobbs, a registered nurse in the ICU at South Baldwin Regional Medical Center for the last decade, while her husband works as a firefighter. “After a year of trying, we started to investigate why we had not had success and learned we would need IVF to start a family. After struggling for six years, undergoing three rounds of IVF, and suffering a miscarriage, we finally have our miracle boy.”
As Dobbs navigates the stresses of her job, she also knows the importance of being fully present for her son. “I feel very stuck between a rock and a hard place,” says Dobbs, who also co-owns a construction company with her husband and has just begun working with Southern Rapid Care in Orange Beach. “I want to work, and I love being a nurse and helping people, but I worked very hard for this child. Leaving him and missing out on milestones is not for the faint of heart.”
All the plates spinning in the air may be a lot to keep track of, but Dobbs feels that she is offering her little boy an example that will serve him well in life at the same time as it gives her more fulfillment in her roles. “I think being a working mom shows him that I’m capable of wearing multiple hats and accomplishing multiple goals all at once,” she says. “Being able to have a work life totally separate from a home life also allows me to appreciate each more and not get too overwhelmed with either. I want my child to grow up with a good work ethic and realize that you must work hard for the things in life you want.
“I also think it’s important for women to distinguish a healthy separation from being a mom and being a person in society,” she goes on. “For myself, being a nurse and helping people is a label I do not ever want to lose. I want my child to be proud to tell his friends that his mom helps sick people.”
