Ian Somerhalder's loving letter to wife Nikki Reed after birth of their baby

Ian Somerhalder has confirmed the birth of his child by posting a heartfelt note to his "amazing" wife.

The former Smallville star thanked Nikki Reed for bringing their daughter Bodhi Soleil Reed Somerhalder into the world four weeks ago, and insisted his partner brought "the word sexy" into pregnancy.

Alongside a picture of Nikki's Fit Pregnancy and Baby magazine cover, he wrote on Instagram: "Just a quick note to you my beautiful wife.

You are briefly napping on the other side of the room after being an amazing mom all night so you'll read this when you wake... seeing these images reminds me of those amazing 9 months that you sacrificed your whole being to grow our little one. The kindness, the beauty and organic nature of these photos makes me so very proud. You brought such fun and such power into our lives being pregnant but you literally brought the word sexy into pregnancy, we all see it. (sic)"

Ian was also full of praise for the Twilight Saga actress - who he married in 2015 - being his wife and "inspiring" him in life.

He added: "Thank you for being my partner in this life and thank you for inspiring not just me but all others who read, hear or see what your soul gives us.

Love,

You husband (sic)"

The couple's four weeks of silence come after the actress previously admitted they were not going to accept visitors to see them and their newborn baby for a whole month.

She said: "We'll take the baby's first month for ourselves. After the baby arrives, we're doing one month of silence. Just the three of us, no visitors, and we're turning off our phones too, so there's no expectation for us to communicate. Otherwise, every five minutes it would be, 'How are you feeling? Can we have a picture?' You don't get those first 30 days back, and we want to be fully present."

- Bang! Showbiz