Shane and Hannah Burcaw gave a deeply emotional update from their pregnancy journey, and it carried even more meaning because of a fear Shane had quietly been dealing with.
The interabled couple, known online as Squirmy and Grubs, announced on September 8 that they were expecting their first child after years of trying to become parents.
Highlights
- Shane Burcaw previously worried that his disability might prevent him from feeling his baby kick.
- A new video captured Shane feeling the baby move.
- Shane and Hannah are preparing for their first child while exploring ways for him to take part in everyday parenting.
Now, weeks after that announcement, a new video has captured Shane experiencing a pregnancy milestone he once worried his disability might prevent him from experiencing.
Shane Burcaw feared his disability might prevent him from feeling his baby kick
Shane lives with spinal muscular atrophy and uses a wheelchair, while Hannah is able-bodied. As they prepared to become parents, Shane opened up about a fear he had kept in the back of his mind.
“One of my biggest worries about having children is the extent to which I’ll be able to physically interact with them,” he wrote.
He explained that while he believed “parenting and love do not require physical ability,” he still had “deep down anxieties” about what his disability might mean for fatherhood.
The concern became very real when Hannah’s pregnancy reached the stage where the baby started kicking.
Shane admitted he hoped he could reach Hannah’s stomach and feel the movement himself, but he didn't know if his arms would stretch far enough.
“I hoped, but didn’t know for certain whether I’d be able to reach my arms far enough to feel the kicking myself,” he wrote.
Shane and Hannah shared a new pregnancy video capturing Shane feeling their baby move
In the video shared on their YouTube channel on September 30, Shane felt the baby kicking inside Hannah’s womb.
The moment directly answered the worry he had spoken about only days earlier. Instead of being unable to reach the baby bump, Shane got to experience the movement for himself.
“It’s the most wild thing in the world to feel it moving around in there,” he said.
The milestone came after the couple announced their pregnancy, revealing that Hannah was already 20 weeks pregnant and that they were expecting their first child in January 2027.
“We are beyond ecstatic to announce that we’re expecting our first child this coming January!” they wrote in their announcement.
They also explained that they spent the first part of the pregnancy privately but missed sharing their happiness with their followers.
The couple also acknowledged that pregnancy announcements can be difficult for people dealing with infertility. After years of unsuccessful IVF, they said they understood that pain themselves.
“After going through IVF unsuccessfully for many years, we understand all too well the difficulties that many people experience when trying to conceive,” they wrote. “Our hearts go out to you.”
Before the baby's arrival, Shane is thinking ahead about how he will parent his child
Shane and Hannah have been thinking carefully about how he can physically take part in everyday parenting.
They told People in a September 17 interview that they had been “thinking through every possibility” so Shane could physically help with their baby.
Some of the ideas included using pillows so the baby could safely lie on his lap, attaching a carrier to his wheelchair, and even using a stroller he could push.
Shane has also spoken with another father who has the same diagnosis. That father once worried about not being able to lift his child, but he eventually found his own ways to connect with the baby.
Shane said the child eventually learned how to connect with his father physically.
As the child grew, he would climb into his father’s wheelchair to hug him or help him put on his hat.
“Things are small, but they’re a physical connection,” Shane said. “I can’t wait to figure out all those little ways that we can make it work.”
Furthermore, Shane emphasized that his disability will not stop him from being a dad
For Shane, the biggest part of becoming a parent isn't whether he can perform every physical task the same way as another father.
After speaking with other interabled couples, he said he felt more confident about what fatherhood could look like.
“One thing that has made me feel good is that they are reminding me that so much of parenting is not the physical stuff,” Shane told People.
He continued, “A human being, yes, needs physical care as a baby, but a lot of parenting is about the mind and emotions and learning and love.”
He later added, “My disability will not inhibit me from doing that with our kid in any way. So that’s been really reassuring for me.”
The couple also knows they will have to be careful about what they share online once their baby arrives. They waited until Hannah was five months pregnant before announcing the pregnancy because they wanted to enjoy the news privately first.
“We felt like we are bringing another human into the world; they can’t speak for their privacy right now,” Shane explained. He said they wanted to be “deliberate and intentional” about what they shared.
Hannah said their main priority is protecting their child from the kind of cruel comments they have faced themselves.
Their pregnancy news also came as the couple has faced hurtful assumptions about their relationships
Shane and Hannah have spent years dealing with questions about their relationship because they are an interabled couple.
They have previously talked about how strangers often assume that disabled people cannot have romantic or s*xual relationships.
“We're seen as asexual beings,” Shane said during one discussion about the assumptions people make about him.
He explained that some people also believe his disability means he cannot attract a partner or have a physical relationship.
Hannah has faced even harsher comments. She recalled people making disturbing accusations because of Shane’s physical size.
She pushed back against the idea that disabled people cannot consent to intimacy.
“It’s just wild to me that people think that disabled people can't consent to intimacy,” Hannah said.
Shane has been just as direct when discussing the subject.
“This is going to sound silly, but disabled people can have s*x,” he said. “They can be amazing romantic partners. They can be really good at s*x.” He added, “We are just as s*xual as our non-disabled counterparts.”
"This is such a beautiful moment for them," wrote one netizen
