Atlanta Falcons QB Matt Ryan and Wife Welcome Twins After Complicated Birth

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan and his wife Sarah welcomed twins earlier this year, but did not announce their birth until Sunday after the couple was allowed to take both babies home.

In her first post on Instagram since Dec. 31, 2017, Sarah said she was put on hospital bed rest on Jan. 9. Six weeks later, their twin boys were born. However, they were not allowed to leave the hospital right away.

Their first born, Marshall Thomas Ryan, was in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) for five weeks before he could finally go home. John "Johnny" Matthew Ryan was finally allowed to go home a week later.

"To say that having Marshall and Johnny at home is a dream come true for Matt and I would be putting it mildly," Sarah wrote. "We are endlessly thankful for their doctors and nurses in the NICU who gave them the most incredible care and will forever hold a special place in our hearts. We are so grateful for our family and friends who we couldn't have gotten through this journey without."

Sarah also thanked fans who checked in and vowed to post more photos on social media.

"We so appreciate it," she wrote. "Now after a lack in posting I will be flooding your timelines with baby photos. Exactly what I said I would never do."

"It has been a long and challenging road but it has all been worth it," Sarah said in an interview with PEOPLE. "Matt and I couldn't be happier to have them home."

Ryan also shared photos of the twins, adding, "Welcome our boys Marshall and Johnny."

Ryan and Sarah announced in November that they were expecting twins. They both posted the same photo of themselves standing in front of a balloon shaped like the number 2. That also happens to be the number Ryan wears on his jersey.

"It's been a long road, but Matt and I couldn't be happier to announce that we are expecting twins! We are anxiously awaiting their arrival in April. There's just something about the number 2 in our house, I guess," Sarah wrote at the time.

Ryan and Sarah, both 32, went to Boston College together and were married in 2011. Sarah is a Maine native and worked for the WNBA Atlanta Dream as a sales consultant, according to the Press-Herald.

Ryan was drafted by the Falcons in 2008 and won the NFL MVP Award for his 2016 season.

Photo credit: Instagram/ Sarah Ryan