TikTok Stars Squirmy and Grubs Reveal Why Keeping Their Pregnancy Private Initially Was Important to Them

TikTok stars Squirmy and Grubs are opening up about their decision to initially keep their pregnancy private.

Following their joint pregnancy announcement on Instagram, the expectant parents, whose real names are Shane and Hannah Burcaw, uploaded a more detailed video on YouTube where they explained why they decided to wait to share the news.

“We’ve kind of not shared for this first five months because we were just like both enjoying the privacy and also figuring out like what we should share, when we should share and all of that,” the soon-to-be mom explained. Echoing her sentiments, Shane added, “We felt like we are bringing another human into the world, [and] they can’t like speak for their privacy right now and so that as parents is our responsibility.”

“We wanted to take the sharing of all this with the world really carefully so that we’re being deliberate and intentional and make sure that what we are sharing aligns with our values,” he continued.

Shane, who has spinal muscular atrophy, later explained that another reason they kept the pregnancy private for so long is to protect their news from harmful rhetoric online.

“There are going to be a number of people, a big number of people, who are not happy about this pregnancy announcement, and that’s another reason we haven’t wanted to share with the world,” he said. “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, [and] that I cannot and should not be a father because of my disability.”

The soon-to-be dad added, “And that kind of rhetoric and belief has really affected me as a person and it’s something that I grapple with all the time.”

The influencers announced that they were expecting their first baby together on Tuesday, Sept. 8, sharing the news on Instagram. In a lengthy caption, the two revealed that Hannah is 20 weeks pregnant and due to welcome their first baby this upcoming January.

“We are beyond ecstatic to announce that we’re expecting our first child this coming January!” Hannah and Shane wrote alongside a few photos of the two of them and their sonograms. “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!”

They went on to share a few updates, including that Shane will be writing a baby blog to document their journey. They’re also participating in the growing social media trend of fulfilling registry items for other expecting families, and offered their followers the chance to drop their registry links in the comments.

“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 toward the end of their caption.

They concluded, “That’s it for now, but don’t forget to check out our new video and blog! Find out how the pregnancy has been going and what we’ve been up to all summer!”