For years, Shane and Hannah Burcaw have invited millions of people into their lives through their popular YouTube and TikTok channels, Squirmy and Grubs. They’ve shared their travels, their marriage, and the everyday realities of living in an interabled relationship. Now, they have their biggest update yet: they’re going to be parents.
Hannah is 20 weeks pregnant with the couple’s first child, and the baby is due in January. The couple announced the news on September 8 in an emotional Instagram post alongside photos of themselves and their sonograms.
“We are beyond ecstatic to announce that we’re expecting our first child this coming January!” they wrote. “Hannah is 20 weeks pregnant, and although we’ve been thoroughly enjoying this special time in privacy so far, we’ve also missed sharing all the joy with you, and there’s SO MUCH to share!”
A Love Story That Began With a Cold Email
Hannah was a freshman at Carleton College in 2016 when she watched a documentary about Shane, who lives with spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a genetic condition that damages nerve cells and severely limits mobility. But rather than focusing on his challenges, Hannah was struck by his humor and his ability to embrace life despite his condition. So she decided to take a chance and sent him a cold email.
It wasn’t long before the two started dating. After years of navigating a long-distance relationship, they married in 2020. In the years since, they’ve grown their YouTube channel to more than 18 million subscribers, sharing what life is like in an interabled relationship.
The Truth About Their Intimacy
Many followers have wondered about the more intimate details of their relationship — and some assumed Hannah had signed up for a life of both childlessness and celibacy. The couple has consistently shut down those assumptions.
“It’s far from true. We have a satisfying intimate life, and both of us are interested in having children together down the road,” they said. Shane once put it simply: “Disabled people can have sex.”
Shane has also spoken openly about how people view him. “We’re seen as asexual beings,” he said. He explained that people assume his attraction and his ability to attract a partner are non-existent. Hannah added: “And even if you did, it wouldn’t work. There’s no physical way — because we get a lot of like, ‘There’s no physical way that they could, so they’re lying.'”
A Long and Painful Road to Parenthood
Their journey to pregnancy was anything but easy. In March 2023, the couple announced they were beginning their first round of IVF. Later that year, they revealed that Shane had zero viable sperm following further testing. In January 2026, they shared that they had decided to try having children again after taking a three-year break from the process.
Their announcement acknowledged that pain — and extended empathy to others still struggling. “After going through IVF unsuccessfully for many years, we understand all too well the difficulties that many people experience when trying to conceive, and how seeing announcements can feel. Our hearts go out to you,” they wrote.
Shane’s Honest Words About Fatherhood
In a follow-up YouTube video, Shane addressed the criticism he knows is coming — and the doubts he’s wrestled with himself.
“Figuring out how I am going to most effectively father and parent a child with my disability has been top of mind for the last 20 weeks,” he said. “There are going to be a big number of people who are not happy about this pregnancy announcement. There are going to be horrible, horrible people in the comments and in the message boards and in our emails telling us that we are making the worst mistakes of our lives, that I cannot and should not be a father because of my disability.”
He admitted that rhetoric has affected him deeply. “That kind of rhetoric and belief has really affected me as a person, and it’s something that I grapple with all the time.”
But he ended on a note of pure joy: “Life is moving at a million miles an hour and we’re having a baby. Life is good. We are so in love.”
The Pregnancy So Far
Hannah has described the pregnancy as relatively smooth. “I have had such a great time,” she said, noting she never experienced vomiting or significant nausea, though she dealt with some food aversions in the first trimester and has recently begun experiencing pelvic pain, partly due to being hypermobile.
The couple found out remarkably early — Hannah tested positive just eight days after ovulation. After the positive test, they immediately went to Target to buy more pregnancy tests. There, Shane spotted a blue hat in the $5 section that said “dad.” “It felt like a sign from the universe,” he said.
What’s Next
Shane is launching a new baby blog to document their journey into parenthood. The couple said they want to be “deliberate and intentional” about what they share about their child and make sure it aligns with their values — meaning their approach to parenting will look somewhat different from the way they’ve documented their own lives.
They’re also using the moment to give back, participating in a social media trend that supports expecting families by fulfilling registry items for other parents-to-be.
A Story That Defies Expectations
Shane and Hannah Burcaw have spent years challenging assumptions about disability, relationships, and caregiving. Now, they’re about to challenge one more: that disabled people can’t — or shouldn’t — become parents.
Their message is simple, and it’s one they’ve been sharing all along: love doesn’t follow a rulebook. And neither does family. ❤️
